Lexical Summary mékunó: To lengthen, to extend, to increase Original Word: μεκυνώ Strong's Exhaustive Concordance grow up. From mekos; to lengthen, i.e. (middle voice) to enlarge -- grow up. see GREEK mekos NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom mékos Definition to lengthen, grow NASB Translation grows (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 3373: μηκύνωμηκύνω: (μῆκος); from Herodotus and Pindar down; to make long, to lengthen; in the Bible twice of plants, equivalent to to cause to grow, increase: ὁ ἐφυτευσε κύριος καί ὑετός ἐμήκυνεν (יְגַדִּל), Isaiah 44:14; hence, passive (others, middle) present μηκύνομαι; to grow up: Mark 4:27 (μηκύνηται (Tr marginal reading μηκύνεται)). Topical Lexicon Root Idea and Imagery The verb μηκύνω draws its picture from the slow, almost imperceptible lengthening of a plant-stem. It is the quiet extension that turns a germinating seed into a mature stalk. The only New Testament occurrence (Mark 4:27) locates the word inside the Parable of the Growing Seed, where Jesus presents the kingdom of God as a seed that “sprouts and grows” while the farmer sleeps. Biblical Context: Mark 4:26-29 Jesus places μηκύνω between the farmer’s inability (“he himself does not know”) and the earth’s automatic productivity (“All by itself the soil produces a crop”). The term therefore serves as a hinge: the seed’s inward vitality, ordained by God, moves it from sprouting to full grain. The verse reads, “Night and day he sleeps and wakes, and the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how” (Mark 4:27). The growth is real, measurable, and purposeful; yet it remains hidden from human manipulation or explanation. Theological Significance 1. Divine Sovereignty in Sanctification A central lesson of the parable is that spiritual life, once implanted by the Word, will inexorably advance. Paul echoes the same dynamic: “I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow” (1 Corinthians 3:6). The farmer cooperates by sowing and harvesting, yet the lengthening belongs to God alone. 2. Assurance of the Kingdom’s Completion Just as the blade matures into full grain, so the kingdom begins in apparent insignificance and reaches consummation in God’s appointed “harvest” (Mark 4:29). Believers, therefore, live in hope, knowing that what is sown in weakness will rise in glory (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). 3. The Rhythm of Rest and Work The farmer’s alternating “sleep and rise” (Mark 4:27) portrays a life of faithful diligence balanced by restful trust. Ministry is not frantic coercion but patient participation in a process God guarantees. Hebrews 4:9-10 draws the same trajectory: entering God’s rest does not abolish labor; it redeems it. Historical Interpretation • Early Church Fathers such as Chrysostom used the parable to defend the hidden yet unstoppable expansion of the gospel amid persecution. Pastoral and Missional Applications • Cultivate Confidence: Teachers of Scripture can labor without anxiety, knowing the Word will perform its work (Isaiah 55:10-11). Related Biblical Motifs Growing in Grace – “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18). Organic Metaphors – Vine and branches (John 15:5); living stones (1 Peter 2:5). Harvest Eschatology – “The harvest is the end of the age” (Matthew 13:39). Summary μηκύνω highlights the invisible, sovereign, and inevitable progress of God’s kingdom and individual sanctification. The single New Testament occurrence, nested in the Parable of the Growing Seed, affirms that while believers sow and reap, only God can produce the life-giving, lengthening growth that brings the crop to full maturity. Forms and Transliterations εμήκυνεν μηκυνηται μηκύνηται μηκυνώ μηκυνώσιν μήλα μήλοις μηλόν μήλον μήλόν mekunetai mēkunētai mekynetai mekýnetai mēkynētai mēkýnētaiLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts |
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