Greek · G3148

μάστιξ

A scourge may be the whip used to inflict blows, while the Greek word also appears for an affliction from which Jesus brings healing. Mark reports that the woman's bleeding stops and that she knows in her body she is healed of her affliction.

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μάστιξG3148
Pronunciationmástix

What does μάστιξ (mástix) mean in the Bible?

Reader summary

Full entry for μάστιξ (G3148) · Open the biblical lexicon

Questions this entry answers

What does μάστιξ (mástix) mean in the Bible?

A scourge may be the whip used to inflict blows, while the Greek word also appears for an affliction from which Jesus brings healing. Mark reports that the woman's bleeding stops and that she knows in her body she is healed of her affliction.

How does the BSB render G3148?

The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include affliction (2), afflictions (1), be flogged (1), diseases (1), flogging (1).

Where does μάστιξ (mástix) appear in Scripture?

The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 3:10. Its strongest book concentrations include Mark (3), Acts (1), Hebrews (1), Luke (1).

What This Word Actually Means

A scourge may be the whip used to inflict blows, while the Greek word also appears for an affliction from which Jesus brings healing. Mark reports that the woman's bleeding stops and that she knows in her body she is healed of her affliction. Acts places flogging in the commander's proposed interrogation of Paul, an order interrupted when Paul's citizenship becomes known.

Hebrews names flogging among the hardships endured by people in its account of faith. The term therefore makes bodily suffering visible without assigning the same agent, cause or outcome to every scene. Jesus' healing, threatened interrogation and faithful endurance must remain distinguishable. A reader cannot diagnose another person's illness, determine the strength of that person's faith or endorse inflicted violence simply from a word that can name a whip or an affliction.

Sources