μνῆμα G3418
A tomb, sepulchre, or burial monument; a place prepared for interring the dead, especially a rock-hewn chamber.
Mnema comes from the root of memory (mnaomai, to remember) — a tomb is, at its etymological heart, a memorial. In classical Greek, the word could refer to any monument or remembrance, but in the NT it narrows to burial places: the Gerasene demoniac living among the tombs (Mark 5:3, 5:5), the newly hewn tomb where Jesus is laid (Luke 23:53), and David's tomb still present in Jerusalem (Acts 2:29). Spanish 'sepulcro' and German 'Grab' both capture the funerary specificity that distinguishes mnema from the broader classical usage.
Senses
1. tomb / sepulchre (burial place) — A burial place or sepulchre, typically a rock-cut chamber or monument for the dead. In the Gospels, the word appears for both the tombs inhabited by the Gerasene demoniac (Mark 5:3, 5:5; Luke 8:27) and the tomb where Jesus was buried (Luke 23:53, 24:1). In Acts 2:29, Peter references David's tomb as still visible in Jerusalem. The etymological link to memory (from mnaomai) underlies the word's original sense as a 'memorial,' though the NT usage focuses exclusively on physical burial locations. 8×
AR["القُبورِ", "قَبرٍ", "قَبْرٍ", "قَبْرُهُ", "قَبْرِ", "قُبورِ"]·ben["μνήματι-কবরে", "কবর", "কবরগুলিতে", "কবরে"]·DE["Grab", "μνήμασιν", "μνήματι", "μνῆμα"]·EN["a-tomb", "tomb", "tombs"]·FR["tombeau"]·heb["קְבָרִים", "קֶבֶר"]·HI["और", "कब्र", "कब्रों", "कब्र।", "हमारे"]·ID["itu", "kubur", "kubur,", "kubur.", "kuburan"]·IT["mnēma", "tomba"]·jav["kuburan", "kuburan.", "pasarean", "pasareanipun,", "pasarèan", "pasaréan"]·KO["무덤", "무덤-에", "무덤들", "무덤들과", "무덤들에.", "무덤에"]·PT["e", "sepulcro", "sepulcros", "túmulo", "túmulos."]·RU["гроб.", "гробница", "гробницах", "гробнице"]·ES["sepulcro", "sepulcros", "tumba"]·SW["kaburi", "kaburi.", "makaburi", "makaburi.", "ndani"]·TR["mezara", "mezarlarda", "mezarlarda.", "vardır"]·urd["قبر", "قبروں"]
Related Senses
H3548 1. priest, cultic officiant (750×)G5547 1. Christ, Messiah, Anointed One (540×)H5030 1. Prophet, divine spokesperson (317×)H5930a 1. burnt offering (sacrifice) (286×)H3881 1. Levites (priestly class) (283×)G4396 1. prophet, spokesperson of God (146×)H6944 1. sanctuary, holy place (129×)G0749 1. high priest, chief priest (123×)H6944 2. holiness, sacredness (abstract quality) (123×)G5330 1. Pharisee (99×)G4336 1. pray to God (86×)H6944 3. holy things, sacred offerings (plural) (86×)H3722a 1. make ritual atonement (Piel) (85×)H6912 1. bury (Qal active) (82×)H6419 1. pray (Hitpael) (80×)H6944 4. holiness (with possessive pronoun) (77×)H6942 1. sanctify, consecrate (Piel factitive) (76×)H2930a 1. Qal: be/become unclean (75×)H7819a 1. slaughter an animal (Qal active) (72×)H1486 1. lot (object cast for decisions) (71×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
μνῆμα, Doric dialect and Aeolic dialect μνᾶμα, ατος, τό, (μνάομαι, μιμνήσκω) memorial, remembrance, record of a person or thing, with genitive, μνῆμ᾽ Ἑλένης χειρῶν Refs 8th c.BC+; Νικοκλέος μνᾶμα κελαδῆσαι Refs 4th c.BC+; λυγρᾶς μνήματα Τροίας, of the sufferings of the Greeks, Refs 5th c.BC+; μ... διὰ χειρὸς ἔχων, i. e. the dead body of his son, Refs __2 mound or building in honour of the dead,…