G2288 — θάνατος (thánatos)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G2288
Original: θάνατος
Transliteration: thánatos
Pronunciation: than (lexicon field truncated; standard: than'-at-os)
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: from θνήσκω (thnēskō) — to die
Occurrences: 106 unique verses, 119 tokens
Books: 15 (Matt, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Rom, 1–2 Cor, Phil, Col, 2 Tim, Heb, Jas, 1 John, Rev)
First Occurrence: Mat 4:16 — "them which sat in the region and shadow of death"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From θνήσκω (thnēskō); (properly, an adjective used as a noun) death (literally or figuratively). Encompasses both physical death and its figurative/spiritual dimensions.

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida: - Primary Domain: 023007 — Physiological Processes and States → Live, Die - Secondary Domain: 023009 — Sickness, Disease, Weakness - Key co-domain words: ζωή (G2222, life), ᾅδης (G0086, hades), ἀθανασία (G0110, immortality), ἀνάστασις (G0386, resurrection), ἀποθνῄσκω (G0599, to die)

UBS Semantic Domains: - [023] Physiological Processes and States

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
death	67	63.2%
of death	27	25.5%
the death	6	5.7%
to death	3	2.8%
deadly	2	1.9%
unto death	2	1.9%
Other (Death, O death, a death, deaths, was Death)	5	4.7%

Note: KJV translation strings include articles/prepositions; the underlying word is consistently "death" across 100% of uses.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Romans	20	4.6
Philippians	5	4.8
2 Corinthians	8	3.1
Revelation	15	3.7
1 John	3	2.9
Hebrews	8	2.6
James	2	1.9
1 Corinthians	7	1.6
2 Timothy	1	1.2
Colossians	1	1.1
Mark	6	0.9
John	8	0.9
Acts	8	0.8
Matthew	7	0.7
Luke	7	0.6

Heaviest concentration in the epistles — Romans (death as theological category) and Revelation (death personified). Philippians ranks high in density due to Paul's personal contemplation of martyrdom. Gospels use thanatos mainly in passion-prediction contexts and "shadow of death" allusions.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Physical/Biological Death¶

The cessation of bodily life — whether natural, violent, or judicial.

Mat 10:21 — "the brother shall deliver up the brother to death" (martyrdom/betrayal)
Php 2:8 — "became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross"
Heb 2:9 — "for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour"
John 11:4 — "This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God"

2. Death as Consequence of Sin¶

Paul's theological construct: death entered through Adam's sin and spreads universally.

Rom 5:12 — "death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned"
Rom 6:23 — "the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life"
James 1:15 — "sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death"

3. Death as Reigning Cosmic Power¶

Thanatos as active sovereign force dominating the age from Adam onward.

Rom 5:14 — "death reigned from Adam to Moses"
Rom 5:17 — "by one man's offence death reigned"
1 Cor 15:26 — "The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death"
Rom 8:38 — "neither death, nor life...shall be able to separate us from the love of God"

4. Christ's Death as Atoning Event¶

The specific historical death of Christ as the mechanism of redemption.

Rom 5:10 — "reconciled to God by the death of his Son"
Col 1:22 — "In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable"
Heb 9:15 — "by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions"
Heb 2:14 — "that through death he might destroy him that had the power of death"

5. Spiritual Death / Passage from Death to Life¶

Death as a present spiritual state from which believers pass through faith.

John 5:24 — "is passed from death unto life" (present tense passage)
1 John 3:14 — "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren"
Rom 8:6 — "to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace"

6. Death Personified / The Second Death¶

Revelation depicts thanatos as a named rider and a final eschatological category.

Rev 6:8 — "his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him"
Rev 20:14 — "death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death."
Rev 21:4 — "there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying"

7. Shadow of Death (OT Allusion)¶

NT quotations echoing the OT צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmaveth) — "shadow of death" texts.

Mat 4:16 — "them which sat in the region and shadow of death light is sprung up" (quoting Isa 9:2)
Luke 1:79 — "To give light to them that sit in darkness and in the shadow of death" (Zechariah's canticle)

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ζωή (life)	G2222	19x	"death…life" antithesis (Rom 8:38; 1 Cor 3:22)
θεός (God)	G2316	17x	Death in relation to God's purpose or judgment
Χριστός (Christ)	G5547	13x	"baptized into his death," "death of Christ"
ἁμαρτία (sin)	G266	12x	Sin-death nexus (Rom 5–7; James 1:15)
Ἰησοῦς (Jesus)	G2424	11x	Passion contexts, glorifying God through death
ἀποθνήσκω (to die)	G599	6x	Verbal cognate co-occurring in same argument

Word Family / Cognates¶

G2289 θανατόω (thanatoo) — to put to death, kill (11 verses; "put to death," "mortify")
G2286 θανάσιμος (thanasimos) — deadly, fatal (1 verse: "deadly thing," Mark 16:18)
G1935 ἐπιθανάτιος (epithanatios) — condemned to death (1 Cor 4:9; domain 023007)

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G2288.

Antonyms¶

G2222 ζωή (zōē) — life; explicit antonym returned by search_relationships.py.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
μάνατος / μָוֶת (maveth)	H4194	"death" across OT/NT interchangeably in English	maveth = Hebrew noun; thanatos = Greek noun; near-synonyms in semantic content, primary LXX bridge
ἀναίρεσις (anairesis)	G336	"death" (2x)	anairesis = the act of killing/slaying; thanatos = the state or event of death
τελευτή (teleutē)	G5054	"death" (1x)	teleutē = natural decease/end-of-life; thanatos covers all modes including violent/atoning
ἀποθνῄσκω (apothnēskō)	G599	"of death" (1x phrase)	apothnēskō = the verb "to die"; thanatos = the noun

Domain Neighbors (023007 — Live, Die)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Verses	Primary KJV Translation	Key Difference
G86	ᾅδης (hades)	11	hell	The realm/place of the dead; thanatos = the event/state
G110	ἀθανασία (athanasia)	3	immortality	Semantic opposite; the negation of thanatos
G386	ἀνάστασις (anastasis)	40	resurrection	Death's reversal; frequently paired in argument
G599	ἀποθνῄσκω (apothnēskō)	99	died, die	Verbal cognate; same root concept, verb form
G2222	ζωή (zoe)	126	life	Primary antonym; the "death vs. life" axis
G2289	θανατόω (thanatoo)	11	put to death	Causative verb from same root

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI Score	Notes
מָוֶת (maveth)	H4194	97	27.43	Primary OT equivalent; "death" noun
דֶּבֶר (deber)	H1698	34	6.19	"pestilence"; one element of Ezek/Rev death triplet
צַלְמָוֶת (tsalmaveth)	H6757	12	6.09	"shadow of death"; compound with maveth
שְׁאוֹל (sheol)	H7585	14	4.42	"grave/hades"; realm overlap with thanatos
מוּת (muth)	H4191	84	3.56	"to die" verb; co-occurs frequently in death contexts

H4194 maveth is the near-perfect Hebrew equivalent with an overwhelmingly strong LXX bridge (PMI 27.43). See TR-maveth-thanatos.md for full cross-testament trace.