ῥύμ-η G4505
A narrow street, lane, or alleyway in a town or city.
While the classical Greek word carries meanings of 'rush' or 'force,' in the New Testament and later Koine usage it refers specifically to a narrow lane or alleyway within a city, distinct from the broader 'plateia' (wide street) or 'hodos' (road). Jesus contrasts secret prayer with public display 'in the streets' (Matt 6:2), and the master sends servants into the 'lanes' to gather the marginalized (Luke 14:21). In Acts, it names the specific street called 'Straight' in Damascus (Acts 9:11) and the lane Peter walked after his miraculous release from prison (Acts 12:10).
Senses
1. sense 1 — A narrow urban lane or alleyway, typically smaller than a main thoroughfare. The multilingual evidence distinguishes this term carefully: English uses 'lane' and 'street,' Spanish 'calle,' and French 'ruelle' (a diminutive implying a small street), suggesting a passage narrower than a major avenue. In Matt 6:2, it is the setting for ostentatious almsgiving; in Luke 14:21, the master commands servants to go into the 'lanes and alleys' to find the poor and disabled. Acts uses it as a concrete toponym--the street called Straight in Damascus (Acts 9:11)--and as the lane Peter traversed upon escaping prison (Acts 12:10), lending the word a vivid narrative specificity. 4×
AR["أَزِقَّةِ", "زُقَاقًا", "زُقَاقِ"]·ben["গলিতে", "রাস্তা", "রাস্তায়", "রাস্তায়,"]·DE["ῥύμαις", "ῥύμας", "ῥύμην"]·EN["lanes", "street", "streets"]·FR["ruelle"]·heb["סִמְטָאוֹת", "רְחוֹב", "רְחוֹבוֹת"]·HI["गलियों", "गलियों-में", "गली"]·ID["gang-gang", "jalan", "lorong-lorong"]·IT["strada", "vicolo"]·jav["gang", "lurung", "lurung-lurung"]·KO["골목", "골목-으로", "골목들", "골목들로"]·PT["rua", "ruas"]·RU["переулки", "улицах", "улицу"]·ES["calle", "calles"]·SW["barabara", "mitaa", "njia", "vichochoro"]·TR["sokaklara", "sokaklarda", "sokağa", "sokağı"]·urd["گلی", "گلیوں"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ῥύμ-η [ῡ], ἡ, force, swing, rush of a body in motion, ῥύμῃ ἐμπίπτειν with a swing, Refs 5th c.BC+; πτερύγων ῥύμη rush of wings, Refs 5th c.BC+; τροχοῦ ῥύμαισι τευκτὸν.. κύτος formed by the whirl of the potter's wheel, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἡ ῥ. τοῦ αἵματος the flow of blood in the veins, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἡ ῥ. τῆς ἐκκρούσεως Refs 5th c.BC+; τῆς ῥ. τῆς ἁλιάδος ὁ ψόφος, of the noise made by a boat in…