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βασανισμός

basanismós

G929 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

The act or condition of severe physical or mental distress, pain, or affliction, typically resulting from testing, examination, or coercive force; specifically, the experience or process of enduring great suffering or agony, either bodily or psychological. In some contexts, denotes the act of subjecting someone or something to testing or torment as a means of determining genuineness or extracting information. Semantic range includes: torture, torment, severe suffering, distress, agony, acute affliction.

Semantic Range

torture, torment, severe suffering (physical or psychological), agony, affliction, process of testing by ordeal, judicial punishment, eschatological torment

Root / Etymology

From the verb βασανίζω (to test, to examine by torture, to torment), which itself is derived from βάσανος, a touchstone used for testing gold and, by extension, a means of testing or trial; ultimately of uncertain but probable Semitic origin (possibly Phoenician).

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, βασανισμός is rare but related to the idea of testing metals with a touchstone (βάσανος), extending metaphorically to any form of testing, trial, or ordeal—physical or mental. In Hellenistic and Koine Greek, especially in the Septuagint and New Testament, the term shifts towards the concrete sense of torment or suffering inflicted or endured, sometimes in a judicial or eschatological context (e.g., punishment of the wicked, demonic torment). The term emphasizes the process or experience of affliction rather than merely the infliction of pain. While English translations often render the word as "torment" or "torture," the Greek nuance includes the idea of rigorous testing or trial, not always connoting physical torture. In some apocalyptic or eschatological literature, βασανισμός refers to the suffering of figures in an afterlife or judgment scenario, retaining both the literal and metaphorical senses. Distinct from related words such as θλῖψις (pressure, tribulation), which denote broader categories of trouble or hardship rather than the acute agony or process of torment implied by βασανισμός.

Translation Consistency

primary "torment" 6 occurrences

Torment best captures the normal semantic range here—severe physical or mental suffering, agony, and eschatological affliction—while remaining natural English. It matches the attested P2 renderings and is broader than the narrower, more technical 'torture' and stronger than the milder 'affliction,' so it will cover both physical coercion and psychological/spiritual suffering consistently.

✓ All renderings match approved senses

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from βασανίζω; torture:--torment.

Root Family

βασαν- (basanízō) — to test, to examine, to torment, to afflict

Root βασαν- to test, to examine, to torment, to afflict
Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
G928 βασανίζω to subject to severe torment
G930 βασανιστής to the torturers
G931 βάσανος by torments

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G929-03 βασανισμοῦ basanismou N GEN M SG torment of torment torment 3
G929-02 βασανισμὸς basanismos N NOM M SG torment tormenting ordeal torment 2
G929-01 βασανισμὸν basanismon N ACC M SG torment severe torment torment 1

Occurrences in Scripture

6 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G929-02 Revelation 9:5 βασανισμὸς basanismos N NOM M SG torment tormenting ordeal torment
G929-02 Revelation 9:5 βασανισμὸς basanismos-2 N NOM M SG torment tormenting ordeal torment
G929-03 Revelation 14:11 βασανισμοῦ basanismou N GEN M SG torment of torment torment
G929-01 Revelation 18:7 βασανισμὸν basanismon N ACC M SG torment severe torment torment
G929-03 Revelation 18:10 βασανισμοῦ basanismou N GEN M SG torment of torment torment
G929-03 Revelation 18:15 βασανισμοῦ basanismou N GEN M SG her torment of torment torment
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