Lexical Summary sunódinó: To travail together, to suffer birth pangs together Original Word: συνωδίνω Strong's Exhaustive Concordance suffer togetherFrom sun and odino; to have (parturition) pangs in company (concert, simultaneously) with, i.e. (figuratively) to sympathize (in expectation of relief from suffering) -- travail in pain together. see GREEK sun see GREEK odino NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom sun and ódinó Definition to be in travail together NASB Translation suffers the pains of childbirth (2), together* (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 4944: συνωδίνωσυνωδίνω; a. properly, to feel the pains of travail with, be in travail together: οἶδε ἐπί τῶν ζοωον τάς ὠδῖνας ὁ σύνοικος καί συνωδίνει γέ τά πολλά ὥσπερ καί ἀλεκτρυονες, Porphyry, de abstin. 3, 10; (cf. Aristotle, eth. Eud. 7, 6, p. 1240a, 36). b. metaphorically, to undergo agony (like a woman in childbirth) along with: Romans 8:22 (where σύν refers to the several parts of which ἡ κτίσις consists, cf. Meyer at the passage); κακοῖς, Euripides, Hel. 727. Strong’s Greek 4944 pictures creation enduring collective labor pains in anticipation of divine renewal. The term fuses the ideas of shared suffering and imminent birth, framing present affliction as purposeful and pregnant with hope. Biblical Usage • Romans 8:22 supplies the sole New Testament occurrence: “We know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until the present time”. Thematic Significance 1. Shared Travail: The compound idea underscores that suffering is not isolated; creation, humanity, and the Spirit participate in one labor toward consummation. Connection to Creation’s Groaning Old Testament prophetic imagery supplies the backdrop: Isaiah 13:8; Isaiah 26:17–18; Jeremiah 4:31 all depict nations in convulsive anguish. Paul gathers those threads into a single, pregnant metaphor that aligns eschatological birth pangs with the revealing of God’s sons. The present creation, though “subjected to futility,” remains God’s workmanship and therefore worth redeeming, countering dualistic tendencies that dismiss the material realm. Eschatological Dimension Jesus’ own discourse—“All these are the beginning of birth pains” (Matthew 24:8)—makes clear that tribulation precedes consummation. Paul adopts identical imagery, inviting readers to interpret global turmoil, moral decay, and personal hardship as contractions announcing the new heavens and new earth. Thus 4944 becomes a hermeneutical key for understanding the age between Christ’s resurrection and return. Pastoral and Ministerial Application • Comfort in Suffering: Congregations facing illness, persecution, or environmental catastrophe can anchor hope in the certainty of coming glory. Historical Theological Reflection • Irenaeus associated creation’s groaning with God’s plan to “recapitulate” all things in Christ. Related Words and Concepts • “Pangs” (ὠδίν) – individual birth pains (1 Thessalonians 5:3). Summary for Teaching and Preaching Strong’s 4944 reminds believers that the agony pervading the created order is purposeful, collective, and temporary. Every contraction is a pledge of an approaching birth—the liberation of creation and the glorification of the saints when the risen Christ is finally revealed. |
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