προσρήγνυμι (prosrēgnumi)
prosrēgnumi
to strike
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 2 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The verb prosrēgnumi describes the violent action of dashing or striking against something with force. Its root components suggest a movement toward an object followed by a breaking impact, creating an image of collision rather than gentle contact. This word appears only twice in the New Testament, both times within the Gospel of Luke.
In Luke 6:48-49, Jesus uses this term to illustrate the fate of those who build their lives on unstable ground. When the storm comes, the house does not merely sway; it breaks apart as its foundation is dashed against the rock. The imagery emphasizes total structural failure caused by a lack of deep anchoring.
Translators typically render this word as "break" or "dash against," capturing the suddenness and destructiveness of the event. It serves as a stark warning that without a solid foundation, external pressures will not just damage but completely shatter what is built upon shifting sand.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
Life brings storms that test every structure we build. Jesus uses the word prosrēgnumi to describe a violent collision, where rushing waters dash against a house until it shatters. This image reminds us that our stability depends entirely on what lies beneath the surface. When pressure mounts, shallow foundations cannot hold.
We are invited to dig deep and lay our lives on the rock of Christ’s teaching. It is not enough to hear these words; we must live them. Those who do find that when the flood rises, they remain steady. The ruin of the house without a foundation was great, but those anchored in truth stand firm.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 2 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- burst upon1×
- burst1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- προσέρηξεν2×
Key Verses
-
Luke 6:48
He is like a man building a house, who dug and went deep and laid a foundation on the rock. When a flood arose, the stream broke against that house, and could not shake it, because it was founded on the rock.
This verse shows the word describing how the stream breaks against a firmly founded house that remains unshaken.
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Luke 6:49
But he who hears and doesn’t do, is like a man who built a house on the earth without a foundation, against which the stream broke, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great.”
Here the same action causes immediate collapse and great ruin for the house built without any foundation.