Bible Dictionary
CHOKE
To choke means to suffocate or strangle. Jesus used the term figuratively for the way worldly cares and the deceitfulness of riches suppress the fruitfulness of God’s word.
Definition
To choke means to strangle, suffocate, or smother by depriving of breath. Figuratively, it describes something being overcome and rendered unfruitful.
Biblical Usage
The term describes the swine being suffocated or drowned and the grain among thorns being choked. Jesus applies the figure to God’s word being overcome by worldly cares and the deceitfulness of riches.
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>chok (pnigo, and its compounds): Is used in its primary sense of "to strangle," or "to suffocate," in describing the fate of the swine (Lu 8:33 the King James Version). The Revised Version (British and American) has "drowned," but "choked" is the correct rendering of the Greek word.</p><p>Figurative: It is used in the sense of "to strangle" "smother," "suffocate," as if by depriving of breath, in describing the fate of the young grain growing in the midst of thorns (Mt 13:7). The figurative is carried a little farther still in describing the way the word, planted in the heart, is overcome by the care of the world, and the deceitfulness of riches (Mt 13:22).</p><p>A. W. Fortune</p>