The noun ορος (horos) means boundary and by extension a boundary marker and hence a mountain. Most dictionaries will state that the word ορος (horos), meaning boundary and the word ορος (oros), meaning mountain are wholly separate words that are accidentally spelled the same and pronounced slightly different, but here at Abarim Publications we doubt that this distinction would have crossed the conscious mind of any average ancient speaker of Koine.

The noun ορος (oros), mountain, is thought to relate to the verb ορνυμι (ornumi), to rise or excite (see below), and ultimately derive from a widely attested Proto-Indo-European root "heros" or "her-", with a triple meaning of to move or stir, to rise, or to quarrel. Here at Abarim Publications we surmise that our word may actually be Semitic (and imported along with the alphabet), or else that its formation was helped along by its proximity to the noun הר (har), meaning mountain. The derived verb הרה (hara) means pregnant. The Greek equivalent of that is κυω (kuo), to be pregnant, which relates to the noun κυων (kuon), meaning dog. As we discuss in our articles on Hellas and Hebrew, Hebrew relates to Greek the way a shepherd relates to his dog.

The origin of the noun ορος (horos), meaning boundary, is obscure, although it seems to have existed in Mycenaean Greek. Why it came to be spelled confusingly similar to the word for mountain is also not clear, and it may even be that these words converged upon each other because their meanings seem to complementary. From the noun ορος (horos), meaning boundary comes our English word "horizon," which is the limit of our field of vision. The familiar idiom of "moving mountains" (Matthew 17:20) does not talk about accomplishing something very difficult (as most commentators curiously maintain) but rather about expanding one's field of vision, or even assuming a whole new center of vision, a brave new stand point in order to comprehend what someone else is on about.

The Psalmist gazed at the mountains while wondering from where would come his help (Psalm 121:1). This does not imply that the Psalmist expected the Helping Lord to descend from outer space to land of earth's most elevated features but rather that he would come from outside one's common field of vision. Standing at the very apex of a high mountain, likewise expands one's field of vision (Matthew 4:8) but anyone with any sense knows that no earthly mountain can ever be high enough to allow a person a view on everything there is to see.

Still, what we today would call focused research or a "looking into a certain subject" has its Biblical equivalent of "going up a mountain" (Matthew 5:1). When you're not sure what precisely you are looking for you go "upon the mountains" (Matthew 18:12). And when you obsessively scout the observable and survey mankind's many legacies, you are like a madman wandering mountains and dwelling among tombs (μνημειον, mnemeion; Mark 5:5).

Standing on a mountain is the opposite of being blind; see our article on the adjective τυφλος (tuphlos).

Our noun ορος (oros) meaning mountain is used 65 times in the New Testament, see full concordance, and has one true derivation:

The noun ορος (oros) meaning boundary does not occur independently in the New Testament, but it does survive in several derivations. One derivation that doesn't occur in the Bible but which is nevertheless important to it is the name of one of Greek's verbal tenses, namely the "aorist," literally "unbounded." This is the tense in which mere action is stated without reference to time or duration, which in essence is rather how the present simple tense works in English (the present simple statement "Bob writes" says nothing about when Bob writes or for how long). In the flow of the narrative, the Greek aorist is usually most practically interpreted with an English simple past ('and so "Bob wrote" a whole new chapter').

Other derivations of our noun ορος (oros), meaning boundary, are:

The noun ορνις (ornis) means bird, and relates to the verb we mention and link to above, ορνυμι (ornumi), meaning to excite of arouse, and thus possibly to the noun ορος (oros), mountain (see above).

This noun literally means high-flier or easily-excited, and in the classics it may refer to any bird, from ostrich to rooster to eagle. It occurs in the New Testament in Matthew 23:37 and Luke 13:34 only, and while Bible translators like to translate this word with "hen", both these verses obviously reference Deuteronomy 32:11: "Like an eagle that stirs up its nest, that hovers over its young, He spread His wings."

The New Testament's more common word for bird is πετεινα (peteina), winged one, from πτερυξ (pterux), wing.

The noun ορνεον (orneon) is a much rarer variation of the previous (Revelation 18:2, 19:17 and 19:21 only). How this word differs from the previous isn't immediately obvious, but in his play The Birds, Aristophanes uses ορνις (ornis) countless times and ορνεον (orneon) a mere once or twice, but in a context that seems to suggest that ορνεον (orneon) rather describes the undecided element of a vast and terrible swarm of birds, whereas ορνις (ornis) tends to describe an individual bird or a bird species. Hence ορνεον (orneon) occurs mostly in plural. The neutral plural of our word described the bird market, again with an implied emphasis on very large numbers.

The verb ορυσσω (orusso) means to dig: to dig up (of stones or soil), to dig through (a human a canal) or burrow (a mole a tunnel). On rare occasions, it may be used to describe a burial, or a wrestler who digs into the soft parts (or the eyes) of his opponent.

Our word is thought to stem from a Proto-Indo-European root "hrew-", to tear out, dig up or till, from which we also get our English word "rock" and the ever useful Dutch verb rukken, to yank. A creative enough Greek poet, however, may perhaps have assumed relations between our verb ορυσσω (orusso) and the noun ορος (horos), mountain, or the verb ορνυμι (ornumi), to excite of arouse. That would mean that, to our Greek poet, our verb would come with a connotation of disturbance or even violence and chaos, much rather than creating a calculated and architected hollow or tunnel. Another word for to dig, namely σκαπτω (skapto), emphasizes the tool with which one digs: to shovel.

Our verb occurs in Matthew 21:33, 25:18 and Mark 12:1 only. From it derive: