Bible Lexicons

The evidence already adduced under βρέχω is in itself sufficient to throw suspicion on Thayer’s (p. 694) classing this amongst ";Biblical"; words, and as a matter of fact we can now cite many instances of βροχή from profane sources. Thus from Ptolemaic times comes P Petr III. 43 (2) recto ii. 13 (B.C. 245) πρὸς τὴν βροχὴν τῆ ̣ς ̣ τω ̣̑ν κλη ̣[ρουχι ]κ ̣ῶν ἱππέων γῆς , and almost contemporary with the NT passage (Matthew 7:25; Matthew 7:27) is P Oxy II. 280.5 (A.D. 88–9) a lease of land εἰς ἔτη τέσσαρα βροχὰς τέσσαρες . From this it would appear, as the editors point out, that if there was no βροχή , the year was not to count as one of the four years; and they compare the clause frequently found in leases, ἐὰν δέ τις τοῖς ἑξῆς ἔτεσι ἄβροχος γένηται , παραδεχθήσεται τῷ μεμισθωμένῳ (e.g. P. Oxy I. 101.25, A.D. 142). See also Archiv iv. p. 177, and for a notification of ἀβροχία BGU I. 139 (A.D. 202) (= Chrest. I. 225). For βροχή in another sense see P Tebt II. 401.27 (early i/A.D.), where in the accounts of a beer-seller there is an item βροχῆς (ἀρτάβαι ) β ̄, which seems to be part of the brewing process. In MGr βροχή is ";rain,"; βροχερός ";rainy.";