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τεσσαράκοντα

tessarákonta

G5062 determiner

SILEX Entry

Definition

A cardinal numeral meaning 'forty' (40), designating the quantity of forty units in counting or enumeration. Used primarily for numbering objects, periods of time (such as days or years), or for expressing quantitative totality in lists or descriptions.

Semantic Range

forty, a group or quantity of forty, the number 40, forty days, forty years

Root / Etymology

From the root τεσσερα- (from τέσσαρες, 'four'), with the suffix –κοντα, which forms numerals denoting tens. The construction parallels other Greek decades (e.g., εἴκοσι for 20, τριάκοντα for 30), literally 'four tens.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

τεσσαράκοντα functions strictly as a numeral in Koine Greek, found in lists, law codes, and narrative description for quantities of forty. In classical and Hellenistic Greek, it carries no symbolic freight but sometimes serves to denote significant periods (e.g., forty days of fasting or wandering), likely following Semitic literary convention. In the Septuagint and New Testament, it most commonly appears in translation of Hebrew אַרְבָּעִים (arba‘im). English translations typically render it simply as 'forty,' which adequately conveys its literal meaning, though readers should note the possible symbolic connotations in some ancient literary and religious contexts (as periods of preparation, testing, or judgment), especially in biblical narrative. The word does not exhibit theological or metaphorical extension in Greek; those symbolic associations arise from the narrative contexts rather than the numeral's intrinsic meaning. Related to, but distinguished from, numeral adjectives (e.g., τεσσαρακονταετής, 'forty years old').

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

the decade of τέσσαρες; forty:--forty.

Root Family

τεσσαράκοντα (tessarakonta) — forty, four tens, a group of forty

Root τεσσερα- to count, to number in groups of forty

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G5062-01 τεσσεράκοντα tesserakonta DET ACC F PL forty forty forty 22

Occurrences in Scripture

22 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G5062-01 Matthew 4:2 τεσσεράκοντα tesserakonta DET ACC F PL forty forty forty
G5062-01 Matthew 4:2 τεσσεράκοντα tesserakonta-2 DET ACC F PL forty forty forty
G5062-01 Mark 1:13 τεσσεράκοντα tesserakonta DET ACC F PL forty forty forty
G5062-01 Luke 4:2 τεσσεράκοντα tesserakonta DET ACC F PL forty forty forty
G5062-01 John 2:20 τεσσεράκοντα tesserakonta DET DAT N PL forty forty forty
G5062-01 Acts 1:3 τεσσεράκοντα tesserakonta DET GEN F PL forty forty forty
G5062-01 Acts 4:22 τεσσεράκοντα tesserakonta DET GEN N PL forty forty forty
G5062-01 Acts 7:30 τεσσεράκοντα tesserakonta DET GEN N PL forty forty forty
G5062-01 Acts 7:36 τεσσεράκοντα tesserakonta DET ACC N PL forty forty forty
G5062-01 Acts 7:42 τεσσεράκοντα tesserakonta DET ACC N PL forty forty forty
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