συνωδίνω
synōdínō
G4944 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To suffer birth pangs together with another; to share in painful labor or distress, especially in a metaphorical or collective sense. The central sense is to experience intense suffering jointly, often used figuratively to describe communal anticipation or hardship with the hope of eventual relief or transformation.
Semantic Range
to experience labor pains together, to suffer together intensely, to share in communal or cosmic anguish, to anticipate transformation through shared suffering
Root / Etymology
From the preposition σύν ('with, together with') and the verb ὠδίνω ('to be in labor, to suffer birth pangs'). The compound thus literally means 'to be in labor together.'
Historical & Contextual Notes
The verb συνωδίνω is rare and appears primarily in Hellenistic and early Christian Greek. Its notable attestation is in Romans 8:22, where Paul uses it metaphorically to convey the concept of all creation suffering together in anticipation of eschatological renewal. The imagery of childbirth labor, common in Greek literature to describe painful anticipation, is here broadened to a collective, cosmic scale. The term contrasts with ὠδίνω, which refers to an individual's labor pains; συνωδίνω emphasizes communal or simultaneous suffering. English translations often render it as 'groan together in labor pains' or 'suffer together,' but such phrases can obscure the birth-pang metaphor inherent in the Greek. The concept is more collective and extends beyond sympathy to actual shared participation in suffering. There is no direct classical Greek precedent for this compound, underscoring its creation or prominence in later Hellenistic-Jewish and early Christian Greek rhetoric. The semantic metaphor is grounded in experiences common to human life but here used to evoke profound communal or cosmic transformation.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from σύν and ὠδίνω; to have (parturition) pangs in company (concert, simultaneously) with, i.e. (figuratively) to sympathize (in expectation of relief from suffering):--travail in pain together.
Root Family
συνωδίνω (synōdinō) — to be in birth pains, to suffer labor, to share intense anguish together
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G4944-01 |
συνωδίνει | sunodinei | V PRS ACT IND 3P SG |
suffers the pains of childbirth | is suffering birth pangs together | is suffering birth pangs together | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G4944-01 |
Romans 8:22 | συνωδίνει | sunodinei | V PRS ACT IND 3P SG |
suffers the pains of childbirth | is suffering birth pangs together | is suffering birth pangs together |