What does σφάζω (spházō) mean in the Bible?
σφάζω (spházō): Violent slaughter, especially of sacrificial victims; NT usage emphasizes martyrdom and eschatological violence.
Greek · G4969
σφάζω
To slaughter
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σφάζω G4969
Pronunciation spházō
What does σφάζω (spházō) mean in the Bible?
σφάζω (spházō): Violent slaughter, especially of sacrificial victims; NT usage emphasizes martyrdom and eschatological violence.
Full entry for σφάζω (G4969) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4969?
The BSB source-word alignment has 10 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include had been slain (2), was slain (2), did [Cain] slay (1), murdered (1), to have been mortally wounded (1).
Where does σφάζω (spházō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 John 3:12. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (8), 1 John (2).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It had been slain 2× Revelation 6:9, Revelation 18:24
was slain 2× Revelation 5:12, Revelation 13:8
did [Cain] slay 1× 1 John 3:12
murdered 1× 1 John 3:12
to have been mortally wounded 1× Revelation 13:3
to have been slain 1× Revelation 5:6
to make [men] slay 1× Revelation 6:4
You were slain 1× Revelation 5:9
Show sample aligned rows
1 John 3:12 ἔσφαξεν to murdered Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1 John 3:12 ἔσφαξεν to did [Cain] slay Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Revelation 5:6 ἐσφαγμένον to to have been slain Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Neuter Singular Revelation 5:9 ἐσφάγης to You were slain Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 2nd Person Singular Revelation 5:12 ἐσφαγμένον to was slain Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Neuter Singular Revelation 6:4 σφάξουσιν to to make [men] slay Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Revelation 6:9 ἐσφαγμένων to had been slain Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Masculine Plural Revelation 13:3 ἐσφαγμένην to to have been mortally wounded Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Feminine Singular Revelation 13:8 ἐσφαγμένου to was slain Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Neuter Singular Revelation 18:24 ἐσφαγμένων to had been slain Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row 1 John 3:12
Aligned rows 10
Books represented 2
1 John 2 Revelation 8
Source forms
ἐσφαγμένον 2x esphagmenon Revelation 5:6, Revelation 5:12
ἐσφαγμένων 2x esphagmenōn Revelation 6:9, Revelation 18:24
ἔσφαξεν 2x esphaxen 1 John 3:12
ἐσφάγης 1x esphagēs Revelation 5:9
ἐσφαγμένην 1x esphagmenēn Revelation 13:3
ἐσφαγμένου 1x esphagmenou Revelation 13:8
σφάξουσιν 1x sphaxousin Revelation 6:4
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2x 1 John 3:12
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Masculine Plural 2x Revelation 6:9, Revelation 18:24
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Neuter Singular 2x Revelation 5:6, Revelation 5:12
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 2nd Person Singular 1x Revelation 5:9
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Revelation 6:4
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Feminine Singular 1x Revelation 13:3
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Neuter Singular 1x Revelation 13:8
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Violent slaughter, especially of sacrificial victims; NT usage emphasizes martyrdom and eschatological violence.
Strong's G4969
Lexical occurrences 10 verses Greek text appearances 10 times Word forms 2 forms 10 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Jeremiah 51:38-40 Source Gloss
to slaughter
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Violent slaughter, especially of sacrificial victims; NT usage emphasizes martyrdom and eschatological violence.
to slay, slaughter (esp. of victims for sacrifice): ἀρνίον, Rev.5:6, 12 13:8; of persons, 1Jn.3:12, Rev.5:9 6:4, 9 18:24; ἐσφαγμένη εἰς θάνατον (RV, smitten unto death), Rev.13:3 (cf. κατα-σφάζω).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
10 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
1 John 3:12 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἔσφαξε esfaxen
I slay
Read verse 1 John 3:12 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἔσφαξεν esfaxen
I slay
Read verse Revelation 5:6 Verb Perfect Passive Participle Accusative Singular Neuter
ἐσφαγμένον, esfagmenon
I slay
Read verse Revelation 5:9 Verb Second Person Singular Second Aorist Passive Indicative
ἐσφάγης, esfaghv
I slay
Read verse Revelation 5:12 Verb Perfect Passive Participle Nominative Singular Neuter
ἐσφαγμένον esfagmenon
I slay
Read verse Revelation 6:4 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Subjunctive
σφάξωσι· sfaxwsin
I slay
Read verse Revelation 6:9 Verb Perfect Passive Participle Genitive Plural Masculine
ἐσφαγμένων esfagmenwn
I slay
Read verse Revelation 13:3 Verb Perfect Passive Participle Accusative Singular Feminine
ἐσφαγμένην esfagmenhn
I slay
Read verse Revelation 13:8 Verb Perfect Passive Participle Genitive Singular Neuter
ἐσφαγμένου esfagmenou
I slay
Read verse Revelation 18:24 Verb Perfect Passive Participle Genitive Plural Masculine
ἐσφαγμένων esfagmenwn
I slay
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 mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 2 Aligned forms 10 Tenses Aorist, Perfect, Future Voices Active, Passive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 4×
Aorist Active 1 John 3:12 2×
Aorist Passive Rev 5:9 1×
Future Active Rev 6:4 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 6×
Perfect Passive Rev 5:6 · Rev 5:12 · Rev 6:9 · Rev 18:24 · Rev 13:3 · Rev 13:8 6×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 10 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
perfect 6 aorist 3 future 1
Voice
passive 7 active 3
Mood
participle 6 indicative 4
NT Occurrences
1 John 3:12 ἔσφαξεν aorist active indicative completed 1 John 3:12 ἔσφαξεν aorist active indicative completed Revelation 5:12 ἐσφαγμένον perfect passive participle participle Revelation 5:6 ἐσφαγμένον perfect passive participle participle Revelation 5:9 ἐσφάγης aorist passive indicative completed Revelation 6:4 σφάξουσιν future active indicative prospective Revelation 6:9 ἐσφαγμένων perfect passive participle participle Revelation 13:3 ἐσφαγμένην perfect passive participle participle Revelation 13:8 ἐσφαγμένου perfect passive participle participle Revelation 18:24 ἐσφαγμένων perfect passive participle participle
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
to slaughter animals together, collective killing of livestock
Showing 1 selected witness from 10 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
σφάζω is a primary verb - no further derivation.
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.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain