ὄναρ
onar
dream
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Greek word ὄναρ (onar) has a short but significant presence in the Bible, occurring six times. Its primary meaning is "dream," which implies a mental image or vision that occurs during sleep. This word is not used to describe a fantasy or a wish, but rather a specific type of experience that is perceived as real. The usage of ὄναρ in the Bible is relatively limited, but it is often associated with prophetic or revelatory content. In these contexts, dreams are presented as a means of receiving divine guidance or insight. This suggests that the word carries a sense of importance and authority, rather than simply being a passing thought or imagination. Overall, the word ὄναρ highlights the significance of dreams as a means of communication with the divine in the biblical worldview. Its limited but meaningful occurrences in the text underscore the importance of paying attention to and interpreting these experiences as a source of guidance and wisdom.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
6 total occurrences across the text
But when he thought about these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, son of David, don’t be afraid to take to yourself Mary, your wife, for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 2:12Being warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they went back to their own country another way.
Matthew 2:13Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, “Arise and take the young child and his mother, and flee into Egypt, and stay there until I tell you, for Herod will seek the young child to destroy him.”
Matthew 2:19But when Herod was dead, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt, saying,
Matthew 2:22But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning over Judea in the place of his father, Herod, he was afraid to go there. Being warned in a dream, he withdrew into the region of Galilee,
Matthew 27:19While he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent to him, saying, “Have nothing to do with that righteous man, for I have suffered many things today in a dream because of him.”