νυμφών
nymphṓn
G3567 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A room or suite within a house or building specifically designated for the bridal couple during wedding festivities; more broadly, the setting or chamber used for wedding celebrations or the consummation of marriage. By extension, νυμφών can also refer to the marital relationship or the occasion of a wedding within the context of ancient Greco-Roman society, often evoking the joyous communal dimension of the event.
Semantic Range
bridal chamber, wedding room, room for bridal couple, marriage chamber, setting of wedding festivities, occasion of marriage
Root / Etymology
From νύμφη (nymphē, 'bride, young woman of marriageable age') plus suffix -ών, indicating a place or room associated with the bride.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical Greek, νυμφών designated the innermost or specially prepared bridal chamber where the bride and groom would retreat after the wedding feast, signifying both the private consummation of marriage and the celebratory context. In the Hellenistic and Roman periods, the term maintained its association with weddings but also reflected the architectural feature—a room attached or adjacent to the groom's house or the reception hall. In Jewish and early Christian writings (including the Gospels, e.g., Matthew 9:15; Mark 2:19), νυμφών is used to evoke the context of wedding feasts, joy, and celebration, sometimes as a metaphor for spiritual realities but primarily as a concrete term for the place or social occasion. English translations often render νυμφών as "bridechamber" or "wedding chamber," but these can underrepresent the broader festive and communal aspects that νυμφών signified in ancient cultures.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from νύμφη; the bridal room:--bridechamber.
Root Family
νυμφ- (nýmphē) — marriage, wedding, bride
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G3567-01 |
νυμφῶνος | numphonos | N GEN M SG |
bridechamber | of the bridal chamber | of the bridal chamber | 3 |
Occurrences in Scripture
3 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G3567-01 |
Matthew 9:15 | νυμφῶνος | numphonos | N GEN M SG |
bridegroom | of the bridal chamber | of the bridal chamber |
G3567-01 |
Mark 2:19 | νυμφῶνος | numphonos | N GEN M SG |
of the bridechamber | of the bridal chamber | of the bridal chamber |
G3567-01 |
Luke 5:34 | νυμφῶνος | numphonos | N GEN M SG |
bridechamber | of the bridal chamber | of the bridal chamber |