δαμάζω
damazō
to tame
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Greek word δαμάζω (damazō) is a verb meaning "to tame." Its occurrence in the Bible four times suggests its importance in certain contexts. The word likely carries the idea of reducing or controlling wild or unruly behavior in animals, as well as possibly implying the breaking of free will. Analyzing its occurrences, we see that "tame" may also imply domestication or the process of bringing wild animals under human control. Its usage likely encompasses both the external action of taming and the internal transformation it implies, suggesting a complex interplay between the physical and the metaphorical. Given its limited but significant occurrences in the Bible, the significance of δαμάζω lies in its nuanced portrayal of control, submission, and transformation, which could be applied to various contexts beyond the literal meaning of animal taming. The exact extent of its significance, however, remains open to interpretation based on its specific occurrences.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
4 total occurrences across the text
because he had been often bound with fetters and chains, and the chains had been torn apart by him, and the fetters broken in pieces. Nobody had the strength to tame him.
James 3:7For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and sea creature, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind;
James 3:7For every kind of animal, bird, creeping thing, and sea creature, is tamed, and has been tamed by mankind;
James 3:8but nobody can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison.