midst
mesos denotes a position or presence within a group, place, or surrounding setting, and sometimes the middle point of a time.
The term most often marks someone or something situated within, among, or centrally placed amid people, objects, or a location; it also appears in expressions for coming out from among a group. In a few temporal clauses, it identifies the middle point of a day or night.
Senses in use
-
within or centrally situated among · dominant
The forms mark location within a surrounding group or setting: in Acts 17:22 the APB renders Paul as standing "in the midst of the Areopagus," and in John 20:19 Jesus comes and stands "in the midst" of the disciples. The same setting relation appears when a child is set among the disciples in Mark 9:36, when lambs are sent among wolves in Luke 10:3, and when Jesus is placed between two others in John 19:18.
-
the middle point of a time · rare
In temporal phrases, the term identifies a point within a period: Acts 26:13 places the event "At midday," Acts 27:27 says it occurred "about the middle of the night," and Matthew 25:6 begins "At midnight."
In the Anselm Project Bible: Across the verses, the APB commonly presents the spatial use with "in the midst," "among," or "in the middle," and presents temporal uses as "At midday," "the middle of the night," and "At midnight." These renderings reflect whole clauses rather than a word-for-word alignment.