UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: body

Semantic entry: 8.1

Semantic domains: Body, Body Parts, and Body Products

Subdomains: Body

Definition: the physical body of persons, animals, or plants,{N:001} either dead or alive

Notes: In a number of languages a clear distinction must be made between the body of a living person and a dead body (or corpse). Other languages distinguish between the bodies of persons and the bodies of animals, and frequently the term for a body of a plant is distinct from those referring to persons or animals. Often a term for body consists of a phrase, for example, ‘flesh and bones,’ and in a number of languages a reference to the body is made primarily by referring to the person himself. For example, in OET MAT 26:12 (‘has poured this ointment on my body’) the appropriate equivalent may be ‘has poured this ointment on me.’ In certain instances ‘body’ may be rendered as something which is experienced. For example, in OET CO1 6:20 ‘glorify God through your body’ may be rendered as ‘glorify God through what you do’ or ‘… do in your body.’

Sense 2: self, physical being

Semantic entry: 9.8

Semantic domains: People

Subdomains: Human Beings

Definition: (a figurative extension of meaning of σῶμα[a] ‘body,’ 8.1: σῶμα) a person as a physical being, including natural desires{N:002}

Sense 3: congregation, Christian group, church

Semantic entry: 11.34

Semantic domains: Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes

Subdomains: Socio-Religious

Definition: (a figurative extension of meaning of σῶμα[a] ‘body,’ 8.1: σῶμα) believers in Christ who are joined together as a group, with the implication of each having a distinctive function within the group

Notes: Though in some languages it may seem relatively strange to speak of an organization of persons as a ‘body,’ it is important to try to preserve in one way or another this figurative meaning of σῶμα, since it plays such an important role in various phases of Paul’s teaching. It is frequently necessary, however, to change the metaphor into a simile, as has already been suggested in the translation of OET EPH 4:12.

Sense 4: slave

Semantic entry: 87.78

Semantic domains: Status

Subdomains: Slave, Free

Definition: a slave as property to be sold, with the probable implicaton of commerce

Sense 5: reality, corresponding reality

Semantic entry: 58.66

Semantic domains: Nature, Class, Example

Subdomains: Archetype, Corresponding Type [Antitype]

Definition: an entity which corresponds to an archetype or foreshadowing

Sense 6: heavenly body

Semantic entry: 1.26

Semantic domains: Geographical Objects and Features

Subdomains: Heavenly Bodies

Definition: (an idiom, literally: heavenly body, occurring in the NT only in the plural{N:003}) the luminous objects in the sky: sun, moon, and other planets and stars

Notes: See also 1.8: ἐπουράνιος.|The phrase σῶμα ἐπουράνιον is a highly generic expression which in the plural is sometimes translatable as ‘lights in the sky,’ but more often than not it may be necessary to identify the various heavenly bodies as ‘sun, moon, and stars.’ In certain contexts one may also wish to identify the planets, often spoken of as ‘wandering stars’ or ‘moving stars’ (reflecting the etymology of the English word planet, which is derived from a Greek word meaning ‘wanderer’). These are, of course, not to be confused with shooting stars and comets in the sky.

Collocations: σῶμα ἐπουράνιον

Sense 7: to die

Semantic entry: 23.111

Semantic domains: Physiological Processes and States

Subdomains: Live, Die

Definition: (an idiom, literally: to leave home from the body) euphemistic expressions for dying

Collocations: ἐκδημέω ἐκ τοῦ σώματος