3373. mékunó
Lexical Summary
mékunó: To lengthen, to extend, to increase

Original Word: μεκυνώ
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: mékunó
Pronunciation: mek-oo-NO
Phonetic Spelling: (may-koo'-no)
KJV: grow up
NASB: grows
Word Origin: [from G3372 (μῆκος - length)]

1. to lengthen
2. (middle voice) to enlarge

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 Origin
from mékos
Definition
to lengthen, grow
NASB Translation
grows (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 3373: μηκύνω

μηκύνω: (μῆκος); from Herodotus and Pindar down; to make long, to lengthen; in the Bible twice of plants, equivalent to to cause to grow, increase: 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.
• Reformation expositors underscored sola gratia, stressing that the seed’s growth mirrors regeneration wrought by the Spirit, not human merit.
• Modern missions have applied the verse to church planting: sow the Word, nurture conditions, and trust God for indigenous growth.

Pastoral and Missional Applications

• Cultivate Confidence: Teachers of Scripture can labor without anxiety, knowing the Word will perform its work (Isaiah 55:10-11).
• Encourage Patience: Spiritual leaders should expect gradual progress in discipleship, resisting premature judgments.
• Model Rest: Healthy rhythms of sabbath and sleep testify that God works even when His servants do not.

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 mēkýnētai
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Mark 4:27 V-PSM/P-3S
GRK: βλαστᾷ καὶ μηκύνηται ὡς οὐκ
NAS: sprouts and grows-- how,
KJV: should spring and grow up, he knoweth
INT: should sprout and grow how not

Strong's Greek 3373
1 Occurrence


μηκύνηται — 1 Occ.

3372
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