ὄνᾰρ G3677
Dream; a vision received during sleep, especially as divine communication
The standard Greek word for a dream experienced during sleep, distinguished from waking visions. In the NT it appears exclusively in Matthew's infancy narrative, where dreams serve as God's chosen channel for guiding Joseph and the Magi through the dangerous circumstances surrounding Jesus' birth. An angel appears to Joseph 'in a dream' four times (Matt 1:20; 2:13, 19, 22), and the Magi are warned 'in a dream' not to return to Herod (Matt 2:12). The concentration in one narrative block underscores Matthew's theological portrait of divine providence directing events through nocturnal revelation.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A dream during sleep serving as a medium of divine revelation or warning. All six NT occurrences cluster in Matthew 1-2, where God communicates critical guidance through dreams: Joseph learns of Mary's conception by the Holy Spirit (Matt 1:20), the Magi are diverted from Herod (Matt 2:12), Joseph is told to flee to Egypt (Matt 2:13), then to return after Herod's death (Matt 2:19), and finally to settle in Galilee rather than Judea (Matt 2:22). The pattern echoes the Old Testament Joseph and Daniel tradition of dreams as prophetic vehicles. Spanish 'sueno,' French 'songe,' and German 'Traum' all render it consistently. 6×
AR["حُلْمٍ"]·ben["স্বপ্নে", "স্বপ্নে,", "স্বপ্নের"]·DE["Traum"]·EN["a-dream", "dream"]·FR["songe"]·heb["חֲלוֹם"]·HI["स्वप्न", "स्वप्न-में"]·ID["mimpi", "mimpi,"]·IT["sogno"]·jav["impèn,", "supéna", "supéna,"]·KO["꿈"]·PT["sonho"]·RU["сне"]·ES["sueño"]·SW["ndoto"]·TR["rüyada"]·urd["خواب", "خواب-میں"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ὄνᾰρ, τό, used only in nominative and accusative singular, the other cases being supplied by ὄνειρος (which see):— dream, vision in sleep, opposed to a waking vision, οὐκ ὄ., ἀλλ᾽ ὕπαρ ἐσθλόν Refs 8th c.BC+; ἄκουε δὴ ὄ. ἀντὶ ὀνείρατος dream for dream, Refs 5th c.BC+; ὥστε μηδὲ ὄ. ἰδεῖν, of profound sleep, Refs 'you are telling me what I know already', Refs __2 proverbial of anything fleeting or…