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Bible Lexicons
Old & New Testament Greek Lexical Dictionary Greek Lexicon
Strong's #4083 - πῆχυς
- Thayer
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- Mounce
- a cubit
- a measure of length equal to distance from the joint of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger (i.e. about 18 inches, (.5 m) but its precise length varied and is disputed)
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πῆχυς
( Aeol. πᾶχυς Alc. 33 ), ὁ, gen. πήχεος Hp. Fract. 2, al., Hdt. 1.178, Pl. Alc. 1.126d, Arist. Mir. 813a10, LXX Exodus 25:9, al., Plb. 10.44.2, Ph. Bel. 73.42, πήχεως Arist. HA 606a14 ( v.l. - εος ), PCair.Zen. 484.10 (iii B.C.), πήχως (condemned by Phryn. 222) corrected to πήχεος PCair.Zen. 665.1 (iii B. C.): gen. pl. πήχεων IG 12.314.39, 22.1673.15, PCair.Zen. 353.10 (iii B. C.); later contr. πηχῶν X. An. 4.7.16 codd., Arist. Pol. 1302b37, PCair.Zen. 54.4 (iii B. C.), PStrassb. 85.20 (ii B. C.), Phld. Sign. 2, Phryn. 222, Moer.p.327 P.: — forearm, from wrist to elbow, Hp. Fract. 2, 3, al., Poll. 2.140; opp. βραχίων, Pl. Ti. 75a, X. Eq. 12.5: in Poets, generally, arm, ἀμφὶ δ' ἑὸν φίλον υίὸν ἐχεύατο πήχεε λευκώ Il. 5.314, cf. Od. 17.38, 23.240; λευκὸν ἀντείνασα π . B. Fr. 13.4, cf. E. Or. 1466 (lyr.); λαιὸν ἔπαιρε π . Id. Heracl. 728 .
2. Anat., ulna, Ruf. Onom. 80, Gal. UP 2.2, Sor. Fract. 20 .
II centrepiece, which joined the two horns of the bow, τόν ῥ' [ὀϊστὸν] ἐπὶ πήχει ἑλὼν ἕλκεν νευρήν Od. 21.419; ὁ δὲ τόξου πῆχυν ἄνελκε Il. 11.375, 13.583 .
III in pl., horns of the lyre, opp. ζυγόν (the bridge), Hdt. 4.192; πήχεις ἐναρμόσας καὶ ζυγώσας Luc. DDeor. 7.4 .
2. also, = ζυγόν, crosspiece or bridge in which the horns were fitted, Artemo Hist. 12 . in the balance, beam, IG 22.1013.32, Theol.Ar. 29.
as a measure of length, distance from the point of the elbow to that of the middle finger, = 6 παλασταί = 24 δάκτυλοι, Poll. 2.158; π. μέτριος Hdt. 1.178; π. ἰδιωτικός, κοινός, Sch. Luc. Cat. 16; but π. βασιλήϊος, = 27 δάκτυλοι, Hdt. 1.178, 7.117; ὁ Αἰγύπτιος π. τυγχάνει ἴσος ἐὼν τῷ Σαμίῳ Id. 2.168, cf. Luc. l. c.; for later measurements, Hero Deff. 131, Geom. 4.2,al.
2. cubit-rule, as we say 'foot-rule', Ar. Ra. 799, Gal. 1.47; π. ἀκαμπής AP 6.204 ( Leon. ); as epith. of Nemesis, APl. 4.223, 224.
3. metaph. of any small amount (cf. πήχυιος ), Ev.Matthew 6:27; κατὰ πῆχυν little by little, Marin. Procl. 26. πήχεις, οἱ, the cubits (of inundation), represented in pictures as children one cubit high playing round the Nile, Luc. Rh.Proverbs 6:1-35, Philostr. Im. 1.5 . (Cf. Skt. bâhú -, Avest. bâzu - (masc.) 'arm', ONorse bógr 'shoulder'.)
πῆχυς, genitive πηχεως (not found in the N. T.), genitive plural πηχῶν contracted from Ionic πήχεων (John 21:8; Revelation 21:17; 1 Kings 7:3 (15), 39 (2); Esther 7:9; Ezekiel 40:5) according to later usage, for the earlier and Attic πήχεων, which is common in the Sept. (cf. Lob. ad Phryn., p. 245f; (WHs Appendix, p. 157); Winer's Grammar, § 9, 2 e.), ὁ, the forearm i. e. that part of the arm between the hand and the elbow-joint (Homer, Odyssey 17, 38; Iliad 21, 166, etc.); hence, a cubit (ell, Latinulna), a measure of length equal to the distance from the joint of the elbow to the tip of the middle finger (i. e. about one foot and a half, but its precise length varied and is disputed; see B. D., under the phrase, Weights and Measures, II. 1): Matthew 6:27; Luke 12:25 (on these passages, cf. ἡλικία, 1 a.); John 21:8; Revelation 21:17. (The Sept. very often for אַמָּה.)
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πῆχυς , -εως
gen. pl., -ῶν (for Att.. -εων , v. WH, App., 157; Thackeray, Gr., 151; Deiss., BS, 153),
[in LXX chiefly and freq. for H520;]
1. the forearm (Hom.).
2. As a measure of length, a cubit: Matthew 6:27, Luke 12:25, John 21:8, Revelation 21:17.†
Copyright © 1922 by G. Abbott-Smith, D.D., D.C.L.. T & T Clarke, London.
";much,"; plur. ";many"; : P Petr I. 29.2 (iii/B.C.) χάρις τοῖς θεοῖς πολλὴ εἰ ὑγιαίνεις, ";much thanks to the gods if you are well,"; P Ryl II. 243.5 (ii/A.D.) τοῦτο οὐ μόνον ἡμεῖν γενάμενον ἀλλὰ καὶ πολλοῖς, ";this has happened not to us only but to many"; (Edd.), and ib. 238.4 (A.D. 262) διὰ πολλὰς χρείας, ";for various needs"; (Edd.). The word is very common in epistolary greetings (πολλὰ χαίρειν : exx. from B.C. 118 to iii/iv A.D. in Exler Epistolography p. 27 f.) and in rhetorical prefaces (Sirach proem.), and consequently, as Cadbury suggests (in Jackson and Lake Beginnings of Christianity Part I. Vol. ii. p. 492 f.), πολλοί must not be pressed to mean ";very many"; in such passages as Luke 1:1, Acts 24:3; Acts 24:10.
For the adverbial πολλά, which ";lies between πολύ and πολλάκις : it is ‘much’ with the idea of plurality and repetition introduced"; (Hort ad James 3:2), cf. P Heid 6.22 (iv/A.D.) (= Selections, p. 127) πολλὰ προσαγωρεύ (ω) πάντε (= α)ς τοὺς ἀδελφοὺς ἡμῶν ἐν κ (υρί)ῳ, and the curious P Lond 1916.27 (c. A.D. 330–340) ἐπιδὴ τὰ πολλὰ πλεῖστα ἀργύρια χρεωστῖ, ";since he owes much, very much money"; (Bell). Deissmann (LAE, p. 317) supplies an interesting parallel to Romans 16:6 from a Roman woman’s praise of her husband in a sepulchral inscr. CIG IV. 9552.5 τείς (= ὅστις) μοι πολλὰ ἐκοπίασεν, ";who laboured much for me."; And in P Leid C rectoi. 11 (B.C. 161) (= UPZ i. p. 353) ταῦτα πάντα τὰ πολλὰ ἐννήα εἰσί, Wilcken understands τὰ πολλά adverbially—";dies alles ist meistens neu.";
Πολλοῦ, as gen. of price (Matthew 26:9) meets us in P Ryl II. 244.10 (iii/A.D.) τὰ δὲ σωμάτια πολλοῦ ἐστιν ἐνθά [δ ]ε, ";slaves are very dear here."; A good ex. of πολλῷ μᾶλλον (Luke 18:39) is afforded by P Par 26.47 (B.C. 162) (= UPZ i. p. 248, Selections p. 18) where the Serapeum Twins petition ἵνα, πᾶν τὸ ἑξῆς ἔχουσαι, πολλῶι μᾶλλον τὰ νομιζόμενα τῶι Σαράπει καὶ τῆι Ἴσει ἐπιτελῶμεν, ";that, when we have everything in order, we may be much better able to perform the usual ritual to Serapis and to Isis.";
Ὥρας πολλῆς γενομένης in Mark 6:35 can be paralleled from Dion. Hal. ii. 54 ἐμάχοντο ἄχρι πολλῆς ὥρας, ";to a late hour"; (see Swete ad Mk l.c.) And the pendent nom. of time in Mark 8:2 meets us in P Oxy XIV. 1764.4 (iii/A.D.) ἐπεὶ πολ [λ ]αὶ ἡμέραι προσκαρτεροῦμεν Φιλέᾳ, where there is no need to correct with the editors into πολ [λ ]ὰς ἡμέρας. The instrumental dat. πολλοῖς χρόνοις to denote duration of time is common, e.g. P Oxy I. 112.8 (iii/iv A.D.) ἐρρῶσθ [αί σε ] εὔχομαι [πο ]λλοῖς [χρόνοις, ";I Pray for your continued health"; (Edd.).
In the account of a legal process at Alexandria in the 2nd half of iv/A.D., published in Archiv i. p. 298 ff., we find ii. 9 ὃς. . οὐ μετ᾽ οὐ πολὺ ἥξει, ";qui pourra se présenter dans peu de temps"; (Ed.) : cf. BGU II. 614.14 (A.D. 216) μετ᾽ οὐ πολύ, ";not long after."; For ἐκ πολλοῦ χρόνου see P Strass I. 42.16 (A.D. 310), and for ἐπὶ πολύ, see PSI IV. 299.4 (iii/A.D.), where Ghedini (Lettere p. 87) translates ";a tal punto.";
The LXX πολλοστός in the sense of ";great,"; ";powerful"; (2 Kings 23:20 [MT 2 Samuel 23:20], Proverbs 5:19), is discussed by Thackeray Gr. i. p. 185.
See also s.vv. πλείων, πλεῖστος.
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