Lexical Summary masaomai: To chew, to gnaw Original Word: μασάομαι Strong's Exhaustive Concordance gnaw. From a primary masso (to handle or squeeze); to chew -- gnaw. NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originof uncertain origin Definition to chew NASB Translation gnawed (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 3145: μασσάομαιμασσάομαι (R G) more correctly μασάομαι (L T Tr WH): imperfect 3 person plural ἐμασῶντο; (ΜΑΩ μάσσω, to knead); to chew, consume, eat, devour (κρέας, Aristophanes, Plutarch, 321; τά δέρματα τῶν θυρεων, Josephus, b. j. 6, 3, 3; ῤίζας ξύλων, the Sept. Job 30:4, and other examples in other authors): ἐμασῶντο τάς γλώσσας αὐτῶν, they gnawed their tongues (for pain), Revelation 16:10. Topical Lexicon Canonical Occurrence Strong’s Greek 3145 appears once, in Revelation 16:10, at the fifth bowl of wrath: “They gnawed their tongues in anguish”. The verb pictures conscious, ongoing action—an instinctive, self-inflicted response to unbearable torment. Conceptual Background To “gnaw” evokes the repetitive grinding of an animal’s jaws. Scripture frequently employs bodily actions to portray inward realities: lifting hands for praise (Psalm 63:4), bowing knees in prayer (Ephesians 3:14), or, here, biting the tongue to expose internal agony. Physical and Psychological Depiction of Pain The tongue—instrument of speech, praise, confession, or blasphemy—becomes an object of desperate self-mutilation. The image conjoins physical suffering (“anguish”) with moral rebellion (“they blasphemed the God of heaven,” Revelation 16:11). Far from repentance, pain intensifies defiance. Judgment Imagery in Revelation The fifth bowl plunges the beast’s kingdom “into darkness” (Revelation 16:10). Darkness recalls the ninth Egyptian plague (Exodus 10:21-23) and the outer darkness of eternal judgment (Matthew 25:30). The gnawing of tongues heightens the scene: a kingdom built on boastful speech is now reduced to biting the very member it once used to deceive the nations. Intertextual Echoes with “Gnashing of Teeth” While 3145 is distinct from the verbs translated “gnash” (Greek brychō, e.g., Matthew 13:42), both ideas portray extreme distress and hostility. Psalm 112:10, Luke 13:28, and Acts 7:54 record enemies “gnashing” in rage; Revelation 16:10-11 displays enemies “gnawing” in misery. Together they sketch a biblical theology of unrepentant anguish—anger turned inward when divine judgment falls. Historical and Cultural Considerations Ancient literature records self-mutilation under intense grief or terror (e.g., accounts of soldiers biting their shields in battle frenzy). John’s first-century audience would recognize such gestures as the last resort of the hopeless. In apocalyptic style, the singular picture of tongue-gnawing would communicate the inexorable reality of God’s wrath to Jewish and Gentile readers alike. Theological Implications 1. Judgment is experiential, not merely legal. The torment is felt in body and soul. Pastoral and Homiletical Applications • Urgency in evangelism: if future rebels will chew their own tongues rather than repent, believers must implore present hearers “on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God” (2 Corinthians 5:20). Key Takeaways for the Church The lone New Testament use of Strong’s 3145 portrays judgment so intense that people destroy their own capacity for speech. The scene warns of coming wrath, exposes the futility of hardened rebellion, and drives the faithful to worship, witness, and walk in holy fear before the God whose Word will be fulfilled. Forms and Transliterations εμασσώντο εμασωντο ἐμασῶντο emasonto emasônto emasōnto emasō̂ntoLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Revelation 16:10 V-IIM/P-3PGRK: ἐσκοτωμένη καὶ ἐμασῶντο τὰς γλώσσας NAS: darkened; and they gnawed their tongues KJV: and they gnawed their INT: darkened and they were gnawing the tongues |
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