ἀποπνίγω G0638
to choke, suffocate, or drown
A vivid verb describing suffocation or drowning. Both New Testament occurrences appear in Luke's account of the parable of the sower, where thorns choke the growing seed (Luke 8:7) and demons drive a herd of pigs to drown in a lake (8:33). Classical Greek employed it for throttling, choking on food, or drowning. The prefix intensifies the basic meaning of strangling to complete suffocation or death by choking.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Appears only in Luke 8 in two distinct but related contexts: plants being choked by thorns (v.7) and pigs drowning in water (v.33). Both involve death by restriction of air. The agricultural metaphor relies on listeners' familiarity with thorns literally strangling crops. The multilingual glosses distinguish between choking (thorns) and drowning (pigs), showing translators recognized the different physical mechanisms while preserving the core semantic of life cut off through constriction. 2×
AR["اِختَنَقَ", "خَنَقَتهُ"]·ben["ডুবে-মরল", "শ্বাসরুদ্ধ-করল"]·DE["ἀπέπνιξαν", "ἀπεπνίγη"]·EN["choked", "drowned"]·FR["étouffer"]·heb["חָנְקוּ", "נֶחְנַק"]·HI["डूब-मरा", "दबा-दिया"]·ID["mati-lemas", "menghimpitnya"]·IT["soffocare"]·jav["kelelep", "nyekek"]·KO["막았다", "익사했다"]·PT["a-sufocaram", "afogou-se"]·RU["заглушили", "утонуло"]·ES["la-ahogaron", "se-ahogó"]·SW["iliisonga", "likazama"]·TR["boğdular", "boğuldu."]·urd["دبا-دیا", "ڈوب-مرا"]
Related Senses
H4421 1. war, battle, armed conflict (319×)H0341 1. enemy, adversary, foe (284×)H3898a 1. Nifal: to fight, wage war (167×)H2026 1. kill, slay (active) (146×)H2451 1. wisdom, discernment (146×)H5483b 1. horse (the animal) (138×)H0006 1. to perish, be destroyed (105×)H7843 1. Hifil: destroy, annihilate (83×)H2491a 1. slain, fatally pierced (74×)H6862c 1. adversary, enemy, foe (69×)H8045 1. destroy, exterminate (69×)G0615 1. kill, put to death (60×)H6571b 1. horseman, cavalryman (52×)H8077a 1. desolation, waste (abstract state) (52×)G4678 1. of wisdom (51×)G4717 1. crucify, fasten to a cross (46×)H2763a 1. utterly destroy (Hifil active) (44×)G0622 1. perish, be destroyed (intransitive) (41×)H0006 2. to destroy, annihilate (Piel) (38×)H8074 1. be desolate, lie waste (36×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἀποπνίγω [ῑ], future -πνίξωRefs 5th c.BC+: aorist infinitive ἀποπνεῖξαιRefs 1st c.BC+:—choke, throttle, Refs 5th c.BC+; suffocate, Refs; of plants, choke, NT:—passive, future -πνῐγήσομαιRefs 5th c.BC+ also -πεπνίξομαι Refs 5th c.BC+: aorist I ἀπεπνίχθηνRefs 2nd c.AD+aorist 2 ἀπεπνίγην [ῐ] (see. below): perfect participle -πεπνιγμένοςRefs 5th c.BC+:—to bechoked, suffocated, τρώγων ἐρεβίνθους…