πλέκ-ω G4120
to plait, to weave, to braid; to intertwine strands into a woven or braided form
This verb means to plait, braid, or weave together. In all three Gospel accounts, Roman soldiers 'wove' or 'braided' a crown of thorns and placed it on Jesus' head during his mockery (Matt 27:29; Mark 15:17; John 19:2). The image is vivid: intertwining sharp thorns into a cruel parody of royal headgear. Though the verb can apply to any weaving or plaiting, its New Testament use is entirely focused on this single, haunting moment of the Passion.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Cross-linguistic evidence uniformly indicates weaving/braiding: English 'having-woven/weaving', Spanish 'habiendo-tejido/habiendo-trenzado', French 'tresser', German 'flechten/πλέξαντες'. The lexicon defines it as 'plait, twine' with examples of braiding hair (πλοκάμους) and twisting rope. All three NT occurrences (Matt 27:29, Mark 15:17, John 19:2) describe soldiers plaiting/weaving a crown of thorns for Jesus. The action is identical across Gospels: intertwining thorny branches into a mock crown as part of Jesus' torture and mockery. 3×
AR["ضَافِرِينَ", "ضَفَرُوا"]·ben["গেঁথে", "বেঁধে"]·DE["flechten", "πλέξαντες"]·EN["having-woven", "weaving"]·FR["tresser"]·heb["קוֹלְעִים", "שָׂרְג-וּ", "שָׂרְגוּ"]·HI["गूंथकर", "बुनकर"]·ID["menganyam"]·IT["plexantes"]·jav["nganyam", "sasampunipun-anyam", "sasampunipun-nganyam"]·KO["엮어서", "연어서", "열어서"]·PT["tendo-entrançado", "tendo-trançado"]·RU["сплетя"]·ES["habiendo-tejido", "habiendo-trenzado"]·SW["wakisuka"]·TR["örerek"]·urd["بن-کر", "بناکر", "بُن-کر"]
Related Senses
G0846 1. third-person pronoun reference (5552×)H???? 1. (4670×)H6213a 1. do, perform, act (2383×)G4160 1. do, act, perform (473×)H5221 1. Hifil: to strike in battle, smite enemies (362×)H0899b 1. garment, article of clothing (216×)H6213a 2. make, construct, fabricate (148×)H3772 1. cut a covenant / make a pact (97×)H5060 1. touch physically (Qal) (96×)H3615 1. complete a task (Piel) (85×)H3772 2. cut off / destroy (Hifil causative) (81×)H3920 1. capture, seize (Qal) (76×)H???? 12. (76×)H3772 3. be cut off / be eliminated (Niphal) (74×)H6213a 3. be done, be made (Niphal) (73×)G4160 2. make, construct, create (62×)H3847 1. Qal: put on, wear (60×)H8210 1. pour out (liquid/libation) (59×)G2440 1. garment or clothing (general) (54×)H4191 4. kill / put to death (Hifil causative) (50×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
πλέκ-ω, Refs 5th c.BC+: future πλέξω Refs 1st c.BC+: aorist ἔπλεξα Refs 8th c.BC+perfect πέπλοχα (Attic dialect accusative to Hdn.Gr.Refs 5th c.BC+:—middle, future πλέξομαι Refs 5th c.AD+: aorist ἐπλεξάμην Refs 8th c.BC+ —passive, future πλεχθήσομαι (ἐμ-) Refs 4th c.BC+; πλᾰκήσομαι (ἐπι-) Refs 2nd c.AD+: aorist ἐπλέχθην Refs 8th c.BC+; but also aorist 2 ἐπλάκην [ᾰ], participle πλᾰκείς (ἐμ-) Refs…