G2866 G2866
better, in a comparative sense of improvement
When the nobleman asks at what hour his son began to recover (John 4:52), the servants report 'yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.' The adverb in their response literally means 'he got better' or 'he improved.' The classical root relates to elegance and refinement. Here it functions as a simple comparative: the son's condition improved, the fever broke. The dramatic irony is that this improvement coincided exactly with Jesus' word of healing.
Senses
1. sense 1 — John's careful chronological precision links Jesus' authoritative word ('your son lives') with the observable medical improvement. The servants use this adverb to describe the turning point when the crisis passed. While classical Greek connects this word to elegance and style, the New Testament usage is straightforward medical improvement. All language witnesses render it comparatively: better, improved, recovering. 1×
AR["أَفْضَلَ"]·ben["ভালো"]·DE["besser"]·EN["better"]·FR["mieux"]·heb["הֵיטִיב"]·HI["अच्छा-हो-गया"]·ID["lebih-baik"]·IT["kompsoteron"]·jav["langkung-saé"]·KO["더-나아졌다"]·PT["melhor"]·RU["лучше"]·ES["mejor"]·SW["bora-zaidi"]·TR["daha-iyi"]·urd["کہا"]
Related Senses
H2896a 1. good (quality or moral) (305×)H7563 1. wicked person (259×)H7451c 1. moral evil or wickedness (234×)H5771 1. iniquity, sin, wrongdoing (222×)H6662 1. righteous person (substantive) (195×)G0266 1. sin, failure, transgression (173×)H2403b 1. sin, transgression (170×)H2617a 1. Covenant faithfulness, steadfast love (167×)H2398 1. Qal: to sin, commit sin (165×)H6666 1. righteousness, moral uprightness (145×)G5485 1. grace, divine favor (141×)H7451a 1. morally evil, wicked (129×)H2403b 2. sin-offering, sacrifice for sin (120×)G2570 1. good, right, excellent (98×)H6588 1. transgression, offense against God (88×)G0018 1. good (moral quality) (85×)H2896b 1. good, what is good (85×)H7451b 1. evil, wickedness (moral) (83×)H7451a 2. evil, harm, calamity (80×)G1342 1. righteous, upright (of persons) (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
Related to: κομψ-ότης, ητος, ἡ, elegance, prettiness, daintiness, especially of language, Refs 5th c.BC+; κ. ἱστορική, φυσική, Refs 1st c.AD+