What does ὕπνος (hýpnos) mean in the Bible?
Hypnos is the noun for sleep. Joseph wakes and carries out the angel's command concerning Mary.
Greek · G5258
ὕπνος
Hypnos is the noun for sleep. Joseph wakes and carries out the angel's command concerning Mary.
Reading a lexicon entry
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ὕπνοςG5258
Pronunciationhýpnos
What does ὕπνος (hýpnos) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for ὕπνος (G5258) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G5258?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include . . . (2), [your] slumber (1), asleep (1), by sleep (1), sleep (1).
Where does ὕπνος (hýpnos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 1:24. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (2), John (1), Luke (1), Matthew (1).
Are there verse guides for ὕπνος (hýpnos)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
Hypnos is the noun for sleep. Joseph wakes and carries out the angel's command concerning Mary. Peter and his companions are overcome by sleep before seeing Jesus' glory. John distinguishes the disciples' assumption about ordinary sleep from Jesus' reference to Lazarus' death. Acts reports Eutychus sinking into deep sleep during Paul's extended address, falling from the window and subsequently being brought home alive.
Romans employs slumber as an image for the urgency of faithful conduct, joining awakening to love of neighbor and putting on the Lord Jesus Christ. These settings resist one moral verdict on every sleeping person. Bodily sleep, misunderstood figurative language, a dangerous fall and ethical exhortation have different functions. Neither fatigue nor illness can be diagnosed from this noun.
Its teaching value lies in recognizing when the text describes ordinary rest and when the surrounding argument calls for alertness.
How the Bible Uses It
Six direct BSB noun tokens in five verses describe Joseph, sleepy disciples, misunderstanding about Lazarus, Eutychus' dangerous fall and Paul's ethical awakening image.
- Matt.1.24
When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him and embraced Mary as his wife.
Joseph wakes and acts on the angel's command, receiving Mary rather than treating the sleep itself as disobedience.
- Luke.9.32
Meanwhile Peter and his companions were overcome by sleep, but when they awoke, they saw Jesus’ glory and the two men standing with Him.
The disciples overcome by sleep awaken to Jesus' glory; the narrative directs attention to Him rather than a diagnosis of fatigue.
- John.11.13
They thought that Jesus was talking about actual sleep, but He was speaking about the death of Lazarus.
The narrator explicitly distinguishes what the disciples thought about actual sleep from Jesus' reference to Lazarus' death.
- Acts.20.9
And a certain young man named Eutychus, seated in the window, was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell from the third story and was picked up dead.
Two sleep forms belong to one account of a young man's fall, followed by Paul's intervention and the community's comfort.
- Rom.13.11
And do this, understanding the occasion. The hour has come for you to wake up from your slumber, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.
Awakening from slumber follows neighbor-love instruction and leads to putting on Christ, rather than abolishing ordinary bodily rest.
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. . .2×Matthew 1:24, John 11:13
[your] slumber1×Romans 13:11
asleep1×Acts 20:9
by sleep1×Luke 9:32
sleep1×Acts 20:9
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 1:24ὕπνουto. . .Noun - Genitive Masculine SingularLuke 9:32ὕπνῳtoby sleepNoun - Dative Masculine SingularJohn 11:13ὕπνουto. . .Noun - Genitive Masculine SingularActs 20:9ὕπνῳtosleepNoun - Dative Masculine SingularActs 20:9ὕπνουtoasleepNoun - Genitive Masculine SingularRomans 13:11ὕπνουto[your] slumberNoun - Genitive Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 1:24
Aligned rows6
Books represented5
Matthew1Luke1John1Acts2Romans1
Source forms
ὕπνου4xhypnouMatthew 1:24, John 11:13, Acts 20:9, Romans 13:11
ὕπνῳ2xhypnōLuke 9:32, Acts 20:9
Parsing patterns
Noun - Genitive Masculine Singular4xMatthew 1:24, John 11:13, Acts 20:9, Romans 13:11
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular2xLuke 9:32, Acts 20:9
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Respect bodily limits and seek suitable care when fatigue causes concern.
- Plan safe gatherings and respond compassionately to people affected by accidents.
Avoid claiming...
- Sleep itself does not demonstrate deficient faith or a person's moral standing.
- The noun alone cannot establish a doctrine about the condition of the dead.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Natural sleep or metaphorical spiritual torpor; contrast with waking awareness or vigilance.
Source Gloss
sleep
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
upnou
sleep
Read verseLuke 9:32Noun Dative Singular Masculine
ὕπνῳ·upnw
sleep
Read verseJohn 11:13Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
ὕπνουupnou
sleep
Read verseActs 20:9Noun Dative Singular Masculine
ὕπνῳupnw
sleep
Read verseActs 20:9Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
ὕπνουupnou
sleep
Read verseRomans 13:11Noun Genitive Singular Masculine
ὕπνουupnou
sleep
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 2 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.
Form patterns2Aligned forms6Case patternGenitive (4)Number patternSingular (6)
Dative · Singular · MasculineLuke 9:32 · Acts 20:92×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Physical sleep overcome disciples during theophanic mountain experience
Excessive sleep depicted as cause of poverty and moral laziness
Deep sleep results from idleness, contrasts with diligence and sustenance
Love of sleep leads to poverty, warns against excessive slumber
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
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
Romans' awakening appeal begins with the obligation to love one's neighbor. The approach of salvation gives urgency to setting aside deeds of darkness and putting on Christ; it does not turn a sleep noun into a command to ignore bodily limits. The other witnesses help preserve that distinction. Joseph's awakening leads to protective obedience toward Mary, while Luke's sleeping disciples see Jesus' glory when they wake.
John explicitly corrects a misunderstanding: the disciples take Jesus' sleep language as ordinary rest, but He is speaking about death before raising Lazarus. Acts describes a young man's deep sleep and fall during a prolonged meeting, followed by Paul attending to him and the community receiving him alive with comfort. Teachers can encourage attentive discipleship while planning gatherings that respect fatigue and physical safety.
A call to wake morally should lead to responsible love, not shame for exhausted bodies or promises that every dangerous fall will end like Eutychus' story.
Anchor passage
Rom.13.11
Doctrinal connections
- Romans places ethical urgency after the continuing obligation to love neighbors.
- Putting on the Lord Jesus Christ directs awakened conduct toward Him.
- Joseph responds to the angel's command by receiving Mary as his wife.
- Luke's awakened disciples witness Jesus' glory and hear the Father's instruction.
- John's sleep clarification prepares the account of Jesus raising Lazarus.
- Acts ends the fallen young man's story with life and communal comfort.
The masculine noun appears in genitive and dative singular forms, including two occurrences in Acts 20:9. The surrounding narrator or argument determines whether bodily sleep or an ethical comparison is intended.
From Old to New Testament
Psalm 127:1-2 joins dependence on the Lord to work and sleep, resisting anxious labor treated as self-sufficient security. Its account of God's provision can accompany Romans' moral urgency without making bodily rest an enemy of faithful obedience or adding Hebrew words to this Greek count.