G3182 — μεθύσκω (methýskō)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3182
Original: μεθύσκω
Transliteration: methýskō
Pronunciation: meth-oos'-ko
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: Prolonged (transitive/causative) form of μεθύω (methýō, G3184) — "to be drunk"; both from μέθυ (methy, "wine, intoxicating drink")
Occurrences: 3 unique verses (4 tokens) in NT
First Occurrence: Luke 12:45 — "and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken (methýskō)"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

A prolonged (transitive) form of μεθύω (G3184); to intoxicate, "to make drunk." KJV: "be drunk(-en)." The -skō suffix in Greek marks an inchoative/causative stem — denoting the process of becoming something or causing it. Where μεθύω (G3184) describes the state of being drunk, μεθύσκω describes the act or process of getting drunk (or of making someone drunk).

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida:

Domain 88.287: Drunkenness (subdomain of Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior)
Domain 88: Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior
Other words in the Drunkenness domain:
κραιπάλη (G2897) — surfeiting / hangover from excess
κῶμος (G2970) — revelling, carousal
μέθη (G3178) — drunkenness (the state)
μέθυσος (G3183) — a drunkard
μεθύω (G3184) — to be drunk (stative)
οἰνοπότης (G3630) — a winebibber
οἰνοφλυγία (G3632) — excess of wine
πάροινος (G3943) — given to wine
πότος (G4224) — drinking-bout, banqueting

The entire semantic cluster is morally negative in Louw-Nida, classified under ethical vice. μεθύσκω belongs specifically to the intoxication domain, not merely the drinking (23.34+, Eat/Drink) domain.

UBS Semantic Domains: - [088] Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
be drunken / to be drunken	2	50%
(be) drunk	1	25%
be (aux. only, in phrase "be drunk")	1	25%

Every KJV rendering of G3182 expresses intoxication. There is no neutral or "merely drinking" sense attested for this verb in the NT.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
1 Thessalonians	1	1.1
Ephesians	1	0.6
Luke	1	0.1

All three occurrences are in ethical warning contexts — a parable of judgment (Luke), a vice-list contrast with Spirit-filling (Ephesians), and an eschatological exhortation to sobriety (1 Thess). The word never appears in a neutral meal, festive, or celebratory setting in the NT.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Process of Becoming Drunk (Ingressive/Inchoative)¶

The -skō form highlights the onset of drunkenness — crossing the threshold into intoxication, not merely holding a cup. - Luke 12:45 — "and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken (methýskō)" - Eph 5:18 — "And be not drunk (methýskō) with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit"

2. Prohibitive / Vice Context¶

The verb appears under direct apostolic prohibition or in a vice that contrasts with righteous behavior. - Eph 5:18 — the imperative prohibition μὴ μεθύσκεσθε ("stop getting drunk / do not be getting drunk") — present imperative with μή, often read as "do not make a practice of getting drunk" - Luke 12:45 — listed alongside beating servants as behavior of the wicked servant whose lord surprises him in judgment

3. Eschatological Contrast with Sobriety¶

Drunkenness functions symbolically for spiritual unreadiness; its opposite is nēphō (to be sober, G3525) and grēgoreō (to watch, G1127). - 1 Thess 5:7 — "For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken (methýskō) are drunken (methýō) in the night" (Paul uses G3182 and G3184 together — the process and the state — both belonging to the darkness)

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
οἶνος (oînos) — wine	G3631	1x (Eph 5:18)	"drunk with wine" — wine is the explicit intoxicant
μεθύω (methýō)	G3184	1x (1Th 5:7)	paired process + state: getting drunk / being drunk
ἀσωτία (asōtía) — riot, excess, debauchery	G810	1x (Eph 5:18)	intoxication → dissipation
πνεῦμα (pneûma) — Spirit	G4151	1x (Eph 5:18)	antithetical parallelism: drunk with wine vs. filled with Spirit
πληρόω (plēróō) — to fill	G4137	1x (Eph 5:18)	antithetical verb to μεθύσκω in Eph 5:18
πίνω (pínō) — to drink	G4095	1x (Luke 12:45)	sequenced: eat + drink + get drunk
καθεύδω (katheúdō) — to sleep	G2518	1x (1Th 5:7)	parallel vice of nighttime unconsciousness
νύξ (nýx) — night	G3571	1x (1Th 5:7)	domain of the drunken
κύριος (kýrios) — lord	G2962	1x (Luke 12:45)	the master whom the drunken servant fails

The collocation profile is uniformly negative: wine, excess, night, sleep, and failed stewardship. The only positive collocate is πνεῦμα — and only as the explicit alternative to μεθύσκω.

Word Family / Cognates¶

μεθύω (methýō) G3184 — stative cognate: "to be drunk" (the state, not the process). 7 NT occurrences.
μέθυσος (méthysos) G3183 — noun: "a drunkard" (1 Cor 5:11; 6:10)
μέθη (méthē) G3178 — noun: "drunkenness" (as a condition/behavior; Luke 21:34; Rom 13:13; Gal 5:21)
μέθυ (méthy) — obsolete root noun: "wine, intoxicating drink" (not in NT as independent word; source of the entire family)

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G3182.

Antonyms¶

G271 ἀμέθυστος (amethystos) — alpha-privative form ("not drunken") surfaced by search_relationships.py; in NT usage it names the gemstone amethyst rather than functioning as a normal lexical opposite in discourse.

Easily Confused Words (Same Domain)¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Domain	Key Difference
μεθύω	G3184	88.287 Drunkenness	State of being drunk (stative/durative); G3182 is the process of getting drunk (ingressive/causative)
μέθη	G3178	88.287 Drunkenness	Noun: the condition/vice of drunkenness abstractly
μέθυσος	G3183	88.287 Drunkenness	Personal noun: a habitual drunkard (character type)
οἰνοπότης	G3630	88.287 Drunkenness	"Wine-drinker" (used of Jesus as slander in Matt 11:19 / Luke 7:34) — focuses on drinking behavior, not intoxication
πάροινος	G3943	88.287 Drunkenness	"Beside wine" — quarrelsome drinker; disqualifying trait for elders (1 Tim 3:3)
κραιπάλη	G2897	88.287 Drunkenness	The aftermath (hangover, surfeit)
κῶμος	G2970	88.287 Drunkenness	The drunken revel/carousal event
πότος	G4224	88.287 Drunkenness	The drinking-bout (occasion)

G3182 vs. G3184 — The Critical Pair¶

Greek routinely derives inchoative/causative verbs from stative ones via the -skō infix (cf. γινώσκω from root gnō-; διδάσκω from didak-). The morphological contrast:

μεθύω (G3184) — "to be in the state of drunkenness" (durative). Attested of people already drunk (Matt 24:49; Acts 2:15; 1 Cor 11:21), of wedding guests "when men have well drunk" (John 2:10), and of the whore of Babylon "drunken with the blood of the saints" (Rev 17:6).
μεθύσκω (G3182) — "to get drunk / to make drunk" (ingressive or causative). The verb of becoming intoxicated.

In 1 Thess 5:7 Paul uses both in a single clause — "they that be drunken (methyskomenoi — G3182, getting drunk) are drunken (methyousin — G3184, are in a drunken state) in the night" — a deliberate pairing of process and state.

Hebrew Source¶

No LXX bridge is attested in the current mapping data for G3182 specifically. In the LXX, both μεθύσκω and μεθύω render the Hebrew root שָׁכַר (shakar, H7937) — "to be/become drunk" — and related nouns שֵׁכָר (shekar, H7941, "strong drink") and שִׁכָּרוֹן (shikkaron, H7943, "drunkenness"). Representative LXX usage includes Gen 9:21 (Noah); 43:34 (Joseph's brothers); 1 Sam 1:14 (Eli to Hannah); Isa 29:9; Jer 25:27; Hab 2:15.

Focus Note — Ephesians 5:18¶

μὴ μεθύσκεσθε οἴνῳ, ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν ἀσωτία, ἀλλὰ πληροῦσθε ἐν πνεύματι.

μὴ μεθύσκεσθε — present middle-passive imperative with μή: "do not go on getting drunk" / "stop becoming drunk." The form is the process verb (G3182), not the state verb (G3184).
οἴνῳ — dative of means: "with wine." Paul names wine (G3631, oînos) as the specific intoxicant under prohibition. The prohibition applies precisely because οἶνος in this construction is capable of producing μεθύσκω. A non-alcoholic beverage is not the referent of the warning.
ἐν ᾧ ἐστιν ἀσωτία — "in which is dissipation/debauchery (G810)." The relative ᾧ is typically read as referring to the action (getting drunk) or to the wine-as-used-to-excess, not to wine as such.
πληροῦσθε ἐν πνεύματι — antithetical imperative: "be filled with/in Spirit." The contrast is between two controlling influences, not between two beverages.