Lexical Summary katagnumi: To break, shatter Original Word: καταγνύμι Strong's Exhaustive Concordance break. From kata and the base of rhegnumi; to rend in pieces, i.e. Crack apart -- break. see GREEK kata see GREEK rhegnumi Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 2608: κατάγνυμικατάγνυμι: future κατεαξω; 1 aorist κατεαξα (impv. κάταξον, Deuteronomy 33:11); passive, 2 aorist κατεάγην, whence subjunctive 3 person plural κατεαγῶσιν; 1 aorist κατεαχθην in the Sept. Jeremiah 31:25 Topical Lexicon Overview Strong’s Greek 2608 pictures a deliberate shattering or breaking to pieces. Its four New Testament occurrences form a tightly focused cluster that opens a window on both the character of the Messiah and the redemptive design of God. Old Testament Foreshadowing Before appearing in the Gospels, the idea of “not breaking” carries covenant significance. Exodus 12:46 commands that no bone of the Passover lamb be broken. Psalm 34:20 affirms, “He protects all his bones; not one of them will be broken.” These texts establish an expectation that the true Paschal Lamb will remain intact, even in death. Matthew 12:20 – The Gentle Messiah Quoting Isaiah 42:3, Matthew records: “A bruised reed He will not break, and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish, till He leads justice to victory” (Matthew 12:20). Here 2608 depicts what Christ refuses to do. The verb underscores His refusal to crush the weak or discard the faltering. This signals that His messianic reign advances not by coercion but by compassionate restoration. Ministry Implications: John 19:31-33 – Preservation of the Lamb “And so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, … the Jews asked Pilate to have their legs broken … So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who had been crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs” (John 19:31-33). In these verses 2608 is twice applied to the criminals but pointedly withheld from Christ. The Roman crucifixion practice of leg-breaking hastened suffocation. Providence intervenes: Jesus dies before the soldiers arrive, fulfilling Exodus 12:46 and Psalm 34:20, explicitly cited in John 19:36. The verb’s narrative tension—expected action withheld—draws attention to divine sovereignty over even minor physical details of the crucifixion. Theological Observations: Doctrinal Themes 1. Substitutionary Atonement: The intact bones accent Christ’s qualification as the sacrificial Lamb whose blood shields believers from judgment. Intertextual Connections • Isaiah 42:3 anticipates Matthew 12:20’s picture of mercy. Together these strands demonstrate a unified biblical narrative in which the same Greek verb illumines both Christ’s tenderness toward the crushed and God’s protective care over His Son. Pastoral Application • Counseling: Broken-hearted believers can trust that Christ will not “finish them off” but will restore. Historical Reception Early Church writers such as Justin Martyr and Athanasius drew on the “no bone broken” motif to argue that Jesus perfectly met the Passover type. Medieval liturgies retained the symbolism by stipulating that the host be broken in a way that represents His body given but not shattered. Reformation commentators like John Calvin linked Matthew 12:20 to pastoral gentleness, urging ministers to imitate Christ’s refusal to crush the weak. Summary Strong’s Greek 2608, though rare, functions as a theological hinge. In Matthew it protects the crushed; in John it protects the Christ. Across both Testaments it proclaims a Savior who preserves the fragile and is Himself preserved so that redemption might be flawlessly accomplished. Forms and Transliterations καταγεγραμμέναι καταγεγραμμένων κατάγραψον καταγράψω κατάξας κατάξεις κάταξον κατεαγωσιν κατεαγώσιν κατεαγῶσιν κατεαξαν κατέαξαν κατεαξει κατεάξει κατεάχθη κατέγραψας κατέγραψε kateagosin kateagôsin kateagōsin kateagō̂sin kateaxan katéaxan kateaxei kateáxeiLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Matthew 12:20 V-AIA-3SGRK: συντετριμμένον οὐ κατεάξει καὶ λίνον NAS: REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING KJV: shall he not break, and smoking INT: bruised not he shall break and a wick John 19:31 V-ASP-3P John 19:32 V-AIA-3P John 19:33 V-AIA-3P Strong's Greek 2608 |
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