STRONGS NUMBER G2281

Original Word: θάλασσα
Transliteration: thalassa
Phonetic Spelling: (thal'-as-sah)
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Short Definition: the sea
Meaning: the seasea.

Probably prolonged from hals; the sea (genitive case or specially) -- sea.

see GREEK hals

STRONGS NT 2281: θάλασσα

θάλασσα (cf. Buttmann, 7), θαλάσσης, ἡ (akin to ἅλς (better, allied to ταράσσω etc., from its tossing; cf. Vanicek, p. 303); the Sept. for יָם) (from Homer down), the sea; (on its distinction from πέλαγος see the latter word);

a. universally: Matthew 23:15; Mark 11:23; Luke 17:2, 6; Luke 21:25; Romans 9:27; 2 Corinthians 11:26; Hebrews 11:12; James 1:6; Jude 1:13; Revelation 7:1-3, etc.; ἐργάζεσθαι τήν θαλασσην (see ἐργάζομαι, 2 a.), Revelation 18:17; τό πέλαγος τῆς θαλάσσης (see πέλαγος, a.), Matthew 18:6; joined with γῆ and οὐρανός it forms a periphrasis for the whole world, Acts 4:24; Acts 14:15; Revelation 5:13; Revelation 10:6 (L WH brackets); (Haggai 2:7; Psalm 145:6 (); Josephus, Antiquities 4, 3, 2; (contra Apion 2, 10, 1)); among the visions of the Apocalypse a glassy sea or sea of glass is spoken of; but what the writer symbolized by this is not quite clear: Revelation 4:6; Revelation 15:2.

b. specifically used (even without the article, cf. Winers Grammar, 121 (115); Buttmann, § 124, 8b.) of the Mediterranean Sea: Acts 10:6, 32; Acts 17:14; of the Red Sea (see ἐρυθρός), ἡ ἐρυθρᾷ θάλασσα, Acts 7:36; 1 Corinthians 10:1; Hebrews 11:29. By a usage foreign to native Greek writings (cf. Aristotle, meteor. 1, 13, p. 351a, 8 ἡ ὑπό τόν Καυκασον λίμνη ἥν καλοῦσιν οἱ ἐκεῖ θαλατταν, and Hesychius defines λίμνη: ἡ θάλασσα καί ὁ ὠκεανός) employed like the Hebrew יָם (e. g. Numbers 34:11), by Matthew, Mark, and John (nowhere by Luke) of the Lake of Γεννησαρέτ (which see): ἡ θάλασσα τῆς Γαλιλαίας, Matthew 4:18; Matthew 15:29; Mark 1:16; Mark 7:31 (similarly Lake Constance,derBodensee, is called mare Suebicum, the Suabian Sea); τῆς Τιβεριάδος, John 21:1; τῆς Γαλιλαίας τῆς Τιβεριάδος (on which twofold genitive cf. Winers Grammar, § 30, 3 N. 3; (Buttmann, 400 (343))), John 6:1; more frequently simply ἡ θάλασσα: Matthew 4:15, 18; Matthew 8:24, 26f, 32; Matthew 13:1, etc.; Mark 2:13; Mark 3:7; Mark 4:1, 39; Mark 5:13, etc.; John 6:16-19, 22, 25; John 21:7. Cf. Furrer in Schenkel ii. 322ff; (see Γεννησαρέτ).