Bible Lexicons

(1) Τυγχάνω, properly ";hit"; as of hitting a mark, comes to be used in the sense ";hit upon,"; ";light upon,"; and thence ";obtain"; c. gen. rei, as in Acts 26:22; Acts 27:3 al. : cf. P Petr II. 13 (19).6 (mid. iii/B.C.) τυχεῖν σε πάντων τῶν καλῶν, P Lond 42.19 (B.C. 168) (= I. p. 30, UPZ i. p. 300) σοῦ παραγενομένου τεύξεσθαί τινος ἀναψυχῆς, P Ryl II. 65.12 (B.C. 67?) τυχεῖν δ᾽ αὐτοὺς ὧν προσήκει, ";that they should receive also the proper penalty"; (Edd.), ib. 129.16 (A.D. 30) τοὺς τὸ τοιοῦτο διαπράξαντας τυχεῖν ὧν προσῆκόν ἐστιν, ";that the authors of the crime receive due punishment"; (Edd.), and P Giss I. 4.15 (A.D. 118) (= Chrest. I. p. 414) μόλ ̣[ις τ ]υχόντες ταύτης τῆς εὐεργεσίας.

(2) For the verb equivalent to little more than εἰμί, cf. P Oxy VII. 1070.18 (iii/A.D.) σὺ αὐτὴ μήτ ̣η ̣[ρ ] τυγχάνουσα τοῦ τέκνου ἡμῶν, ";you yourself as the mother of our child"; (Ed.), and ib. X. 1265.20 (A.D. 336) κ ̣[ἀ ]κείν <ο > υ τυγχά (ν)̔̓οντος ἱερέως τῶν αὐτῶν ἱερέων, ";who was himself one of the said priests"; (Edd.).

(3) The verb is common in the papyri c. partic., though such a phrase as ";I happen to be"; is avoided by NT writers (see Proleg. p. 228) : PSI V. 502.15 (B.C. 257–6) Ζωίλος μὲν οὖν ἐτύγχανεν συμπεριοδεύων Τελέστηι, P Lond 42.28 (B.C. 168) (= I. p. 31, UPZ i. p. 300) ἡ μήτηρ σου τυγχάνει βαρέως ἔχουσα, and P Strass I. 5.10 (A.D. 262) ἐκ παλαιοῦ χρόνου τὴν γεωργίαν ἐνπιστευθεὶς ἐτύνχανεν.

(4) For τυγχάνω c. inf. cf. P Petr III. 53 (n).8 (iii/B.C.) ἀ ̣[λ ]λ᾽ οὐ τυχὼν ἐπιδείξειν, [π ]ρὸς βίαν ἔχετ ̣α ̣ι ̣ ";but since he did not succeed in clearing himself, he is forcibly detained,"; PSI I. 39.4(A.D. 148) τυγχάνω ἠγορακέναι ἵπ <π >ον θήλειαν παρὰ Διοσκόρου, P Grenf II. 57.8 (A.D. 168) τυγχάνεις ἔχειν ἐν μισθώσι τὴν ἐπικει [μέν ]ην σποράν, and P Fay 136.10 (Christian—iv/A.D.) ἄμινον ῢ ̣̣μᾶς ἐν τοῖς ἰδίοις ο ̣ἷ ̣ς ἐὰν τύχοι εἶναι ἢ ἐπὶ ξένης, ";it is better for you to be in your homes whatever they may be, than abroad"; (Edd.).

(5) The part. τυχών = ";common,"; ";ordinary,"; as in Acts 19:11; Acts 28:2, 3 Maccabees 3:7, may be illustrated by P Hib I. 44.7 (B.C. 253) οὐ γὰρ ὡς ἔτυχεν περὶ τούτων τὴν σπουδὴν ποιεῖται ὁ διοικητής, ";for the dicecetes is showing no ordinary anxiety with regard to this"; (Edd.), P Tebt II. 283.13 (B.C. 93 or 60 πληγὰς πλήους εἰς τὸ íεξ ýτυχὸν μέρος τοῦ σώματος, ";numerous blows upon various parts of the body"; (Edd.), P Ryl II. 136.12 (A.D. 34) ὕβριν μοι συνεστησάτωι (= ήσατο) οὐ τὴν τυχοῦσαν, ";he subjected me to no common outrage"; (Edd.), BGU I. 36.9 (ii/iii A.D.) ὕβριν οὐ τὴν τυχοῦσαν συνετελέσαντο, P Oxy VI. 899.14 (A.D. 200) εἰς ἔνδειά ]ν ̣ με οὐ τὴν τυχοῦσαν περιστῆναι, ";I am hence reduced to extreme poverty"; (Edd.), and ib. VIII. 1121.5 (A.D. 295) οὐκ ὀλίγο ̣ς κίνδυνος οὐδὲ ἡ τυχοῦσα ἐπιστρέφεια, ";no small danger and no ordinary severity"; (Ed.), Cf. τυχόντως in P Fay 12.15 (c. B.C. 103) ο [ὐ ] τυχόντως πλεῖστα κακολογηθείς, ";being abused in the most unmeasured terms.";

(6) The impersonal ace. abs. τυχόν (cf. 1 Corinthians 16:6) occurs in the iv/B.C. letter, written on a leaden tablet, which Deissmann (LAE2, p. 151) reproduces, where, in asking for certain articles of clothing, the writer adds—τυχὸν ἀποδώσω, ";upon occasion I will return them."; For the pleonastic τυχὁν ἴσως see Menander Ἐπιτρέπ. 287. MGr retains this use in τυχόν (ε), ";perhaps.";

(7) For the strong perf. τέτ (ε)υχα Hebrews 8:6 אc BDc E, cf. PSI VII. 816.10 (ii/B.C.) ἔσομαι τετευχὼς τῆς παρ᾽ ὑμῶν ἀ ̣[ντιλήμψεως ?, similarly P Tebt II. 283.21 (B.C. 93 or 60), and from the inscrr. Priene 119.9 τέ ]τευχεν (i/B.C.) and 108.287 τετευχέναι. (B.C. 129) (cited by Rouffiac Recherches p. 27). See also Deissmann BS p. 190, and Proleg. pp. 56, 154.

(8) It is significant that the word τύχη is not found in the NT. For the goddess Τύχη, as characteristic of the Hellenistic Age, see Rohde Graec. Roman., p. 276 ff., and for τύχη, ";the good which a man obtains by the favour of the gods,"; see BGU IV. 1141.10 (B.C. 13) ἐρωτῶ σε οὖν καὶ παρακαλῶι καὶ τὴν Καίσαρος τύ [χη ]ν σε ἐξορκίζω, and similarly P Fay 24.8 (A.D. 158).