φωλ-εός G5454
hole, den, lair, burrow where an animal lives
φωλεός refers to the den or burrow where wild animals make their home—caves for bears, holes for foxes, nests for birds. The word appears in Jesus' poignant saying about his own homelessness in ministry. Both Matthew 8:20 and Luke 9:58 record Jesus telling a would-be disciple: 'Foxes have holes (φωλεοὺς), and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.' The contrast is stark: even wild animals have secure dwelling places, but Jesus, the Lord of creation, lived without a home, depending on the hospitality of others throughout his itinerant ministry.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Both occurrences appear in the same saying about Jesus' homelessness. The φωλεοί of foxes stand in ironic contrast to Jesus' lack of shelter—the Creator is less settled than his creatures. The French tanière and Spanish guaridas both denote animal dens or lairs. Jesus' point to the disciple is clear: following him means embracing a pilgrim existence, surrendering the security of home and possessions for the sake of kingdom mission. 2×
AR["أَوكارًا", "جُحوراً"]·ben["গর্ত"]·DE["φωλεοὺς"]·EN["dens"]·FR["tanière"]·heb["מְאוּרוֹת", "מְחִלוֹת"]·HI["माँदें", "मांदें"]·ID["liang"]·IT["pianta"]·jav["leng", "luwang"]·KO["굴들-을", "굴을"]·PT["covis", "tocas"]·RU["норы"]·ES["guaridas"]·SW["mashimo"]·TR["inleri"]·urd["بل", "کھوہیں"]
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
φωλ-εός, ὁ, Epic dialect genitive φωλειοῖο Refs 2nd c.BC+, Epic dialect dative φωλειοῖς Refs 3rd c.AD+:—den, lair, especially of the caves of bears, in which they hibernate, Refs 1st c.AD+; of lions, Refs 2nd c.AD+; of molluscs, Refs 4th c.BC+; of a serpent, Refs 2nd c.AD+; of foxes, NT; of animals in general, Refs 2nd c.AD+; of cave-dwellers, Refs 1st c.BC+ __II schoolhouse, Refs 5th c.AD+