Abarim Publications' online Biblical Greek Dictionary
κλινω
The verb κλινω (klino) means to lean or let lean, to seek or give support, or even to rest in a supportive sense. It stems from the Proto-Indo-European root "klei-", meaning to lean, and is the source of English words such as clinic, incline, decline, recline and even climate (see below).
Leaning is done when one item rests upon another, which means that the second item supports the first, checks its fall and so gives it rest. This implies that the first item never had or somehow lost the strength to support itself, and that it can only find rest by merit of that which supports it.
It's this specialized verb that's used to describe how foxes have holes and birds their nests but the Son of Man nothing to "lean" his head on (Matthew 8:20). This implies that nothing supports the Son of Man, which equates him with Melchizedek, who had no earthly origin (Hebrews 7:3). It also implies that the Son of Man never rests or is without strength to protect his people, which equates him with YHWH (Psalm 121:4). Strikingly, it's again this verb that describes the "leaning" of Jesus' head when he surrendered his spirit (John 19:30), which he did into the hands of the Father (Luke 24:46).
Leaning means reverting to something previous, stronger or lower, and may occur when one's strength fails, which in turn may result from exhaustion, fear or reverence (Luke 24:5). From this sense comes the idea that at evening, the day has lost its strength and begins to "lean" (Luke 9:12). In Hebrews 11:34 our verb occurs in a series of literary juxtapositions, and forms a verbal bridge between "armies" and "foreigners": they made armies from the support of aliens (rather than: put foreign armies to flight, as many translations have it). This difficult statement ties into the principle of God's global inspiration, which dictates that although the Jews received the law, other nations were not completely ignorant and received their share of vital insight. This same principle is the reason why Jesus lived in Nazareth (means the Diaspora), and why he got into trouble with the purists there (Luke 4:26-27). The exact same principle of "dogs eating crumbs that drop from the table" enticed Mary to put baby Jesus "to rest" in the manger, which was where lowly animals came to feed (Luke 2:7; the verb used here is the derived ανακλινω, anaklino, see below).
In the Greek classics our verb was often used to mean to recline on a bed or at a dinner, often against a fellow diner or someone else in that bed. In a geographic sense, our verb may describe how a coast "slopes" toward the sea, and this would include its towns and citizens. In rare instances, our verb may describe the dedication of a student toward his topic, but in the implied sense of the weak student needing the support of what he studies.
Our verb κλινω (klino), to lean, is used 7 times in the New Testament, see full concordance, and from it derive:
- Together with the preposition α (a), meaning without: the adjective ακλιης (aklines), meaning without leaning, without running out of the strength to keep standing: unwavering (Hebrews 10:23 only).
- Together with the preposition ανα (ana), meaning on or upon, and often used as an emphatic: the verb ανακλινω (anaklino), meaning to lean upon. This verb mostly means the same as the parent verb and the ανα (ana)-part is as emphatic as the word "down" in the English phrasal verb "to sit down". Still, this verb means much more than simply to sit down; it rather means to lean upon each other and find rest with each other. Above we already discussed Luke 2:7, where Mary let Jesus "find support from" the manger, where animals came to feed. In Luke 7:36 Jesus' bottom (not his head) is "given support" in the house of a Pharisee, which primarily simply means that he was given a place to recline, but which secondarily flirts with the fact that the legacy of Judaism (that would subsequently lead to both Christianity and ultimately our present scientific and information age) was preserved through the efforts of Pharisaism (the competing Sadducees, Zealots and Essenes all went extinct after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 AD).
In Matthew 8:11 Jesus famously foretells how people from all over the world will come and "lean upon" the Hebrew patriarchs, which is commonly interpreted to describe a mere gathering in some vast banquet hall but which much rather describes the dependency of all modern modes of thought upon the principles pioneered by the patriarchs. After all, Jesus promised rest to those upon whom leaned his lighter yoke (Matthew 11:28). Note that Abraham is not only the proverbial father of all believers in the Word, but also the father of international trade, which requires convention, which is a yoke that gives rest. The name YHWH is not only the name of the Creator but also the name of the alphabet, and YHWH is the father of Christ in precisely the same way that the alphabet is the father of text. Our verb is used 8 times; see full concordance. - Together with the preposition εκ (ek), meaning out or from: the verb εκκλινω (ekklino), meaning to lean out, to reach for support from something by abandoning a previous support or a state of autonomy (Romans 3:12, 16:17 and 1 Peter 3:11 only).
- Together with the preposition κατα (kata), meaning down from, down upon: the verb κατακλινω (kataklino), to lean down upon (Luke 9:14, 14:8 and 24:30 only). As with ανακλινω (anaklino), the prefix is mostly emphatic (as leaning is typically done downward), but also allows for an implied subdivision of that which leans, or a lowering of its rank or status.
- The noun κλιμα (klima), literally a leaning (an inclination, a slope), or thing leaned upon. This word was often used to describe the leaning of the vault of heaven upon the earth, and hence the area so leaned upon, which in turned resulted in an indefinite synonym for some clime, region or range (as well as the rather fixed cardinal points and a certain seven astrological zones). Although medieval commentators assumed that the ancients thought that an actual heavenly vault leaned on the earth, this word obviously speaks of the attention of the gods toward the earth: an area "governed" by a defining culture or, literally, climate. This same word could describe a mental "climate", i.e. inclination or propensity. In the New Testament this word occurs in Romans 15:23, 2 Corinthians 11:10 and Galatians 1:21 only, consistently describing a cultural or intellectual "climate", to be liberated by the governance of Christ.
- The noun κλινη (kline), meaning a thing to recline on or draw support from. In the classics this word was mostly used to describe the furniture on which people reclined to dine, but by the time of the New Testament it had specialized to predominantly describe the furniture upon which infirm and disabled people rested: any kind of supporting device or support frame from crutches to braces and from chairs with straps to stretchers and mats.
In nature, rain and crystals form on condensation nuclei, which are tiny specks of solid dust that float in the air or liquid. Rather similarly, living things tend to seek support from lifeless structures in order to better accomplish what they seek to do. Hence colonies of tiny creatures tend to wrap around branches or stones, to give their members better access to the environment while simultaneously increasing the compact consistency of their colony. Then the forces of evolution kick in, and the DNA of the members homes in on the situation thus created. The result is the formation of creatures with an internal skeleton; a skeleton that imitates the branch, and which forms from a genetic constitution that has absorbed the desire of the creature so governed.
All this suggests that when Jesus healed the paralytic man, he healed his entire being down to the very heart of him that had rendered him lame but with the burning desire to walk. The man's crude mechanical κλινη (kline) had now become a living part of him, not only of his body but more so of his mind. This noun is used 10 times, see full concordance, and from it derives:- The diminutive noun κλινιδιον (klinidion), which doesn't so much describe a little bed but rather a specific one (Luke 5:19 and 5:24 only). This particular diminutive form describes a specific element of a set rather than a miniature version. In Luke's story, our word describes the specific contraption in which the paralyzed man reposed, probably a kind of chair or set of braces with straps.
- The noun κλισια (klisia), meaning place or instrument of repose (Luke 9:14 only). In the classics this word could describe any such place or thing, from a hut to a wine shop, and even a grave in some flowery prose, to any kind of chair, bed or bench, to any place full of benches for weary patrons to rest on. From this noun comes:
- Together with the superlative adjective πρωτος (protos), meaning very first: the noun πρωτοκλισια (protoklisia), literally describing the very first place of leaning. This curious noun appears only in the gospels (out of the whole of Greek literature), which suggests that it means more than meets the eye. Since this word's parent verb speaks of the seeking of support, our noun πρωτοκλισια (protoklisia), as well as its close synonym πρωτοκαθεδρια (protokathedria), first chair, rather speak of a highest authority, and a kind of almighty sovereignty that requires nothing to lean on: the supreme independence upon which everything else depends, the center spot and the focal point of everybody's attention.
Note that the word Christ means just that (because every anointed one is a sovereign one), and that the name Antichrist describes someone who sits on the seat of Christ but shouldn't. The noun θρονος (thronos), throne, indeed stems from a root that means to support. Our noun is used 5 times; see full concordance.
- Together with the superlative adjective πρωτος (protos), meaning very first: the noun πρωτοκλισια (protoklisia), literally describing the very first place of leaning. This curious noun appears only in the gospels (out of the whole of Greek literature), which suggests that it means more than meets the eye. Since this word's parent verb speaks of the seeking of support, our noun πρωτοκλισια (protoklisia), as well as its close synonym πρωτοκαθεδρια (protokathedria), first chair, rather speak of a highest authority, and a kind of almighty sovereignty that requires nothing to lean on: the supreme independence upon which everything else depends, the center spot and the focal point of everybody's attention.