G3162 — μάχαιρα (máchaira)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3162
Original: μάχαιρα
Transliteration: máchaira
Pronunciation: makh'-ahee-rah
Part of Speech: Feminine noun (n-f)
Root: Probably feminine of a presumed derivative of μάχη (G3163, "fight") / μάχομαι (G3164, "to fight")
Occurrences: 29 tokens across 26 unique NT verses
Books: 9 (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Acts, Romans, Ephesians, Hebrews, Revelation)
First Occurrence: Mat 10:34 — "I came not to send peace, but a sword (μάχαιραν)"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

μάχαιρα, -ας, ἡ — probably feminine of a presumed derivative of μάχη; "a knife," i.e. a short sword, dirk, or dagger. Classical usage originally denoted a large knife for sacrifice or slaughtering animals; in Hellenistic Greek it broadened to include the short stabbing sword carried by soldiers and civilians alike (cf. the Roman gladius). In the NT it is the common, generic term for "sword" in narrative contexts (arrests, executions, warfare) and takes figurative extension for judicial authority, divine judgment, persecution, and the penetrating word of God.

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida: - Primary domain: 6.33 — Artifacts → Weapons and Armor (Domain 006007) - Secondary domain: 20.8 — Violence, Harm, Destroy, Kill → Kill (Domain 020004) - Tertiary associations: 55 (Military Activities), 38 (Punish, Reward), 39 (Hostility, Strife — via root μάχη) - Other weapons/armor words: βέλος (G956 "dart"), θυρεός (G2375 "shield"), θώραξ (G2382 "breastplate"), λόγχη (G3057 "spear"), ξύλον (G3586 "staff"), ὅπλον (G3696 "weapon"), πανοπλία (G3833 "whole armour"), περικεφαλαία (G4030 "helmet"), ῥομφαία (G4501 "sword"), τόξον (G5115 "bow")

UBS Semantic Domains: - [006] Artifacts - [055] Military Activities - [020] Violence, Harm, Destroy, Kill - [039] Hostility, Strife - [038] Punish, Reward

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
sword	10	38.5%
swords	6	23.1%
the sword	4	15.4%
a sword	2	7.7%
of the sword	2	7.7%
by a sword	1	3.8%
his sword	1	3.8%
with the sword	1	3.8%

All 26 verses render μάχαιρα as some form of "sword" in the KJV. The KJV does not distinguish μάχαιρα from ῥομφαία in translation — both appear as "sword" — see Easily Confused Words below.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Hebrews	3	1.0
Revelation	3	0.7
Ephesians	1	0.6
Matthew	5	0.5
Romans	2	0.5
Mark	3	0.4
Luke	5	0.4
John	2	0.2
Acts	2	0.2

Highest densities appear in Hebrews (epistolary, figurative: word of God, persecution hardship) and Revelation (apocalyptic judgment). The Synoptic narrative concentration is driven by the arrest-in-Gethsemane pericope shared across Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Literal Weapon — Sword or Dagger Carried/Drawn¶

Mat 26:51 — "drew his sword, and struck a servant of the high priest"
Mar 14:47 — "drew a sword, and smote a servant of the high priest"
Jhn 18:10 — "Simon Peter having a sword drew it"
Luk 22:38 — "Lord, behold, here are two swords"

2. Instrument of Arrest / Mob Violence¶

Mat 26:47, 55 — "a great multitude with swords and staves"
Mar 14:43, 48 — parallel Gethsemane arrest scenes
Luk 22:52 — "Are ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves?"

3. Instrument of Judicial Execution¶

Act 12:2 — "he killed James the brother of John with the sword"
Heb 11:37 — "were slain with the sword"
Rom 13:4 — civil magistrate "beareth not the sword in vain" (delegated coercive authority)

4. Warfare / Deadly Peril¶

Luk 21:24 — "they shall fall by the edge of the sword"
Heb 11:34 — "escaped the edge of the sword"
Rom 8:35 — "shall tribulation… or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword, separate us"
Act 16:27 — jailer "drew out his sword" (would-be suicide)

5. Divine / Messianic Division¶

Mat 10:34 — "I came not to send peace, but a sword" (figurative for the division Christ's coming brings)

6. Figurative — Word of God / Spirit¶

Eph 6:17 — "the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God" (μάχαιραν τοῦ πνεύματος)
Heb 4:12 — "the word of God… sharper than any twoedged sword (μαχαίρας διστόμου), piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit"

7. Apocalyptic Judgment (Revelation)¶

Rev 6:4 — red-horse rider "that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword (μάχαιρα μεγάλη)" — widespread bloodshed, mutual slaughter
Rev 13:10 — "he that killeth with the sword (ἐν μαχαίρᾳ) must be killed with the sword" — lex talionis formula tied to captivity-and-sword judgment against persecutors
Rev 13:14 — "the beast, which had the wound by a sword (τὴν πληγὴν τῆς μαχαίρας), and did live" — the deadly wound that the image of the beast celebrates

Of Revelation's seven "sword" references, three use μάχαιρα (6:4; 13:10; 13:14) and four use ῥομφαία (1:16; 2:12, 16; 6:8; 19:15, 21). In John's apocalyptic vocabulary μάχαιρα tends toward the human-wielded, violent, historical blade (war, persecution, the beast's wound); ῥομφαία is reserved for the sword proceeding from the mouth of Christ and for the Lamb's cosmic judgment. See Easily Confused Words.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἔπω (say)	G2036	7x (27%)	speech framing the arrest / sword dialogue
ἀρχιερεύς (high priest)	G749	6x (23%)	"servant of the high priest" — Gethsemane cluster
Ἰησοῦς (Jesus)	G2424	6x (23%)	Jesus rebuking or restraining sword-use
ξύλον (staff/wood)	G3586	5x (19%)	"swords and staves" arrest-mob formula
εἷς (one)	G1520	4x (15%)	"one of them" drew a sword
ἐξέρχομαι (come out)	G1831	4x (15%)	"come out… with swords"
δοῦλος (servant)	G1401	3x (12%)	the high priest's servant (Malchus)
λῃστής (thief/robber)	G3027	3x (12%)	"as against a thief, with swords"
ὄχλος (multitude)	G3793	3x (12%)	armed mob
ὠτίον (ear)	G5621	3x (12%)	severed ear pericope
πρεσβύτερος (elder)	G4245	3x (12%)	officials authorizing the arrest
ἀναιρέω (kill)	G337	2x (8%)	kill by the sword
ἀφαιρέω (cut off)	G851	2x (8%)	cut off the ear

The dominant collocation cluster is the Gethsemane arrest (high priest / servant / multitude / staves / ear), which alone supplies ~15 of the 26 verses.

Word Family / Cognates¶

μάχη (G3163) — noun, "fight, quarrel" (4x in NT, all figurative: 2 Cor 7:5; 2 Tim 2:23; Titus 3:9; James 4:1)
μάχομαι (G3164) — verb, "to fight, quarrel, strive" (4x)
ἄμαχος (G269) — adjective, "not a brawler" (1 Tim 3:3; Titus 3:2)
διαμάχομαι (G1264) — "strive against" (Acts 23:9)
θεομάχος (G2314) — "fighter against God" (Acts 5:39)
θηριομαχέω (G2341) — "fight with beasts" (1 Cor 15:32)

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G3162.

Antonyms¶

G1515 εἰρήνη (eirḗnē) — peace; Matt 10:34 contrasts peace with the sword

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ῥομφαία	G4501	both KJV "sword"	Larger Thracian broadsword / sabre; loanword. In NT (7x) concentrated in Revelation's theophany of the glorified Christ (Rev 1:16; 2:12, 16; 19:15, 21) and the cosmic judgment-sword (Rev 6:8); only Luk 2:35 ("sword shall pierce thy soul") falls outside Revelation. μάχαιρα is the ordinary short blade of historical/military/judicial contexts; ῥομφαία is reserved in Revelation for the sword from Christ's mouth.
φόνος	G5408	"the sword" (Heb 11:37 v.l.)	Abstract "murder, slaughter" — the act, not the instrument.
χερουβίμ context — cf. LXX	—	—	In LXX, both μάχαιρα and ῥομφαία render Hebrew חֶרֶב (see Hebrew Source below). The two-Greek-word distinction is a translation convention, not a Hebrew distinction.

Rev 1:16 and Rev 19:15 caveat: The "sharp two-edged sword" proceeding from Christ's mouth (Rev 1:16; 19:15; cf. 2:12, 16) is ῥομφαία (G4501), not μάχαιρα. The only NT passage that uses μάχαιρα for a two-edged sword in a figurative "word of God" sense is Heb 4:12 (μαχαίρας διστόμου). Eph 6:17 ("sword of the Spirit") also uses μάχαιρα. Revelation deliberately restricts the mouth-sword imagery to ῥομφαία.

KJV / LXX Translation Overlap¶

KJV "sword": G3162 (10v), G4501 (6v), H2719 חֶרֶב (many v)
LXX renders חֶרֶב predominantly with μάχαιρα; ῥομφαία is the second-most-frequent LXX equivalent. Thus English readers conflate three distinct Greek lexemes (μάχαιρα / ῥομφαία / φόνος) under a single gloss.

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew	Strong's	Translit	Co-occ	PMI	Score	Notes
חֶרֶב	H2719	chereb	150	5.88	29.51	Primary OT source — "sword"
רָעָב	H7458	râʻâb	20	5.07	15.43	"famine" — triad sword/famine/pestilence
חָלָל	H2491	châlâl	18	4.93	14.53	"slain, pierced through"
דֶּבֶר	H1698	deber	13	5.36	14.16	"pestilence" — judgment triad
עָרֵל	H6189	ʻârêl	9	5.42	12.48	"uncircumcised" — slain with uncircumcised
נָפַל	H5307	nâphal	31	3.47	12.03	"fall" — fall by the sword
חִתִּית	H2851	chittîyth	5	6.48	11.61	"terror"
מַאֲכֶלֶת	H3979	maʼăkeleth	4	7.16	11.52	"knife" (Gen 22:6, 10) — closest match to the original "knife" sense
הָרַג	H2026	hârag	15	3.79	10.50	"slay"

The LXX regularly binds μάχαιρα into the prophetic judgment triad "sword, famine, pestilence" (חֶרֶב / רָעָב / דֶּבֶר), which echoes in NT apocalyptic (Rev 6).