Amongst the various descriptions of suffering in hell, one notable description is the gnashing of teeth. In the New Testament, Matthew provides this description six times, and Luke just once. While we use a gerund, the Greek is usually a noun, Brygmos.
Matthew 8:12 But the children of the kingdom shall be cast out into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing (βρυγμὸς) of teeth.
Matthew 13:42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing (βρυγμὸς) of teeth.
Matthew 13:50 And shall cast them into the furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing (βρυγμὸς) of teeth.
Matthew 22:13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be weeping and gnashing (βρυγμὸς) of teeth.
Matthew 24:51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing (βρυγμὸς) of teeth.
Matthew 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing (βρυγμὸς) of teeth.
Luke 13:28 There shall be weeping and gnashing (βρυγμὸς) of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the prophets, in the kingdom of God, and you yourselves thrust out.
There is one Septuagint use of the term, in a passages that is wrath-related but probably not particularly relevant:
Proverbs 19:12 The king's wrath is as the roaring of a lion (βρυγμῷ λέοντος); but his favour is as dew upon the grass. (Cf. Proverbs 20:2 and see the discussion below)
Aside from the Lex Taliones, Matthew only references teeth in connection with them being gnashed in suffering. While Mark does not speak of the Brygmos of teeth, Mark similarly describes of a demonic gnashing (τρίζει) his teeth in Mark's only mention of teeth (Mark 9:18). Teeth show up for the last time in the NT in them mouths of the locusts from hell (Revelation 9:8).
The corresponding verb Brycho (βρύχω) is used once in Acts and a number of times in the Septuagint, in a similar way.
Acts 7:54 When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed (ἔβρυχον) on him with their teeth.
Job 16:9 He teareth me in his wrath, who hateth me: he gnasheth (ἔβρυξεν) upon me with his teeth; mine enemy sharpeneth his eyes upon me.
Psalm 35:16 With hypocritical mockers in feasts, they gnashed (ἔβρυξαν) upon me with their teeth.
Psalm 37:12 The wicked plotteth against the just, and gnasheth (βρύξει) upon him with his teeth.
Psalm 112:10 The wicked shall see it, and be grieved; he shall gnash (βρύξει) with his teeth, and melt away: the desire of the wicked shall perish.
Lamentations 2:16 All thine enemies have opened their mouth against thee: they hiss and gnash (ἔβρυξαν) the teeth: they say, We have swallowed her up: certainly this is the day that we looked for; we have found, we have seen it.
Except for Proverbs 19:12, the OT examples of gnashing are some form of haraq (חָרַק). Proverbs 19:12 uses naham (נַהַם), which means something like "roar," While this may seem unrelated, the related word (nāham) can refer both to the roarings/growlings of wild animals and also to the groanings of those suffering. Ultimately, though, the point is fundamentally the same. It is a sense of anguish and frustration.
Matthew associates this gnashing of teeth with:
- Outer Darkness (Matthew 8:12, 22:13, 25:30)
- Furnace of Fire (Matthew 13:42&50)
This may seem paradoxical as fire produces light, not darkness. Nevertheless, when one remembers that the darkness and fire here are images to represent an underlying idea, and not the thing itself, darkness is a source of fear (mental anguish) and fire is a source of pain (physical anguish).
Moreover, notice the connection between Luke 13:28 about seeing Abraham and all the prophets and the parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (e.g. Luke 16:23), in which the Rich Man sees Lazarus in the bosom of Abraham. This emphasizes that the punishment of the wicked will include a consciousness of their own relative misery set in contrast to the blessedness of the believers.
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