Topical Lexicon
Semantic PictureStrong’s 2997 portrays an abrupt, violent splitting-apart. The verb is graphic, evoking material that can no longer contain hidden tension and therefore rips open. The sole New Testament example applies this imagery to the literal, physical destruction of Judas Iscariot’s body, underscoring the dreadful finality of his end.
Biblical Occurrence:Acts 1:18
“Falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out.” (Acts 1:18)
Luke places the word at the very center of his description, making the rupture the climactic act in Judas’s demise. The sentence structure intensifies the shock: fall—burst—spill. Everything after the betrayal leads relentlessly toward this moment, and the rare Greek verb underlines the singularity of the judgment.
Theological Significance
1. Divine justice in real time
Judas’s death stands as an immediate, visible response to his betrayal of Jesus Christ (Matthew 26:14-16;John 13:27). The gruesome language signals that sin’s wages are neither abstract nor delayed only to the final judgment.Romans 6:23 declares “the wages of sin is death,” andActs 1:18 provides a historical illustration.
2. The irrevocable consequence of apostasy
Unlike Peter—who weeps, repents, and is restored (John 21:15-17)—Judas’s remorse is “worldly sorrow that brings death” (2 Corinthians 7:10). His body’s rupture mirrors a soul torn from covenant blessing. The irreversible break warns every disciple against superficial association with Christ.
3. Vindication of Old Testament prophecy
Peter links Judas’s end to Psalms 69:25 and 109:8 (Acts 1:20). The violent verb reminds readers that Scripture does not merely predict outcomes; it narrates them with precision. The rending of Judas’s body fulfills the psalmist’s imagery of desolation.
Intertextual Echoes
•Numbers 16:31-33—When the ground “split apart” beneath Korah, Dathan, and Abiram, rebellion was likewise judged by sudden rupture.
•2 Chronicles 26:19—Uzziah’s leprosy “broke out,” signaling divine displeasure.
•Zechariah 14:4—The Mount of Olives will “split” on the Day of the LORD, foreshadowing another decisive act of judgment and deliverance in the very region where Judas died.
Each passage features a tearing or splitting that exposes hidden rebellion or inaugurates eschatological change.
Historical Setting
The “Field of Blood” (Akeldama) lay south of ancient Jerusalem, on the steep, rocky slopes of the Hinnom Valley. A fall from those heights could indeed cause the visceral results Luke records. First-century hearers, familiar with that terrain and with burial practices emphasizing bodily integrity, would have found the description both credible and horrifying.
Importance for Luke’s Narrative of Acts
1. Transition to restored leadership
The apostolic company cannot advance its mission until the place vacated by Judas is filled (Acts 1:20-26). The violent rupture emphasizes the need for wholeness in leadership before Pentecost arrives.
2. Frame for the Spirit’s purity
The narrative of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 5:1-11) later echoes Judas’s fate. Both accounts underline the Spirit’s intolerance of deceit within the newborn Church.
Pastoral and Homiletical Applications
• Sin’s hidden pressures eventually erupt; secret compromise breeds public collapse (Galatians 6:7).
• Mere regret without repentance leads to self-destruction; genuine repentance accesses mercy (Proverbs 28:13).
• God’s prophetic word stands; every promise of judgment or salvation will meet literal fulfillment (Isaiah 55:11).
Eschatological Perspective
Judas’s bursting foreshadows the ultimate disintegration awaiting unrepentant humanity at final judgment (Revelation 14:19-20). Conversely, believers anticipate resurrection bodies “sown in dishonor, raised in glory” (1 Corinthians 15:42-44). The contrast magnifies the gospel’s urgency.
Summary
Strong’s 2997 captures one of Scripture’s starkest images of sin’s outcome: an internal corruption unable to remain hidden, culminating in sudden, catastrophic exposure. The lone occurrence inActs 1:18 anchors a solemn lesson for every generation—betrayal of the Savior ends in irreversible rupture, while fidelity, repentance, and submission secure wholeness and life everlasting.
Forms and Transliterations
ελάκησε ελακησεν ἐλάκησεν elakesen elakēsen elákesen elákēsenLinks
Interlinear Greek •Interlinear Hebrew •Strong's Numbers •Englishman's Greek Concordance •Englishman's Hebrew Concordance •Parallel Texts
