Lexical Summary ódinó: To suffer birth pangs, to travail, to be in labor Original Word: ὠδίνω Strong's Exhaustive Concordance birth painsFrom odin; to experience the pains of parturition (literally or figuratively) -- travail in (birth). see GREEK odin HELPS Word-studies Cognate: 5605 ōdínō – properly, travail (in childbirth), birth pangs; (figuratively) the need to deliver something ("give birth") which completes a painful (birthing) process. See 5604 (ōdin). NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom ódin Definition to have birth pangs, to travail NASB Translation am in labor (1), labor (2). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 5605: ὠδίνωὠδίνω; from Homer down; the Sept. for חוּל, thrice for חִבֵּל; to feel the pains of childbirth, to travail: Galatians 4:27; Revelation 12:2; in figurative discourse, Paul uses the phrase οὖς πάλιν ὠδίνω, i. e. whose souls I am striving with intense effort and anguish to conform to the mind of Christ, Galatians 4:19. (Compare: συνωδίνω.) Topical Lexicon Overview of the Imagery of TravailThe verb rendered by Strong’s Greek 5605 communicates the intense pain, struggle, and expectancy that accompany childbirth. Scripture appropriates this vivid human experience to describe God’s redemptive purposes unfolding in individuals, communities, and cosmic history. Just as labor pains herald the imminent arrival of new life, spiritual travail signals the coming manifestation of divine promise. Occurrences in the New Testament Canon • Galatians 4:19—“My children, for whom I am again in the pains of childbirth until Christ is formed in you”. While the term itself appears only three times, each setting portrays strategic moments when the covenant purposes of God are about to break through. Intertextual Connections with Old Testament Prophets repeatedly depicted Zion’s future glory with childbirth imagery (Isaiah 26:17–18; Isaiah 66:7–9; Micah 4:9–10). These passages set an interpretive backdrop for New Testament writers, who see the final stages of God’s plan as labor that must give way to the joy of new creation (compare John 16:21). Pauline Theology and Pastoral Concern In Galatians 4:19 Paul likens his apostolic ministry to a mother in repeated labor. The Galatians’ flirtation with legalism endangered their spiritual infancy; Paul’s anguish reflects shepherding that is patient, sacrificial, and personally invested. His goal is unmistakable: “until Christ is formed in you.” Spiritual formation is not instant; it involves travail by both the minister and those being formed, under the Spirit’s power. In Galatians 4:27 Paul anchors the Gentile believers’ identity in Isaiah’s prophecy, asserting that the “desolate” woman—symbolic of Sarah and the Jerusalem above—now outstrips the natural lineage of Hagar. The church’s explosive growth is cast as a miraculous birth secured by promise, not by works. Eschatological Vision in Revelation Revelation 12:2 places the laboring woman at the midpoint of cosmic warfare. Her pains coincide with satanic opposition, yet the child is safely delivered. The image fuses past (the Incarnation), present (persecution), and future (the kingdom’s consummation), assuring believers that suffering precedes—but cannot prevent—God’s decisive triumph. Doctrinal Themes 1. Incarnation and Redemption: Labor pains anticipate the birth of the Messiah and the emergence of His likeness in the saints. Historical Interpretation Early Christian writers (e.g., Irenaeus, Tertullian) viewed the labor motif as proof that salvation history moves toward a predetermined culmination. Medieval sermons employed the imagery pastorally, stressing contrition and new birth. Reformers underscored Paul’s maternal metaphor to defend gospel preaching over ritualistic religion. Modern evangelical missions literature likewise invokes Galatians 4:19 to describe intercessory prayer and disciple-making. Implications for Ministry Today • Preaching: Proclaiming Christ requires compassionate travail; superficial teaching cannot “form” Christ in hearers. Devotional Reflection and Application Believers are invited to participate in God’s redemptive process with the patience and expectancy of a mother in labor. Moments of spiritual pressure are not omens of failure but heralds of imminent fruitfulness. Like Paul, Christians persevere “again” and again until Christ’s character is fully manifest, confident that the same Lord who began the work will bring it to completion at the appearing of Jesus Christ. Forms and Transliterations ώδινε ωδίνεις ωδινήσαμεν ωδίνησέ ωδίνησεν ωδινήσουσι ωδινουσα ωδίνουσα ὠδίνουσα ωδίνουσαν ωδινούσης ωδινω ωδίνω ὠδίνω ωδοί ωδοίς ωμίαι ωμίαν ωμίας ώσας ώσεις ώση ωσθείς ωσμένω odino odíno ōdinō ōdínō odinousa odínousa ōdinousa ōdínousaLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Galatians 4:19 V-PIA-1SGRK: οὓς πάλιν ὠδίνω μέχρις οὗ NAS: with whom I am again KJV: of whom I travail in birth again INT: of whom again I travail until that Galatians 4:27 V-PPA-NFS Revelation 12:2 V-PPA-NFS Strong's Greek 5605 |
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