What does ἀνάπαυσις (anápausis) mean in the Bible?
Anapausis names rest, a cessation or relief whose character depends on who seeks or receives it. Jesus promises rest for the souls of those who take His yoke and learn from His gentle, humble heart.
Greek · G372
ἀνάπαυσις
Anapausis names rest, a cessation or relief whose character depends on who seeks or receives it. Jesus promises rest for the souls of those who take His yoke and learn from His gentle, humble heart.
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through theConnect page. Screenshots are helpful.
ἀνάπαυσιςG372
Pronunciationanápausis
What does ἀνάπαυσις (anápausis) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀνάπαυσις (G372) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G372?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include rest (4), stop (1).
Where does ἀνάπαυσις (anápausis) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 11:29. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (2), Revelation (2), Luke (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Anapausis names rest, a cessation or relief whose character depends on who seeks or receives it. Jesus promises rest for the souls of those who take His yoke and learn from His gentle, humble heart. Elsewhere, an unclean spirit seeks rest and fails to find it, showing that the noun alone does not mean salvation. Revelation uses the absence of rest in two very different settings: the living creatures never stop praising God, while those who worship the beast face judgment without rest.
Readers should keep these subjects and actions distinct. The invitation in Matthew offers relationship with Jesus and learning under His care; it does not make every tired body evidence of unbelief or turn the creatures' unceasing worship into a requirement that humans abandon ordinary rest.
How the Bible Uses It
Five direct BSB noun witnesses describe Jesus' promised soul-rest, the unsuccessful search of an unclean spirit and two Revelation scenes without cessation. The BSB renders the worship scene as never stop, making its affirmative praise distinct from the judgment warning.
- Matt.11.29
Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Rest belongs to Jesus' invitation to learn from His gentle and humble heart while taking the yoke He offers.
- Matt.12.43
When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.
The unclean spirit's fruitless search occurs within Jesus' warning to His generation; the noun does not make that spirit a disciple.
- Luke.11.24
When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it. Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’
The parallel story follows Jesus' challenge about gathering with Him, so the search for rest cannot become an independent deliverance method.
- Rev.4.8
And each of the four living creatures had six wings and was covered with eyes all around and within. Day and night they never stop saying: “Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was and is and is to come!”
The creatures never stop praising God's holiness; this throne-room description is not an instruction to deprive human worshipers of sleep.
- Rev.14.11
And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”
The warning concerns worship of the beast and its image; the nearby call to perseverance must remain distinct from ordinary tiredness.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itrest4×Matthew 11:29, Matthew 12:43, Luke 11:24, Revelation 14:11
stop1×Revelation 4:8
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 11:29ἀνάπαυσινtorestNoun - Accusative Feminine SingularMatthew 12:43ἀνάπαυσινtorestNoun - Accusative Feminine SingularLuke 11:24ἀνάπαυσινtorestNoun - Accusative Feminine SingularRevelation 4:8ἀνάπαυσινtostopNoun - Accusative Feminine SingularRevelation 14:11ἀνάπαυσινtorestNoun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 11:29
Aligned rows5
Books represented3
Matthew2Luke1Revelation2
Source forms
ἀνάπαυσιν5xanapausinMatthew 11:29, Matthew 12:43, Luke 11:24, Revelation 4:8
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular5xMatthew 11:29, Matthew 12:43, Luke 11:24, Revelation 4:8
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Respect a tired person's need for practical relief without evaluating faith by energy, sleep or emotional composure.
- Present Jesus' gentle invitation without using the yoke image to justify burdens imposed through exploitation or spiritual threats.
Avoid claiming...
- Anapausis does not establish that a person who struggles to sleep is under the judgment described in Revelation.
- The soul-rest promise supplies no guaranteed timetable for physical recovery or an exemption from every earthly responsibility.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Rest from labor's cessation, not merely relief from affliction; cessation of toil itself.
Strong'sG372
Lexical occurrences5 versesGreek text appearances5 timesWord forms1 form5 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkLuke 11:14-28Source Gloss
intermission; by implication, recreation
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Rest from labor's cessation, not merely relief from affliction; cessation of toil itself.
(ἀνάπαύω) [in LXX chiefly for נוּחַ and its derivatives, שַׁבָּת and its cognates (Ex, Le) ;] cessation, rest, refreshment: Mat.11:26 12:43, Luk.11:24, Rev.4:8 14:11.
Synonymsἄνεσις (lit, the relaxation of the strings of a lyre), prop. signifies the rest or ease which comes from the relaxation of unfavourable conditions, as, e.g. affliction: ἀνάπ., the rest which comes from the temporary cessation of labour (see Tr., Stn., § xl; Cremer, 827; MM, VGT, see word)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 11:29Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἀνάπαυσινanapausin
rest, cessation from labor, refreshment
Read verseMatthew 12:43Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἀνάπαυσιν,anapausin
rest, cessation from labor, refreshment
Read verseLuke 11:24Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἀνάπαυσιν·anapausin
rest, cessation from labor, refreshment
Read verseRevelation 4:8Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἀνάπαυσινanapausin
rest, cessation from labor, refreshment
Read verseRevelation 14:11Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
ἀνάπαυσινanapausin
rest, cessation from labor, refreshment
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.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 1 case and number pattern. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns1Aligned forms5Case patternAccusative (5)Number patternSingular (5)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Accusative · Singular · FeminineMatt 11:29 · Matt 12:43 · Luke 11:24 · Rev 4:8 · Rev 14:115×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Cessation of evil activity, temporary intermission from demonic affliction
Refreshment and peace found through obedience to God's way
Relief and tranquility granted by a redeemer from oppressive conditions
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἀνάπαυσις is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Matthew 11 presents rest through the person who calls the weary to Himself. Jesus does not merely offer an abstract feeling; He invites people to take His yoke and learn from His gentle, humble heart. Learning and relief therefore belong together in this passage. Jeremiah's invitation to the good way supplies a supporting scriptural horizon, but Jesus' own invitation must govern the study.
The other noun occurrences show why word matching alone cannot build the theology: the spirit's unsuccessful search is a warning, the creatures' lack of cessation is praise, and Revelation 14's lack of rest is judgment. None of these scenes diagnoses a reader's sleeplessness or exhaustion. Faithful teaching offers Jesus' welcome without demanding an immediate emotional or physical response as proof that someone has accepted it.
Anchor passage
Matt.11.29
Doctrinal connections
- Jesus personally invites weary and burdened people to come to Him for the rest He gives.
- The promised rest accompanies learning from a Lord whose heart is gentle and humble.
- Jesus' warning about the returning spirit belongs with the call to gather with Him rather than remain empty.
- The living creatures' continual praise in Revelation 4 centers on God's holiness and eternal life.
- Revelation 14 contrasts worship of the beast with the persevering fidelity of the saints.
- Jeremiah 6 joins rest for souls with walking in the good way, while recording the people's refusal.
Anapausis is the noun for rest or cessation, distinct from the related verb used in Matthew 11:28 and Revelation 14:13. The five selected noun forms are accusative singular; their surrounding subjects and negations determine whether rest is promised, sought or absent.
From Old to New Testament
Jeremiah 6:16 calls the people to ask for the good way, walk in it and find rest for their souls, then records their refusal amid judgment warnings. That Hebrew context supports the connection between relief and faithful walking without making it another Greek occurrence or settling every relation between Sabbath and discipleship.