σεισμ-ός G4578
An earthquake or violent shaking; used of seismic events and, by extension, a fierce storm at sea.
Derived from the verb seiō ('to shake'), seismos most commonly refers to an earthquake — a literal trembling of the ground. In the Gospels it marks moments of divine significance: the earth shakes at the crucifixion (Matt 27:54), at the rolling away of the tomb's stone (Matt 28:2), and in Jesus' prophetic discourse about the last days (Matt 24:7). In one striking instance (Matt 8:24), the word describes a violent storm on the Sea of Galilee, extending the image of shaking from land to water — a usage the multilingual translations struggle to capture, often defaulting to 'earthquake' even where 'tempest' fits better.
1. earthquake — A shaking of the earth, an earthquake — the word's primary and overwhelmingly dominant sense in the New Testament. It appears in apocalyptic warnings (Matt 24:7; Mark 13:8; Luke 21:11; Rev 6:12; 8:5; 11:13, 19; 16:18) and in narrative moments of divine intervention (Matt 27:54; 28:2). Cross-linguistic evidence is remarkably uniform: Spanish 'terremoto,' German 'Erdbeben,' French 'tremblement de terre' — all literally 'earth-shaking.' This consistency across unrelated language families confirms a single, stable referent. 13×
AR["الزَّلْزَالَ","زَلازِلُ","زَلزالٌ","زَلزَلَةٌ","زَلَازِلُ","زَلْزَلَةٌ","زِلزالٌ","زِلزالِ"]·ben["কম্পন","ভূমিকম্প","ভূমিকম্প।","ভূমিকম্পে"]·DE["Erdbeben"]·EN["an-earthquake","earthquake","earthquakes"]·FR["tremblement-de-terre"]·heb["הָ-רַעַשׁ","רְעִידוֹת","רַעַשׁ"]·HI["भूकंप","भूकंप।","भूकम्प"]·ID["gempa","gempa-bumi","gempa-bumi,","gempa-bumi."]·IT["terremoto"]·jav["lindhu","lindu"]·KO["지진","지진-이","지진과","지진들이","지진이"]·PT["terremoto","terremotos"]·RU["землетрясение","землетрясение,","землетрясение.","землетрясении,","землетрясения"]·ES["terremoto","terremotos"]·SW["katika","matetemeko","tetemeko","tetemeko,","tetemeko."]·TR["deprem","depremde","depremler"]·urd["زلزلہ","زلزلہ-کو","زلزلے"]
Matt 24:7, Matt 27:54, Matt 28:2, Mark 13:8, Luke 21:11, Acts 16:26, Rev 6:12, Rev 8:5, Rev 11:13, Rev 11:13, Rev 11:19, Rev 16:18 (+1 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. violent storm, tempest — A violent shaking of the sea, a storm or tempest. In Matt 8:24, seismos megas describes the sudden squall on the Sea of Galilee while Jesus sleeps in the boat. The word extends the core image of shaking from ground to water, capturing the convulsive force of the storm. Notably, several translations render this as 'earthquake' or 'trembling' (Spanish 'temblor'), missing the maritime context — which itself testifies to how strongly the earthquake sense dominates the word's profile. 1×
AR["عاصِفَةٌ"]·ben["ঝড়"]·DE["Erdbeben"]·EN["a-shaking"]·FR["tremblement-de-terre"]·heb["רַעַשׁ"]·HI["तूफ़ान"]·ID["badai"]·IT["terremoto"]·jav["lindhu"]·KO["폭풍-이"]·PT["tempestade"]·RU["буря"]·ES["temblor"]·SW["dhoruba"]·TR["sarsıntı"]·urd["طوفان"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
σεισμ-ός, ὁ, (σείω) shaking, shock, γῆς σ. earthquake, Refs 5th c.BC+ __2 generally, shock, agitation, commotion, σ. τοῦ σώματος Refs 5th c.BC+; ἔξωθεν.. προσφέρειν τοῖς.. πάθεσι σεισμόν a shock, NT+2nd c.AD+ __3 blackmail, extortion, Refs 2nd c.BC+; συκοφάντεια καὶ σ. Refs 2nd c.BC+