ἔχιδν-α G2191
Viper; a venomous snake, used literally and as a sharp metaphor for moral danger
A term for a venomous snake that carries heavy metaphorical weight in the New Testament. John the Baptist and Jesus both use the phrase 'brood of vipers' as a stinging rebuke—implying that their hearers are not merely dangerous but have inherited their poisonous nature. Spanish 'víbora' and French 'vipère' both descend from the same Latin root, while the English 'viper' captures the hissing menace of the original Greek. The one literal occurrence in Acts 28:3, where a viper fastens on Paul's hand, stands in vivid contrast to the figurative uses.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A venomous snake, used both literally and figuratively. In its figurative use, the phrase γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν ('brood of vipers') appears in Matt 3:7, 12:34, 23:33, and Luke 3:7, where John the Baptist and Jesus employ it as a term of severe moral reproach—suggesting inherited wickedness and deadly spiritual danger. The sole literal occurrence (Acts 28:3) describes the snake that bites Paul on Malta. Multilingual evidence—Spanish 'víbora,' French 'vipère'—consistently renders a single lexical sense, with context alone distinguishing the literal from the metaphorical. 5×
AR["أَفعى", "أَفَاعِي", "الأَفاعي", "الأَفَاعِي", "الْأَفَاعِي"]·ben["বিষধর-সাপদের", "বিষধর-সাপের", "বিষাক্ত-সাপের", "সাপ", "সাপদের,"]·DE["ἐχιδνῶν", "ἔχιδνα"]·EN["a-viper", "of-vipers"]·FR["vipère"]·heb["נְחָשִׁים", "עֶפְעֶה", "צִפְעוֹנִים"]·HI["सअपोन-कि", "साँप", "साँपों-के", "सांपों-के"]·ID["Keturunan", "ular-beludak", "ular-berbisa", "ular-ular,"]·IT["echidnon", "vipera"]·jav["ula", "ula,", "ula-bedhudhak,", "ula-bédhudhak", "ula-bédhudhak,"]·KO["독사가", "독사들-의", "독사들의"]·PT["de-víboras", "víbora"]·RU["ехидн", "ехидна", "змеиные", "змей"]·ES["de-víboras", "víbora"]·SW["jinsi-gani", "nyoka", "wa-nyoka", "wa-nyoka,"]·TR["-den", "engereklerin", "yılanların"]·urd["افعیوں-کی", "سانپ", "سانپوں-کی"]
Related Senses
H6629 1. flock, sheep/goats (small livestock) (274×)H1241 1. cattle, herd (bovine livestock) (183×)H0352a 1. ram (male sheep) (156×)H6499 1. young bull, bullock (130×)H3532 1. lamb, young male sheep (105×)H2543 1. donkey (male ass) (96×)H7794 1. ox, bull (79×)H7462b 1. shepherd (agent noun) (76×)H5795 1. she-goat(s), female goat(s) (68×)H7462b 2. to shepherd, tend, pasture (60×)H1581 1. camel (domestic animal) (54×)H0738b 1. lion (46×)G4263 1. sheep (39×)H5739 1. flock or herd of livestock (38×)H5695 1. calf, young bull (35×)H0738a 1. lion (large predatory feline) (34×)H0860 1. female donkey (34×)H3611 1. dog (animal) (32×)H3715a 1. young lion, lion cub (31×)G0721 1. Lamb (29×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἔχιδν-α, ἡ, (ἔχις) viper, Refs 5th c.BC+; probably of a constrictor snake, NT+5th c.BC+; ἱματισμένη ἔ., of woman, Refs 2nd c.AD+; γεννήματα ἐχιδνῶν brood of vipers, term of reproach, in NT __II proper name of a monster, Refs 8th c.BC+