StrongerBible

kruptō

κρύπτω

GreekG2928hide, conceal, ...

Appears 18 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Mat 5:14Mat 11:25Mat 13:35Mat 13:44 (2×)Mat 25:18Mat 25:25Luk 18:34Luk 19:42Jhn 8:59Jhn 12:36Jhn 19:38Col 3:31Ti 5:25Heb 11:23Rev 2:17Rev 6:15Rev 6:16
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Word studyKROOP-tohverb

What kruptō means

to hide: to put someone or something out of sight, or to keep a thing from being seen, known, or noticed.

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At its simplest the word means to put something where it cannot be seen. A man buries treasure in a field, a servant sinks his master's money into the ground, Moses' parents keep their baby out of sight for three months, and twice Jesus slips away from a hostile crowd. In each case someone or something is deliberately moved beyond view.

The same verb reaches past physical hiding to whatever is held back from knowledge or notice. A city set on a hill "cannot be hidden," and good deeds cannot stay unnoticed forever. The meaning of Jesus' words is kept from his hearers, and God conceals his purposes from the clever while opening them to the childlike. Here nothing is buried, yet the thing is still kept from sight or understanding.

A related verb for covering (καλύπτω) drapes a covering over something, while this word moves it out of the eye's reach; the stronger compound (ἀποκρύπτω) leans further toward secrets kept on purpose. What ties every use together is intent: someone chooses to keep the thing from view, whether the thing is an object, a person, or a truth.

Nuances

1ato conceal from sight: to put a thing or a person where it cannot be seen.
Mat 13:44 (2×)Mat 25:18Mat 25:25Jhn 8:59Jhn 12:36Heb 11:23Rev 6:15Rev 6:16
1bto keep from being known or noticed: to hold a truth, fact, or thing back from perception.
Mat 5:14Mat 11:25Mat 13:35Luk 18:34Luk 19:42Jhn 19:38Col 3:31Ti 5:25Rev 2:17

What scholars say about kruptō

The lexica treat κρύπτω as a single verb, "to hide, conceal," ranging from literal concealment from sight to keeping something from knowledge (BDAG, s.v.; LSJ, s.v.). Albrecht Oepke's article in TDNT notes the strong biblical pattern in which what God conceals is concealed provisionally and destined for later disclosure, a motif visible in the "hidden manna" of Revelation 2:17 and in the things "hidden since the foundation of the world" now told in parable at Matthew 13:35.

Sources

  • BDAG, s.v. κρύπτωlexicon
  • LSJ, s.v. κρύπτωlexicon
  • Albrecht Oepke, "κρύπτω, ἀποκρύπτω, κρυπτός, κρυφαῖος, κρυφῇ, κρύπτη, ἀπόκρυφος," in Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (TDNT) 3:957-1000dictionary

All attested forms of κρύπτω

second-aorist passive indicative 3s

ἐκρύβη

Luk 19:42, Jhn 8:59, Jhn 12:36, Heb 11:23

second-aorist active indicative 3s

ἔκρυψεν

Mat 13:44, Mat 25:18

second-aorist passive infinitive

κρυβῆναι

Mat 5:14, 1Ti 5:25

aorist active imperative 2p

κρύψατε

Rev 6:16

perfect passive indicative 3s

κέκρυπται

Col 3:3

perfect passive participle accusative n p

κεκρυμμένα

Mat 13:35

perfect passive participle dative m s

κεκρυμμένῳ

Mat 13:44

perfect passive participle genitive n s

κεκρυμμένου

Rev 2:17

perfect passive participle nominative m s

κεκρυμμένος

Jhn 19:38

perfect passive participle nominative n s

κεκρυμμένον

Luk 18:34

second-aorist active indicative 1s

ἔκρυψα

Mat 25:25

second-aorist active indicative 2s

ἔκρυψας

Mat 11:25

second-aorist active indicative 3p

ἔκρυψαν

Rev 6:15