Abarim Publications' online Biblical Greek Dictionary
σκαπτω
The verb σκαπτω (skapto) means to shovel, and appears to be a rather reserved agricultural term that covers to shuffle, turn, level or move earth, freeing or creating irrigation canals, hoeing in order to cultivate plants, and delving for buried or hidden roots and beets and such. Brute force hole digging was rather described by verbs like ορυσσω (orusso), and βαθυνω (bathuno). Our verb is not rare but also not overly common in the classics. In the New Testament, it occurs in Luke 6:48, 13:8 and 16:3 only.
It's not immediately clear where our word comes from, but that's because the exact path of its derivation is unclear and not because there are no candidates. Ultimately, our verb appears to derive from the Proto-Indo-European root "skab-", to scratch or scrape, and is related to the Dutch noun schep (shovel), the English verb to shave and noun scab. In Greek, our word relates to words like σκαμμα (skamma), trench, σκαπανευς (skapaneus), digger (a person who digs), and περισκαψις (periskapsis), a digging around, a tossing up [of earth] all about.
In the New Testament occur the following derivations:
- Together with the preposition κατα (kata), meaning down from or down upon: the verb κατασκαπτω (kataskapto) literally meaning to down-shovel but in effect to shovel over: to bury, to bulldoze. In the classics this verb occurs in the sense of to completely raze to the ground. In the New Testament it occurs in Acts 15:16 and Romans 11:3 only; the latter reference repeats 1 Kings 19:10, which uses the verb הרס (haras), to break down; the former reference repeats Amos 9:11, which uses a noun derived from that same verb הרס (haras), to break down.
- The noun σκαφη (skaphe) describes any sort of tub, trough or basin, and was presumably named after an original hollow that was dug in the earth. In the classics this word was used to refer to a baker's kneading trough, a washtub and a variety of votive bowls and deep trays. It could describe a child's cradle or a grave. And it could refer to a light boat, skiff or dinghy (jocularly called a tub), which is how our word appears in the New Testament: Acts 27:16, 27:30 and 27:32 only.