Deaf/mute
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G2974, kōphós, is a Greek adjective whose contextual range includes deafness and inability to speak. English versions may render a person deaf, mute, unable to speak, or hardly able to speak, while one occurrence addresses a spirit described as deaf and mute.
Reader summary
Full entry for κωφός (G2974) · Open the biblical lexicon
G2974, kōphós, is a Greek adjective whose contextual range includes deafness and inability to speak. English versions may render a person deaf, mute, unable to speak, or hardly able to speak, while one occurrence addresses a spirit described as deaf and mute.
The BSB source-word alignment has 14 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include [the] deaf (2), [the] mute (2), mute (2), [he] (1), [man who had been] mute (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 9:32. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (7), Luke (4), Mark (3).
G2974, kōphós, is a Greek adjective whose contextual range includes deafness and inability to speak. English versions may render a person deaf, mute, unable to speak, or hardly able to speak, while one occurrence addresses a spirit described as deaf and mute. The word does not by itself tell readers whether hearing, speech, both, or another communication condition is involved. Nor does it describe intelligence, awareness, capacity for faith, or a person's preferred language and community identity.
The Gospels present distinct stories rather than one universal explanation. Zechariah leaves the temple unable to speak after a sign of judgment and promise. A man in Mark 7 is deaf and communicates with difficulty; others bring him, Jesus takes him aside from the crowd, and the narrative emphasizes personal attention. Other passages connect a person's inability to speak with a demon in that specific event, and Mark 9 describes a deaf and mute spirit. Those texts do not authorize the claim that deafness, speech disability, nonspeaking communication, or language difference is generally demonic. Matthew and Luke also list deaf people hearing among Jesus' messianic works without assigning individual blame.
Pastoral care should respect Deaf culture, signed languages, interpreters, captioning, communication devices, patient pacing, and a person's chosen way to communicate. Some Deaf people do not describe themselves as needing cure, while others seek medical care, prayer, or changed hearing; the church must not impose one story. The goal is not to make every person communicate like the majority but to ensure that worship, teaching, confession, leadership, and relationship are accessible. G2974 invites wonder at Jesus' compassionate authority while forbidding superstition, mockery, coercive prayer, and the assumption that spoken language is the only full human voice.
G2974 covers inability to speak, deafness, combined hearing and speech difficulty, messianic hearing, and a spirit described within particular exorcism accounts, with each sense requiring narrative control.
When he came out and was unable to speak to them, they realized he had seen a vision in the temple. He kept making signs to them but remained unable to speak.
Zechariah's temporary inability to speak is tied to the angelic sign in this narrative. His use of signs shows communication continuing even when speech is unavailable.
So He replied, “Go back and report to John what you have seen and heard: The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.
Jesus places hearing among messianic works reported to John. The list announces kingdom restoration and good news without making disability evidence of individual guilt.
One day Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. And when the demon was gone, the man who had been mute spoke. The crowds were amazed,
This event links inability to speak with demonic oppression in one narrated case. It cannot establish a general spiritual diagnosis for people who are nonspeaking or communicate differently.
Some people brought to Him a man who was deaf and hardly able to speak, and they begged Jesus to place His hand on him.
The man has both hearing and speech-related needs, and companions seek Jesus' help. The text does not reduce him to one label or explain his condition through wrongdoing.
The people were utterly astonished and said, “He has done all things well! He makes even the deaf hear and the mute speak!”
The crowd responds to Jesus' work with astonishment. Teaching should honor the narrative's praise while avoiding the idea that Deaf or nonspeaking lives are unfinished until they resemble the majority.
When Jesus saw that a crowd had come running, He rebuked the unclean spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” He said, “I command you to come out and never enter him again.”
The adjectives address the unclean spirit within an exorcism. The passage concerns this boy's oppression and must not be generalized into demonic explanations of deafness or speech disability.
As they were leaving, a demon-possessed man who was mute was brought to Jesus.
Matthew narrates a particular man brought under demonic oppression. The account reveals Jesus' authority, not a diagnostic rule for all people unable to speak.
Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed the man so that he could speak and see.
Multiple impairments and demonic oppression converge in this individual story. Matthew's controversy centers on the source of Jesus' power, so the verse must remain inside that dispute.
Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them.
Matthew gathers people with varied bodies and communication conditions without naming one cause. The crowd's action and Jesus' compassion do not erase each person's distinct story.
The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.
The response is worship of Israel's God for Jesus' restorative work. The verse should inspire accessible praise rather than make speech the sole measure of participation.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Describes physical sensory impairment—deafness or muteness—not moral or spiritual dullness, though used metaphorically for insensitivity.
Describes physical sensory impairment—deafness or muteness—not moral or spiritual dullness, though used metaphorically for insensitivity.
(κόπτω), [in LXX chiefly (Exo.4:11, al.) for אִלֵּם; for חָרָשׁ, Hab.2:18 ;] blunt, dull. Metaphorical, of the senses, esp.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
14 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
dumb, deaf
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Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 6 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 14 lexical occurrence verses.
κωφός is built from this root:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
G2974 requires contextual and pastoral precision because one Greek adjective spans deafness and inability to speak. Zechariah communicates by signs while speech is unavailable. Mark 7 presents a man with hearing and speech difficulty whom Jesus receives away from the crowd, and messianic summaries celebrate deaf people hearing. Other stories connect muteness with demonic oppression in named cases or address a deaf and mute spirit directly.
The canon does not turn those events into a universal diagnosis. Churches formed by these texts resist superstition and center access: skilled interpreters, captions, visual alarms, clear sight lines, communication devices, patient conversation, and leadership by Deaf or nonspeaking believers. Prayer may include healing when invited, but belonging and voice do not wait for a medical outcome or spoken response.
Mark.7.32
G2974 is an adjective used in masculine and neuter, singular and plural forms. In context it can describe a person who is deaf, unable to speak, or both, and once modifies a spirit. Two governed verses contain the term twice, producing 14 tokens across 12 verses. Translation must follow the immediate condition and syntax rather than forcing deaf or mute into every occurrence.
The prophets use opened ears and released tongues as images of God's restoration, and Scripture repeatedly commands that people with sensory disabilities not be mocked or exploited. Jesus embodies messianic restoration in particular encounters. The church's Spirit-enabled multilingual witness and call to mutual edification support communication access now without reducing every prophetic image to a medical prediction for each person.