TR: meod → σφόδρα — Vehemence as Intensifier¶

Chain¶

Hebrew OT: מְאֹד (meod) H3966 — 277x
LXX Bridge: G4970 σφόδρα (sphódra) — 235 co-occurrences, PMI 33.84
Greek NT: σφόδρα — 11 occurrences

Hebrew Word: H3966 מְאֹד (meod)¶

POS: Adverb / masculine adjective / substantive
Core Meaning: Vehemence; used to intensify degree — "very," "exceedingly," "greatly"
OT Occurrences: 277 unique verses, 28 books
Doubled Form (meod meod): Superlative intensification — "exceedingly greatly"

Key OT Verses: - Gen 1:31 — "God saw every thing... and behold it was very good" — divine evaluation - Deut 6:5 — "love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, soul, and might (meod)" — substantive use - Zech 9:9 — "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion" — messianic prophecy - Ezek 37:2 — "behold there were very many in the open valley" — eschatological vision

LXX Bridge¶

H3966 meod → G4970 σφόδρα:
- Co-occurrences: 235x (out of 277 Hebrew verses)
- PMI Score: 33.84 (extremely high — near exclusive correspondence)
- Coverage: ~85% of meod's OT occurrences are rendered σφόδρα in LXX

This is one of the strongest one-to-one Hebrew-Greek mappings in the LXX. The Greek translators treated σφόδρα as the standard equivalent across all semantic domains in which meod appears — emotional intensity, material abundance, covenant commands, and eschatological descriptions alike.

Other LXX renderings of meod: | Greek | Co-occ | Context | |-------|--------|---------| | πολύς (polys) | 47 | Multitude/quantity contexts | | μέγας (megas) | 40 | Paired with gadol "very great" | | λίαν (lian) | 6 | "Exceeding" contexts |

Greek Word: G4970 σφόδρα (sphódra)¶

POS: Adverb (neuter plural of σφοδρός "violent/intense")
NT Occurrences: 11 verses
KJV Translations: greatly (2x), very (2x), exceeding (1x), exceedingly (1x), they were exceeding (2x), they were exceedingly (1x), sore (1x), right well (1x)

NT Occurrences: - Matt 2:10 — "they rejoiced with exceeding great joy" (Magi see star) - Matt 17:6 — disciples "fell on their face, and were sore afraid" - Matt 17:23 — disciples "were exceeding sorry" (death of Son foretold) - Matt 18:31 — servants "were very sorry" (parable of unforgiving servant) - Matt 19:25 — disciples "were exceedingly amazed" (who then can be saved?) - Matt 26:22 — disciples "were exceeding sorrowful" (one of you shall betray me) - Matt 26:37 — Jesus "began to be very heavy" (Gethsemane) - Mark 16:4 — "they saw the stone rolled away: for it was very great" - Luke 18:23 — rich ruler "was very sorrowful: for he was very rich" - Acts 6:7 — "the number of the disciples multiplied in Jerusalem greatly" - Rev 16:21 — "men blasphemed God because of the hail; for the plague thereof was exceeding great"

Matthew uses σφόδρα 7 of the 11 NT occurrences, consistently for emotional states — exactly as the Hebrew meod functions in the OT narratives.

Semantic Continuity¶

Semantic Function	OT (meod) Example	NT (sphódra) Example
Emotional intensity	Gen 4:5 "Cain was very wroth"	Matt 26:22 "disciples exceeding sorrowful"
Fear/awe before the divine	Exo 19:16 "the people greatly trembled"	Matt 17:6 "disciples sore afraid"
Material greatness	1 Ki 10:2 "very great train... very much gold"	Mark 16:4 "stone very great"
Joy/celebration	Zech 9:9 "Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion"	Matt 2:10 "rejoiced with exceeding great joy"

The Zech 9:9 → Matt 2:10 link is especially notable: the LXX of Zech 9:9 uses σφόδρα ("Rejoice greatly"), and Matthew explicitly connects the Magi's joy to the messianic arrival, using the same σφόδρα to describe their exceeding great joy.

Word Family¶

G4971 σφοδρῶς (sphodrōs) — adverbial form of same root; "exceedingly" (Acts 27:18 — storm at sea)

Hebrew Words Also Rendered σφόδρα in LXX¶

Hebrew	Strong's	Co-occ	Notes
רָבָה (rabah)	H7235	31	"multiply" — LXX uses sphódra for intensity of multiplying
גָּדוֹל (gadol)	H1419	39	"great" — when context demands extreme degree
כָּבֵד (kabed)	H3515	11	"heavy/severe" — plague/burden contexts
חָרָה (charah)	H2734	16	"to burn/be angry" — emotional intensity
יָפֶה (yapheh)	H3303	7	"fair/beautiful" — extreme beauty