ἔβρυχον
brýchō
they gnashed
To grind, chatter, or gnash the teeth, primarily as an involuntary expression of intense emotion or physical distress. The term refers to the audible or forceful action of pressing the upper and lower teeth together, frequently associated with extreme pain, anger, or anguish. In literary and biblical contexts, often describes the act as an outward sign of suffering, fury, or frustration, and sometimes as an anticipatory sign of judgment or despair.
Acts 7:54 · Word #9
Lexicon G1031
| Lemma | βρύχω |
| Transliteration | brýchō |
| Strong's | G1031 |
| Definition | To grind, chatter, or gnash the teeth, primarily as an involuntary expression of intense emotion or physical distress. The term refers to the audible or forceful action of pressing the upper and lower teeth together, frequently associated with extreme pain, anger, or anguish. In literary and biblical contexts, often describes the act as an outward sign of suffering, fury, or frustration, and sometimes as an anticipatory sign of judgment or despair. |
Morphology V IMPF ACT IND 3P PL
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | V — Verb — An action or state of being |
| Tense | IMPF — Imperfect — Continuous or repeated past action |
| Voice | ACT — Active — The subject performs the action |
| Mood | IND — Indicative — States a fact or reality |
| Person | 3P — 3rd person — The one spoken about ("he/she/it/they") |
| Number | PL — Plural — More than one |
Common Translation
| Phrase | they gnashed |
| Literal | they-gnashed |
Lexical Info
| Lemma | βρύχω |
| Strong's | G1031 |
SIBI-P1 Translation G1031-01
they were gnashing teeth
| Morphological Notes | Verb; imperfect tense (past ongoing), active voice, indicative mood, third person plural. |
| Rendering Rationale | The imperfect active indicative, third person plural, denotes an ongoing past action performed by them. "Were gnashing teeth" preserves the root sense of grinding or chattering the teeth while reflecting the continuous aspect of the imperfect tense. |
View full lexicon entry for G1031 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
they were gnashing
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | P1 adds 'teeth' which belongs with the next word; here, 'they were gnashing' alone is needed for the verb. |