κοιμάω
koimaō
to sleep
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Greek word "κοιμάω" (koimaō) is a verb that means "to sleep". It is used 18 times in the Bible, indicating its importance in various contexts. The word encompasses both literal and figurative sleep, suggesting a range of usage from physical rest to metaphorical inactivity or unawareness. In its literal sense, "κοιμάω" is used to describe physical sleep, such as in Matthew 27:52, where the earth "slept" after the resurrection of Jesus. In a figurative sense, it is used to convey a state of inactivity or unawareness, as in Romans 11:8, where God "slept" and did not destroy the Jews. This suggests that the word can be used to describe a state of dormancy or inactivity, whether physical or metaphorical. The significance of "κοιμάω" lies in its ability to convey a range of meanings, from physical rest to metaphorical inactivity. Its use in various contexts highlights the importance of sleep and rest in human life, as well as the idea that God is not necessarily active or present in all situations.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
18 total occurrences across the text
The tombs were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised;
Matthew 28:13saying, “Say that his disciples came by night, and stole him away while we slept.
Luke 22:45When he rose up from his prayer, he came to the disciples, and found them sleeping because of grief,
John 11:11He said these things, and after that, he said to them, “Our friend, Lazarus, has fallen asleep, but I am going so that I may awake him out of sleep.”
John 11:12The disciples therefore said, “Lord, if he has fallen asleep, he will recover.”
Acts 7:60He kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, “Lord, don’t hold this sin against them!” When he had said this, he fell asleep.
Acts 12:6The same night when Herod was about to bring him out, Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains. Guards in front of the door kept the prison.
Acts 13:36For David, after he had in his own generation served the counsel of God, fell asleep, was laid with his fathers, and saw decay.
1 Corinthians 7:39A wife is bound by law for as long as her husband lives; but if the husband is dead, she is free to be married to whomever she desires, only in the Lord.
1 Corinthians 11:30For this cause many among you are weak and sickly, and not a few sleep.
1 Corinthians 15:6Then he appeared to over five hundred brothers at once, most of whom remain until now, but some have also fallen asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:18Then they also who are fallen asleep in Christ have perished.
1 Corinthians 15:20But now Christ has been raised from the dead. He became the first fruits of those who are asleep.
1 Corinthians 15:51Behold, I tell you a mystery. We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed,
1 Thessalonians 4:13But we don’t want you to be ignorant, brothers, concerning those who have fallen asleep, so that you don’t grieve like the rest, who have no hope.
1 Thessalonians 4:14For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 4:15For this we tell you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will in no way precede those who have fallen asleep.
2 Peter 3:4and saying, “Where is the promise of his coming? For, from the day that the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.”