ἐπί-βλημα G1915
a patch, a piece of cloth sewn onto a garment for mending
From epi ('upon') and ballo ('to throw, put'), this noun literally means 'something thrown or placed upon.' In all four NT occurrences it refers to a patch of unshrunk cloth used to mend a torn garment. Jesus uses this everyday image in the Synoptic parables (Matt 9:16; Mark 2:21; Luke 5:36) to illustrate why his new-covenant teaching cannot simply be patched onto old religious frameworks — the fresh fabric would tear away, making the hole worse.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A patch of cloth applied to mend a garment, used exclusively in Jesus' parable about new cloth on old garments. The image is vivid and domestic: Spanish 'remiendo/parche' and French 'pièce' all denote a repair patch. Matthew 9:16, Mark 2:21, and Luke 5:36 each employ the noun in the same teaching context, where the incompatibility of a new, unshrunk patch with old, shrunken fabric illustrates the radical newness of Jesus' kingdom message that cannot be contained within prior religious forms. 4×
AR["رُقعَةً", "رُقعَةُ", "رُقْعَةً"]·ben["তালি"]·DE["ἐπίβλημα"]·EN["a-patch", "patch"]·FR["pièce"]·heb["טְלַאי", "טָלָאִי"]·HI["कोई-नहीं", "टुकड़ा", "पैवन्द"]·ID["itu", "kain-tambalan", "tambalan"]·IT["epiblema"]·jav["tambal", "tambalan"]·KO["조각을", "조각이", "헝겊-조각을", "헝겼"]·PT["remendo"]·RU["заплата", "заплату"]·ES["parche", "remiendo"]·SW["kiraka"]·TR["yama", "yamayı"]·urd["-سے", "پیوند"]
Related Senses
G0846 1. third-person pronoun reference (5552×)H???? 1. (4670×)H6213a 1. do, perform, act (2383×)G4160 1. do, act, perform (473×)H5221 1. Hifil: to strike in battle, smite enemies (362×)H0899b 1. garment, article of clothing (216×)H6213a 2. make, construct, fabricate (148×)H3772 1. cut a covenant / make a pact (97×)H5060 1. touch physically (Qal) (96×)H3615 1. complete a task (Piel) (85×)H3772 2. cut off / destroy (Hifil causative) (81×)H3920 1. capture, seize (Qal) (76×)H???? 12. (76×)H3772 3. be cut off / be eliminated (Niphal) (74×)H6213a 3. be done, be made (Niphal) (73×)G4160 2. make, construct, create (62×)H3847 1. Qal: put on, wear (60×)H8210 1. pour out (liquid/libation) (59×)G2440 1. garment or clothing (general) (54×)H4191 4. kill / put to death (Hifil causative) (50×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἐπί-βλημα, ατος, τό, that which is thrown over, covering, Refs 4th c.BC+; coverlet, bedspread, Refs 5th c.BC+; head-covering, Refs 2nd c.AD+ __2. tapestry, hangings, Refs 1st c.AD+ __II. that which is put on, piece of embroidery, Refs, 22.1514.31; mantle, LXX __II.2. patch, NT.Mat.9.16, etc. __II.3. outer bandage, Paul. Aeg.6.92.