κοπετός (kopetos)
kopetos
lamentation
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The noun kopetos describes a loud, physical expression of grief, specifically involving the beating of the head or breast. In the New Testament, it appears only once, in Acts 8:2, to depict the intense mourning felt by the Jewish community over the death of Stephen. This usage aligns with its Old Testament background, where it often translates Hebrew terms for formal lamentation rituals.
The word’s root implies a visceral reaction to loss rather than quiet sorrow. By focusing on the bodily act of striking oneself, kopetos conveys the raw, public nature of deep distress. Translators typically render it as "lamentation" or "mourning," capturing both the sound and the physical gesture associated with such profound grief in the ancient world.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word kopetos captures a grief so deep it demands physical expression. In the ancient world, mourning was not a private affair but a communal outcry, marked by loud wailing and gestures like striking the chest or head. This raw display acknowledged that some losses are too heavy to be contained in silence.
Acts 8:2 records this intense response when devout men buried Stephen. Their lamentation was not just about sadness; it was a public testimony to the value of the life lost and the shock of sudden violence. It reminds us that grief is valid, even when it looks messy or loud.
You do not need to hide your sorrow from God or others. This word shows that honest mourning is part of how we honor those we love and process the pain of a fallen world. There is grace in admitting that some days are simply too hard for quiet composure.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- lamentation1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- κοπετὸν1×
Key Verses
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Acts 8:2
Devout men buried Stephen and lamented greatly over him.
This verse uses kopetos to highlight the visceral, public nature of the community's grief over Stephen's martyrdom.