Bible Dictionary
PAINFULNESS
Painfulness is an older word for hard labor, toil, or excessive anxiety. In Paul’s account of ministry it describes the difficult travail he endured, and it may also refer to punishment in older English usage.
Definition
Painfulness is an older English word for hard labor, travail, excessive anxiety, or suffering. Its older sense is broader than the modern sense of physical soreness.
Biblical Usage
In 2 Corinthians 11:27, Paul uses the word in describing his missionary labors. The Revised Version renders it “travail.” An older translation also used “painfulness” in 1 John 4:18 where later versions use “torment” or “punishment.”
Historical Background
The Greek word denotes toil or excessive anxiety. The English term once conveyed careful or difficult labor, as preserved in the expression “painstaking.”
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>pan'-fool-nes (mochthos): In the summary of his missionary labors in 2Co 11:27 the King James Version, Paul uses this word. The Revised Version (British and American) renders it "travail," which probably now expresses its meaning more closely, as in modern usage "painfulness" is usually restricted to the condition of actual soreness or suffering, although we still use "painstaking" in the sense of careful labor. The Greek word is used for toil or excessive anxiety, as in Euripides (Medea, 126), where it refers to that care for her children which she had lost in her madness. Tyndale uses "painfulness" in 1 Joh 4:18 as the translation of kolasis, which the King James Version renders "torment" and the Revised Version (British and American) "punishment."</p><p>Alexander Macalister</p>