Lexical Summary ódin: Pain, birth pang, travail Original Word: ὠδίν Strong's Exhaustive Concordance pain, sorrow, travail. Akin to odune; a pang or throe, especially of childbirth -- pain, sorrow, travail. see GREEK odune HELPS Word-studies 5604 ōdín – properly, the pain of childbirth (travail); (figuratively) the pain necessary to open up (introduce) something new, i.e. to bring in more. [5604 (ōdín) suggests intense suffering (similar to birth pain) – hence, "to suffer greatly, great pain" (L & N, 1, 24.87) like "a birth-pang, travail-pain; figuratively, extreme suffering" (A-S).] NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originakin to oduné Definition a birth pang NASB Translation agony (1), birth pangs (2), labor pains (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 5604: ὠδίνὠδίν (1 Thessalonians 5:3; Isaiah 37:3) for ὠδίς (the earlier form; cf. Winer's Grammar, § 9, 2 e. N. 1), ὠδινος, ἡ, from Homer, Iliad 11,271 down, the pain of childbirth, travail-pain, birth-pang: 1 Thessalonians 5:3; plural ὠδῖνες ((pangs, throes, R. V. travail); German Wehen), equivalent to intolerable anguish, in reference to the dire calamities which the Jews supposed would precede the advent of the Messiah, and which were called הַמָּשִׁיחַ חֶבְלֵי (see the commentaries (especially Keil) on Matthew, the passage cited), Matthew 24:8; Mark 13:8 (9); ὠδῖνες θανάτου (Tr marginal reading ᾅδου), the pangs of death, Acts 2:24, after the Sept. who translated the words מָוֶת חֶבְלֵי by ὠδῖνες θανάτου, deriving the word חֶבְלֵי not, as they ought, from חֶבֶל, i. e. σχοινίον 'cord', but from חֵבֶל, ὠδίς, Psalm 17:5 Topical Lexicon Essential Imagery The term ὠδίν (Strong’s 5604) evokes the sharp, cyclical pains that accompany childbirth. Scripture employs this vivid picture to communicate suddenness, inevitability, increasing intensity, and the hope that lies beyond suffering—the arrival of new life. As natural labor contractions cannot be halted once begun, so the divine purposes connected with ὠδίν cannot be averted. Occurrences in the New Testament • Matthew 24:8 and Mark 13:8 portray the preliminary global upheavals—wars, famines, earthquakes—as “the beginning of birth pains.” These early contractions announce but do not exhaust the climactic events that will culminate in the Lord’s return. Old Testament Roots The Septuagint uses ὠδίν and its cognates to translate Hebrew expressions for travail (e.g., Isaiah 13:8; Jeremiah 4:31; Hosea 13:13). Prophets applied labor imagery to the birth of a new age or judgment on nations. Paul and the Gospel writers draw on this prophetic backdrop, showing continuity between the Testaments. Christological Dimension Acts 2:24 reveals that death itself experienced “birth pains” in the resurrection of Jesus Christ. The throes preceding His triumph attest that His death was not an ultimate defeat but the labor preceding a new creation. In Him the firstfruits of resurrection life have emerged, guaranteeing that all subsequent “pains” serve God’s redemptive plan (Romans 8:22–23). Eschatological Application Jesus ties ὠδίν to the Olivet Discourse timetable; Paul echoes the same motif regarding the Day of the Lord. Together they teach: 1. Birth pains are signs, not ends in themselves. Pastoral Implications 1. Encourage vigilance: Believers live alertly, discerning the times without date-setting (Matthew 24:36). Historical Understanding in the Early Church Patristic writers read ὠδίν as a fixed sequence in salvation history. Irenaeus (Against Heresies 5.29) linked last-days tribulations to labor pains birthing the Kingdom. Tertullian viewed persecutions as contractions preparing the Church for her heavenly rest. These interpretations reinforced courage under oppression and missionary urgency. Practical Exhortations for Today • Watch and pray (Mark 13:33). Summary ὠδίν crystallizes the biblical tension between present pain and future joy. In prophecy, history, and pastoral care, it anchors faith to the certainty that God’s purposes, once initiated, move irresistibly toward the birth of the new heaven and new earth. Forms and Transliterations ωδιν ωδίν ὠδὶν ωδινας ωδίνας ὠδῖνας ωδίνες ωδίνι ωδινων ωδίνων ὠδίνων odin odìn ōdin ōdìn odinas odînas ōdinas ōdînas odinon odínon ōdinōn ōdínōnLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Matthew 24:8 N-GFPGRK: ταῦτα ἀρχὴ ὠδίνων NAS: are [merely] the beginning of birth pangs. KJV: these [are] the beginning of sorrows. INT: these [are] a beginning of birth pains Mark 13:8 N-GFP Acts 2:24 N-AFP 1 Thessalonians 5:3 N-NFS Strong's Greek 5604 |
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