G3561 — νουμηνία / νεομηνία (noumēnia)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3561
Original: νουμηνία (variant: νεομηνία)
Transliteration: noumēnia (variant: neomēnia)
Pronunciation: noo-may-nee'-ah
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Etymology: Compound of νέος (neos, G3501, "new") + μήν (mēn, G3376, "month/moon") — literally "new moon"
Occurrences: 1 in NT (hapax legomenon)
First Occurrence: Col 2:16 — "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days"
Hapax Legomenon: YES — this word appears only once in the entire New Testament

Lexicon Definition¶

Feminine noun; compound of νέος (new) and μήν (month/moon). The new moon; the first day of the lunar month, observed as a festival in Jewish religious practice.

Note on form: The textual tradition preserves two orthographic variants — νουμηνία (contracted Attic form) and νεομηνία (uncontracted Ionic/Koine form). The Greek NT text at Col 2:16 reads νεομηνίας (genitive singular feminine). Both forms refer to the same word.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
of the new moon	1	100%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Colossians	1	1.1

Single occurrence. The word appears exclusively in Paul's letter to the Colossians.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Calendrical Observance in a Festival Triad¶

Col 2:16 — "Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday (heorte), or of the new moon (noumenia), or of the sabbath days (sabbaton)"

The sole NT use places noumenia as the middle term in a three-part sequence of Jewish sacred times: annual festivals (heorte) → monthly new moons (noumenia) → weekly sabbaths (sabbaton). This descending pattern (yearly → monthly → weekly) mirrors OT calendar formulae (cf. 1 Chr 23:31, 2 Chr 2:4, 2 Chr 31:3, Neh 10:33, Isa 1:13, Ezek 45:17, Hos 2:11).

Common Collocations¶

As a hapax legomenon, co-occurrence data within the NT is limited to a single verse. The words appearing alongside noumenia in Col 2:16-17 are:

Word	Strong's	Context
ἑορτή (heorte)	G1859	"holyday" — annual festival
σάββατον (sabbaton)	G4521	"sabbath days" — weekly rest
σκιά (skia)	G4639	"shadow" — Col 2:17 calls these observances "a shadow of things to come"
σῶμα (soma)	G4983	"body" — "but the body is of Christ"
κρίνω (krino)	G2919	"judge" — "let no man judge you"
βρῶσις (brosis)	G1035	"meat" — dietary observance
πόσις (posis)	G4213	"drink" — dietary observance

Word Family / Cognates¶

G3501 νέος (neos) — "new" (adjective, 24 NT occurrences)
G3376 μήν (mēn) — "month" (noun, 18 NT occurrences)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
H2320 חֹדֶשׁ (chodesh)	H2320	"new moon" / "month"	Hebrew OT equivalent; 276 occurrences across OT; means both "new moon" (festival) and "month" (calendar unit)

No other Greek word in the NT shares the translation "new moon." In the KJV, all OT "new moon" references translate H2320 (chodesh). G3561 is the sole Greek NT term for this concept.

Semantic Domain¶

[051] Festivals — Other words in domain: γενέσια (G1077), ἐγκαίνια (G1456), ἑορτάζω (G1858), ἑορτή (G1859), εὐφραίνω (G2165), νηστεία (G3521)

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

The primary Hebrew word behind G3561 in the LXX tradition:

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
חֹדֶשׁ (chodesh)	H2320	22	20.71	Primary equivalent — "the new moon; by implication, a month"
שַׁבָּת (shabbath)	H7676	10	16.29	Frequently co-occurs in calendar formulae ("new moons and sabbaths")
מוֹעֵד (moed)	H4150	10	13.30	"Appointed time/feast" — co-occurs in festival lists
עֹלָה (olah)	H5930	9	11.73	"Burnt offering" — prescribed for new moon observance (Num 28:11)
תָּמִיד (tamiyd)	H8548	5	10.02	"Continual" — the daily offering alongside new moon offerings
חַג (chag)	H2282	3	7.97	"Feast/festival" — co-occurs in comprehensive festival lists

The Hebrew chodesh (H2320) is the direct semantic equivalent. In the LXX, chodesh is rendered by νουμηνία specifically when the "new moon festival" meaning is in view, while μήν (G3376) is used when the "month" meaning is intended.

OT Background¶

Though G3561 appears only once in the NT, the concept is deeply rooted in the OT. Key OT passages referencing new moon observance (all translating H2320):

Num 10:10 — Trumpets blown "in the beginnings of your months" over burnt offerings
Num 28:11-15 — Prescribed new moon sacrifices: two bulls, one ram, seven lambs, one goat
1 Sam 20:5, 18, 24 — David and Jonathan use the new moon feast as a plot point
2 Kgs 4:23 — Travel to the prophet on "new moon" or "sabbath"
1 Chr 23:31 — Levitical duty at "sabbaths, new moons, and set feasts"
Isa 1:13-14 — God declares Israel's "new moons and appointed feasts" a burden due to wickedness
Hos 2:11 — God will cause "her new moons" to cease as judgment
Amos 8:5 — Merchants waiting for the new moon to end so they can sell grain