G3565 — νύμφη (nýmphē)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3565
Original: νύμφη
Transliteration: nýmphē
Pronunciation: noom-fay
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: From a primary but obsolete verb νύπτω (nýptō) — "to veil" (as a bride)
Occurrences: 8 tokens in 7 unique verses of the NT
Books: 4 (Matthew, Luke, John, Revelation)
First Occurrence: Mat 10:35 — "the daughter in law against her mother in law"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From a primary but obsolete verb νύπτω (nýptō, "to veil as a bride"); a young married woman (as veiled), by implication a bride; also the younger wife in the household of her husband's parents, i.e., a daughter-in-law. The dual sense — "bride" and "daughter-in-law" — is built into the word itself and reflects the ancient household where the bride moved into her husband's father's house after marriage.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 10: Kinship Terms
Subdomain 10.4: Kinship Relations Based upon Marriage
Other words in subdomain: ἀνήρ (G435, "husband/man"), ἄνθρωπος (G444), γυνή (G1135, "wife/woman"), νυμφίος (G3566, "bridegroom"), πενθερά (G3994, "mother-in-law"), πενθερός (G3995, "father-in-law"), σκεῦος (G4632, "vessel" — metaphorical), χῆρος (G5503, "widow")

UBS Semantic Domains¶

Code	Domain Label	Notes
010	Kinship Terms	`search_relationships.py` keeps nýmphē in the marriage-kinship field, which fits both its "bride" and "daughter-in-law" senses.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
bride	3	42.9%
the daughter in law	2	28.6%
a bride	1	14.3%
daughter in law	1	14.3%
of the bride	1	14.3%

Split is roughly even: "bride" senses (~57%) vs. "daughter-in-law" senses (~43%). The split tracks genre: synoptic household-conflict sayings take "daughter-in-law"; John and Revelation take "bride."

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Revelation	4	1.0
Matthew	1	0.1
Luke	1	0.1
John	1	0.1

Concentrated in Revelation (4 of 7 verses, all "bride" sense). Absent entirely from Paul, Hebrews, the Catholic epistles, and the OT historical Gospels apart from one synoptic saying each. Revelation accounts for all three occurrences where the bride is identified symbolically (New Jerusalem, the Lamb's wife, the Spirit-and-bride voice).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Daughter-in-Law (Household Relation)¶

The married woman in relation to her husband's parents. Used in synoptic sayings about household division. - Mat 10:35 — "the daughter in law against her mother in law" - Luk 12:53 — "the mother in law against her daughter in law, and the daughter in law against her mother in law"

2. Bride (Literal Wedding Context)¶

The veiled young wife in immediate wedding setting; paired with νυμφίος (bridegroom). - Jhn 3:29 — "He that hath the bride is the bridegroom" - Rev 18:23 — "the voice of the bridegroom and of the bride shall be heard no more at all in thee" (echoing Jer 7:34 / 16:9 / 25:10)

3. Bride (Eschatological / Symbolic)¶

The people of God presented as bride to the Lamb. Exclusive to Revelation. - Rev 21:2 — "new Jerusalem... prepared as a bride adorned for her husband" - Rev 21:9 — "I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife" - Rev 22:17 — "the Spirit and the bride say, Come"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occ	Typical Pattern
ἔρχομαι (érchomai)	G2064	3x (43%)	bride "comes" / is brought / says "come"
ἀκούω (akoúō)	G191	3x (43%)	voice of the bride heard / not heard
νυμφίος (nymphíos)	G3566	2x (29%)	bride + bridegroom pair (Jhn 3:29; Rev 18:23)
θυγάτηρ (thygátēr)	G2364	2x (29%)	daughter / daughter-in-law pair in household sayings
μήτηρ (mḗtēr)	G3384	2x (29%)	mother / mother-in-law pair
πενθερά (pentherá)	G3994	2x (29%)	mother-in-law opposite daughter-in-law
πατήρ (patḗr)	G3962	2x (29%)	father in household-division context
φωνή (phōnḗ)	G5456	2x (29%)	"voice" of the bride/bridegroom
ἀρνίον (arníon)	G721	1x (14%)	"the Lamb's wife" (Rev 21:9)

Word Family / Cognates¶

νυμφίος (nymphíos) G3566 — bridegroom; the masculine counterpart, from the same root
νυμφών (nymphōn) G3567 — bridal chamber / bridal party ("children of the bridechamber")

Synonyms¶

search_relationships.py surfaced nearby kinship and wedding vocabulary: - G79 ἀδελφή (adelphē) — sister; neighboring female kinship term in the same relational field - G3933 παρθένος (parthenos) — virgin, maiden; adjacent bridal vocabulary

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G3565.

Easily Confused Words (KJV overlap)¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
γυνή (gynē)	G1135	both can stand behind "wife"	gynē = adult woman/wife generally; nymphē = specifically bride/newly-married/daughter-in-law
παρθένος (parthenos)	G3933	wedding/virgin overlap in English	parthenos = virgin (marital status); nymphē = bride (relational role at wedding)

LXX / Cross-Testament Confusion¶

כַּלָּה (kallâh) H3618 — the dominant Hebrew source; also carries both "bride" and "daughter-in-law" senses. The dual sense in Greek nýmphē directly inherits from Hebrew kallâh.

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
כַּלָּה (kallâh)	H3618	28	9.51	Primary equivalent; same dual "bride/daughter-in-law" semantics
חָתָן (châthân)	H2860	7	8.15	Bridegroom / son-in-law; parallel term, appears in same wedding contexts
תָּמָר (Tâmâr)	H8559	4	7.06	Personal name (Tamar, Judah's daughter-in-law, Gen 38)
שָׂשׂוֹן (sâsôwn)	H8342	4	7.06	"Joy" — wedding joy formula (Jer 7:34 etc.)
שִׂמְחָה (simchâh)	H8057	4	5.07	"Gladness" — paired with sâsôwn in wedding formulas
בְּתוּלָה (bᵉthûlâh)	H1330	3	5.46	Virgin / maiden; adjacent semantic range

The primary bridge is unmistakably kallâh → nýmphē. Both words independently carry the same dual bride/daughter-in-law ambiguity, so the Hebrew semantic field transfers cleanly into Greek.