Lightning; by analogy, glare
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G796, astrapḗ, is a Greek noun for lightning and, by comparison, lightning-like brightness. The New Testament uses it for Satan's fall, the visible extent of the Son of Man's day, an angel's appearance, a lamp's radiance, and the lightning that belongs to Revelation's throne and judgment scenes.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀστραπή (G796) · Open the biblical lexicon
G796, astrapḗ, is a Greek noun for lightning and, by comparison, lightning-like brightness. The New Testament uses it for Satan's fall, the visible extent of the Son of Man's day, an angel's appearance, a lamp's radiance, and the lightning that belongs to Revelation's throne and judgment scenes.
The BSB source-word alignment has 9 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include flashes of lightning (4), lightning (4), were shining (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 24:27. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (4), Luke (3), Matthew (2).
G796, astrapḗ, is a Greek noun for lightning and, by comparison, lightning-like brightness. The New Testament uses it for Satan's fall, the visible extent of the Son of Man's day, an angel's appearance, a lamp's radiance, and the lightning that belongs to Revelation's throne and judgment scenes. The word contributes speed, visibility, brilliance, or startling force according to context.
It does not make every occurrence the same event or every flash in nature a prophetic sign. In Luke 10, Jesus says He saw Satan fall like lightning after the seventy-two report that demons submit in His name. The comparison conveys decisive or sudden downfall, but the immediate pastoral center continues beyond spectacle: Jesus redirects their joy from power over spirits to their names being written in heaven.
The verse should not become a timetable for Satan's history, a guarantee of personal invulnerability, or a technique for sensational spiritual warfare. Luke 17 compares the Son of Man in His day to lightning that lights the sky from one end to the other. Jesus gives this image while warning disciples not to chase reports that He is secretly here or there. The point resists hidden-return claims and manipulative location announcements.
The same discourse also speaks of suffering, ordinary life, judgment, and readiness, so lightning alone does not establish a date or detailed sequence. Matthew 28 describes the angel at the tomb as having an appearance like lightning. The simile belongs to the messenger, not directly to Jesus' resurrection body. The angel announces that Jesus has risen and directs the women to see and tell.
Brilliance supports the scene's awe, but the Gospel grounds witness in the empty tomb, Jesus' word, and encounter rather than an aura that others can imitate. Luke 11 uses the noun for lamp-like shining within Jesus' teaching about the eye, light, and darkness. This is moral and perceptual imagery, not a claim that faithful bodies emit a measurable spiritual glow.
Teachers should call hearers to receive light wholly without turning the metaphor into aura-reading, health diagnosis, or public performance. Revelation joins flashes of lightning with thunder, rumblings, earthquakes, throne, altar, temple, covenant, and judgment. Repeated imagery creates a theophanic and apocalyptic soundscape, but the surrounding scene still governs each use.
Modern lightning cannot be mapped directly to a seal, trumpet, bowl, or individual sinner. G796 therefore directs attention toward public and decisive divine action while disciplining curiosity. The Son of Man's day will not depend on secret insider directions. Christ's victory humbles evil, the resurrection announcement calls witnesses to faithful speech, and Revelation's flashes magnify God's throne rather than supplying a code for the weather.
G796 names lightning and lightning-like brightness. Its witnesses use the image for Satan's fall, the unmistakable day of the Son of Man, an angelic appearance, lamp-like radiance, and the throne and judgment imagery of Revelation.
So He told them, “I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.
Jesus compares Satan's fall to lightning after the disciples report spiritual authority, then redirects their joy toward belonging to God.
So if your whole body is full of light, with no part of it in darkness, you will be radiant, as though a lamp were shining on you.”
A lamp's shining brightness illustrates a person filled wholly with light rather than divided by darkness.
For just as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one end to the other, so will be the Son of Man in His day.
Lightning visible across the sky illustrates the Son of Man's unmistakable day and counters secret location claims.
His appearance was like lightning, and his clothes were white as snow.
The angel at the empty tomb has an appearance like lightning and announces that Jesus has risen.
From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings, and peals of thunder. Before the throne burned seven torches of fire. These are the seven spirits of God.
Flashes of lightning join rumblings and thunder proceeding from the throne in the heavenly worship vision.
Then the angel took the censer, filled it with fire from the altar, and hurled it to the earth; and there were peals of thunder, rumblings, flashes of lightning, and an earthquake.
Lightning accompanies thunder, rumblings, and earthquake after altar fire follows the prayers of the saints.
Then the temple of God in heaven was opened, and the ark of His covenant appeared in His temple. And there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and a great hailstorm.
Lightning appears when the heavenly temple opens and the ark of God's covenant is seen amid judgment and reward.
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. Lightning's sudden, visible brilliance; used metaphorically for divine radiance or revelation's startling manifestation.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
9 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
a flash of lightning, brightness, luster
Read versea flash of lightning, brightness, luster
Read versea flash of lightning, brightness, luster
Read versea flash of lightning, brightness, luster
Read versea flash of lightning, brightness, luster
Read versea flash of lightning, brightness, luster
Read versea flash of lightning, brightness, luster
Read versea flash of lightning, brightness, luster
Read versea flash of lightning, brightness, luster
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 4 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 2 selected witnesses from 9 lexical occurrence verses.
ἀστραπή 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.
Luke 17 gives G796 a public and pastoral center. Jesus warns disciples not to chase announcements that the Son of Man is secretly here or there, because His day will be like lightning illuminating the sky from end to end. The image undermines insider location claims and fear-based manipulation. It does not provide a date. The passage immediately includes the Son of Man's suffering and then calls readers to sober readiness within ordinary life.
Luke 10 adds a complementary restraint. Jesus compares Satan's fall to lightning, but He tells the returning disciples not to make spiritual power the center of their joy. They should rejoice that their names are written in heaven. Matthew 28 and Revelation use brilliance in resurrection and throne scenes, while Luke 11 uses lamp-like radiance for undivided light.
Together these texts make G796 vivid but not magical. Lightning serves the message; it does not authenticate modern personalities, private visions, or weather codes. Faithful teaching points to Christ's victory, unmistakable coming, resurrection, moral light, and sovereign throne while refusing speculation beyond the passages.
Luke.17.24
G796 is a feminine noun occurring in singular and plural cases. It can name lightning or provide brightness within a comparison. Phrases using like or as mark simile, and Revelation's plurals describe repeated flashes in visionary scenes.
Israel's Scriptures place lightning in storm, Sinai, poetic kingship, and divine-warrior imagery, providing canonical texture for New Testament comparisons and Revelation. Those patterns do not make every natural flash a direct divine message or collapse distinct Hebrew and Greek terms into one lexical entry.