ὕσσωπος

See also: ύσσωπος

Ancient Greek

Alternative forms

ὕσσωπον (hússōpon), ὕσωπος (húsōpos)

Etymology

From some Semitic source. Compare Akkadian 𒍪𒌑𒁍 (/zūpu/), Arabic زُوفَا‎ (zūfā), زُوفَى‎ (zūfā), Aramaic אֵיזוֹבָא‎ (ʾēzôḇa), Hebrew אֵזוֹב‎ (ʾēzôḇ).

Pronunciation

(1^st CE Egyptian) IPA^(key): /ˈ(h)ys.so.pos/
(4^th CE Koine) IPA^(key): /ˈys.so.pos/
(10^th CE Byzantine) IPA^(key): /ˈys.so.pos/
(15^th CE Constantinopolitan) IPA^(key): /ˈi.so.pos/

Noun

ὕσσωπος • (hússōpos) f (genitive ὑσσώπου); second declension

A species of Origanum
(biblical) used to translate Biblical Hebrew אֵזוֹב‎ (ʾēzôḇ), Origanum syriacum

Usage notes

Although the taxonomic name Hyssopus is ultimately derived from this term, in Ancient Greek it doesn't refer to the same plant. Likewise, although biblical usage refers to Origanum syriacum, non-biblical usage such as in Dioscorides' De Materia Medica seems to refer to some other species of Origanum.
Some scholars consider the occurrence in John 19:29 of the Christian New Testament to be a scribal error:

σκεῦος ἔκειτο ὄξους μεστόν· σπόγγον οὖν μεστὸν τοῦ ὄξους ὑσσώπῳ περιθέντες προσήνεγκαν αὐτοῦ τῷ στόματι.

skeûos ékeito óxous mestón; spóngon oûn mestòn toû óxous hussṓpōi perithéntes prosḗnenkan autoû tôi stómati.

Now there was set a vessel full of vinegar: and they filled a spunge with vinegar, and put it upon hyssop, and put it to his mouth.

In early manuscripts with no spacing between words and no diacritics, it would be very easy to repeat letters, so ΥΣΣΩΠΕΡΙΘΕΝΤΕΣ might have been copied as ΥΣΣΩΠ[ΩΠ]ΕΡΙΘΕΝΤΕΣ. A spear, ὑσσός (hussós) (dative singular ὑσσῷ (hussôi)), makes much more sense here than a low-growing herb, but the highly symbolic association of ὕσσωπος with the Passover would be too good for later scribes to question.

Inflection

Second declension of ἡ ὕσσωπος; τῆς ὑσσώπου (Attic)

Case / #	Singular	Dual	Plural
Nominative	ἡ ὕσσωπος hē hússōpos	τὼ ὑσσώπω tṑ hussṓpō	αἱ ὕσσωποι hai hússōpoi
Genitive	τῆς ὑσσώπου tês hussṓpou	τοῖν ὑσσώποιν toîn hussṓpoin	τῶν ὑσσώπων tôn hussṓpōn
Dative	τῇ ὑσσώπῳ têi hussṓpōi	τοῖν ὑσσώποιν toîn hussṓpoin	ταῖς ὑσσώποις taîs hussṓpois
Accusative	τὴν ὕσσωπον tḕn hússōpon	τὼ ὑσσώπω tṑ hussṓpō	τᾱ̀ς ὑσσώπους tā̀s hussṓpous
Vocative	ὕσσωπε hússōpe	ὑσσώπω hussṓpō	ὕσσωποι hússōpoi
Notes:	This table gives Attic inflectional endings. For declension in other dialects, see Appendix:Ancient Greek dialectal declension.

Descendants

Aramaic:

Classical Syriac: ܙܘܦܐ‎ (zōpā)

Greek: ύσσωπος (ýssopos)
Latin: hȳsōpum

Medieval Latin: hysopus

Old French: ysope

French: hysope

Old English: ȳsōpe

Middle English: īsōpe

English: hyssop

Russian: иссоп (issop)

References

ὕσσωπος in Liddell & Scott (1940) A Greek–English Lexicon, Oxford: Clarendon Press
ὕσσωπος in Liddell & Scott (1889) An Intermediate Greek–English Lexicon, New York: Harper & Brothers
G5301 in Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance to the Bible, 1979

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