Matthew 27:26

Τότε ἀπέλυσεν αὐτοῖς τὸν Βαραββᾶν· τὸν δὲ Ἰησοῦν φραγελλώσας παρέδωκεν ἵνα σταυρωθῇ.

RBT Greek Interlinear:

Strongs 5119; Tote; Τότε; At that time; Adv

Strongs 630; apelysen; ἀπέλυσεν; he dismissed; V-AIA-3S

Strongs 846; autois; αὐτοῖς; to themselves; PPro-DM3P

Strongs 3588; ton; τὸν; the; Art-AMS

Strongs 912; Barabban; Βαραββᾶν; Barabbas; N-AMS

Strongs 3588; ton; τὸν; the; Art-AMS

Strongs 1161; de; δὲ; and; Conj

Strongs 2424; Iēsoun; Ἰησοῦν; Salvation; N-AMS

Strongs 5417; phragellōsas; φραγελλώσας; he who blockaded; V-APA-NMS

Strongs 3860; paredōken; παρέδωκεν; he handed over; V-AIA-3S

Strongs 2443; hina; ἵνα; so that; Conj

Strongs 4717; staurōthē; σταυρωθῇ; He might be staked; V-ASP-3S

RBT Hebrew Literal:

At that time, he set free to themselves the Son of AbbA, and the Salvation, he who has blockaded,^52a handed over so that he might be staked.

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
Then he loosed to them Barabbas: and having scourged Jesus, delivered him up, that, he might be crucified.

LITV Translation:
Then he released Barabbas to them. But having flogged Jesus, he delivered Him up that He might be crucified.

ESV Translation:
Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified.

Footnotes

52a

The term φραγελλώσας is derived from the verb φραγελλῶ, which suggests the idea of "barricading" or "blocking," rather than "scourging."

Although it might appear similar to φραγελλόω (the verb for "to scourge" or "to whip"), which would refer to the act of whipping or punishing with a scourge, the form φραγελλώσας reflects an action of obstruction rather than physical punishment. This distinction highlights the importance of context when interpreting verb forms, especially when there are similar-looking roots that may convey very different meanings. Scholars have linked the Greek φραγελλόω to the Latin verb flagellare (meaning "to whip" or "to scourge"), based on phonetic similarity and shared meaning in the context of punishment. However, φραγελλώσας is more likely to refer to a different concept, such as "blocking" or "barricading."

A related word φραγμός (meaning "fencing in" or "blocking up") provides further insight into the semantic range of the root φραγ-. This word appears in contexts such as a fence or paling (e.g., Xenophon's Cyn. 11.4), intestinal obstruction (Cael. Aur. CP 3.17), and fortifications (e.g., Herodotus 7.36), as well as metaphorical uses such as "partition" (Ephesians 2:14). The connection to φραγμός suggests that the root of φραγελλώσας could primarily be understood in terms of obstruction or enclosure rather than physical punishment.