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G1750 · Greek · New Testament
ἐνειλέω
eneilēō
Verb
to wrap up, to roll in, to envelop

Definition

Eneilēō (ἐνειλέω) means to wrap or roll something in a cloth — to envelop tightly. It appears once in the NT at Mark 15:46, describing Joseph of Arimathea wrapping Jesus' body in linen for burial. The word's rarity gives it weight: this specific wrapping marks the threshold between death and resurrection.

Usage & Theological Significance

Joseph of Arimathea wrapping the body of Jesus in linen is an act of costly love and dangerous loyalty. Claiming the body of a crucified criminal required courage and expenditure of political capital. The eneilēō — the wrapping — is also the last human act performed on Jesus before God acts: burial prepares for resurrection. John's Gospel notes that the burial linens were found neatly arranged in the empty tomb — the wrappings left behind by the one who no longer needed them. What was wrapped in death became unwrapped in life.

Key Verses

Mark 15:46 So Joseph bought some linen cloth, took down the body, wrapped [eneilēō] it in the linen, and placed it in a tomb cut out of rock.
Luke 2:7 She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available.
John 20:6-7 He saw the strips of linen lying there, as well as the cloth that had been wrapped around Jesus' head.
Isaiah 53:9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence.
John 11:44 The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face.

Word Study

Birth-wrapping (Luke 2:7 — sparganoō) and death-wrapping (Mark 15:46 — eneilēō) bracket Jesus' earthly life. He enters wrapped in swaddling clothes; he exits wrapped in burial linen. The tomb linens left behind (John 20:6-7) are the NT's quiet testimony to the resurrection: not stolen but abandoned, arranged, no longer needed. Lazarus still needed his removed (John 11:44); Jesus departed his.

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