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ῥύμη

rhýmē

G4505 noun

SILEX Entry

Root ῥυμ- to flow, to move, to run (as of movement)

Definition

A street, especially in the sense of a city thoroughfare or main avenue; a public road or lane within a settlement, typically characterized as a place of passage or gathering. Contextually used for major streets or prominent public ways in a city, as opposed to narrower back-alleys (which might use a different term). Occasionally may carry connotations of a wide or heavily frequented urban way.

Semantic Range

main street, avenue, prominent public street, lane (in the sense of a street-way), busy thoroughfare

Root / Etymology

Derived from the root ῥυμ- (possibly from ῥέω, 'to flow'), related to the idea of movement or flowing, thus applied to a place of passage. The precise relationship with ῥύομαι ('to rescue, deliver'), as indicated in Strong, is uncertain; most likely it emerges from a broader semantic field of flow or movement.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical and Hellenistic Greek, ῥύμη most commonly referred to a main street, avenue, or prominent thoroughfare, implying both width and traffic, and typically contrasted with στενωπός, which referred to a narrow lane or alley. In the Septuagint and New Testament, the term occurs rarely, with one prominent NT instance in Luke 14:21, where it appears parallel to πλατεῖα ('broad street'), further underscoring the sense of a primary city street. The majority of English Bible translations render ῥύμη as 'street', though sometimes as 'lane' or 'alley'; however, this can understate the prominent, sometimes wide or busy character that ῥύμη can imply in ancient urban contexts. As urban design in the Greco-Roman world often featured both broad avenues and narrow side passages, the term reflects social and architectural realities of populated areas and should be understood in contrast to narrower byways.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

prolongation from ῥύομαι in its original sense; an alley or avenue (as crowded):--lane, street.

Root Family

ῥύμη (rhýmē) — flow, movement, main street, thoroughfare, public avenue

Word Forms

3 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
G4505-03 ῥύμην rumen N ACC F SG street a main thoroughfare 2
G4505-01 ῥύμαις rumais N DAT F PL to main streets 1
G4505-02 ῥύμας rumas N ACC F PL lanes main thoroughfares 1

Occurrences in Scripture

4 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
G4505-01 Matthew 6:2 ῥύμαις rumais N DAT F PL to main streets
G4505-02 Luke 14:21 ῥύμας rumas N ACC F PL lanes main thoroughfares
G4505-03 Acts 9:11 ῥύμην rumen N ACC F SG street a main thoroughfare
G4505-03 Acts 12:10 ῥύμην rumen N ACC F SG street a main thoroughfare
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