νύμφ-η G3565
Bride; daughter-in-law — a young woman in relation to her marriage or her husband's family
The noun νύμφη carries two closely related but distinguishable meanings in the New Testament, both rooted in the marriage relationship. As 'bride,' it appears in some of the most vivid imagery in Scripture: the friend of the bridegroom rejoices at the bride's voice (John 3:29), and the holy city descends 'prepared as a bride adorned for her husband' (Rev 21:2). As 'daughter-in-law,' it appears in Jesus' warning that he came to set 'a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law' (Matt 10:35, Luke 12:53), a kinship term describing the woman's relation to her husband's mother rather than to the groom himself.
1. bride — A bride — a woman on or around the occasion of her wedding, or in the extended metaphorical sense, the church or the holy city as the bride of Christ. Five NT occurrences carry this meaning, including John 3:29 where the Baptist speaks of the bridegroom's joy at hearing the bride, and the three powerful Revelation passages: the new Jerusalem descending 'as a bride adorned' (Rev 21:2), the angel showing John 'the bride, the wife of the Lamb' (Rev 21:9), and the Spirit and the bride together saying 'Come!' (Rev 22:17). Multilingual glosses consistently use bridal vocabulary: Spanish 'novia,' French 'fiancee,' German 'Braut.' The metaphorical extension to the eschatological community is one of the Bible's defining images of intimacy between God and his people. 5×
AR["العَروسَ","العَروسُ","عَروسٍ","عَرُوسُ"]·ben["কনে","কন্যা","কন্যাকে","কন্যার"]·DE["Braut"]·EN["a-bride","bride","of-bride"]·FR["fiancée"]·heb["הַ-כַּלָּה","כַּלָּה"]·HI["आ","दुल्हन","दुल्हन,","दुल्हन-की"]·ID["mempelai-perempuan","pengantin","pengantin-perempuan,"]·IT["numphē","numphēn","numphēs","sposa"]·jav["panganten-putri","panganten-putri,","pangantèn-putri"]·KO["신부-를","신부가","신부를","신부의"]·PT["de-noiva","noiva","noiva,"]·RU["невеста","невесту","невесты"]·ES["de-novia","novia","novia,"]·SW["bibi-arusi","bibi-arusi,"]·TR["gelin","geline","gelini","gelinin"]·urd["دلہن","دولہن-کی"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. daughter in law — A daughter-in-law — a woman defined by her relationship to her husband's parents rather than to the groom himself. All three occurrences appear in Jesus' saying about household division: Matt 10:35 and Luke 12:53 (twice) warn that a 'daughter-in-law' will be set against her 'mother-in-law.' Spanish captures this precisely with 'nuera' (daughter-in-law), a completely different word from 'novia' (bride), confirming the distinct kinship sense. This usage is attested in classical Greek and the LXX, where νύμφη regularly translates the Hebrew כַּלָּה in its daughter-in-law meaning (e.g., Ruth 1:6-8). 3×
AR["كَنَّةً","كَنَّةٌ","كَنَّتِهَا"]·ben["পুত্রবধূকে","বধূ","বধূর"]·DE["νύμφη","νύμφην"]·EN["a-bride","daughter-in-law"]·FR["fiancée"]·heb["כַּלָּה"]·HI["बहू","बहू-को"]·ID["menantu-perempuan"]·IT["sposa"]·jav["mantu-èstri"]·KO["며느리가","며느리를","며느리에"]·PT["nora"]·RU["невестка","невестки","невестку"]·ES["nuera"]·SW["mkwe"]·TR["gelin","gelini","gelinine"]·urd["بہو","بہو-کو"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
νύμφ-η, ἡ (Epic dialect vocative νύμφᾰ Refs 8th c.BC+ (Aeolic dialect accusative to Refs 4th c.AD+; later also as nominative, Refs; but Doric dialect νύμφᾱ), young wife, bride, Refs 8th c.BC+; opposed to νυμφίος, Refs 5th c.BC+; opposed to παρθένος, Refs 8th c.BC+ __2 marriageable maiden, Refs 8th c.BC+ __3 daughter-in-law, LXX+NT __4 young girl, πενταέτης ν. Refs __II “Nymph” or goddess of lower…