No, the Greek word in the New Testament for “power” — δύναμις (dunamis) — does NOT mean “explode” or “explosion.” It has a much more practical meaning than the sensationalized claim that the word means the same thing as dynamite.
The word “dynamite” does, in fact, come from the Greek word δύναμις (dunamis), but not because the Greek word refers to explosive power. It was a term selected in 1867 by A.B. Nobel to describe a mixture of nitroglycerin and other chemicals that produced an explosion, the result of releasing tremendous energy. The word δύναμις (dunamis) was chosen because, first, it is typical for scientists to name new discoveries by using Greek or Latin terms; second, the term means “power, might, strength,” so it was a natural choice to apply to Nobel’s product.
If dunamis had the inherent meaning of explosion, Modern Greek would continue its usage in the same or in a closely related form. Modern Greek, however, has it’s own words for “explosion”:
ἀνατινάζω (anatinazo) means “blow up” and comes from the ancient Attic word ἀνατινάσσω (anatinasso), meaning “to shake up and down, brandish.” This word does not occur in the New Testament.
έκρηξη (ekrekse) means “eruption” and comes from Attic ἐκρήγνυμι (ekregnumi), meaning “to break off, snap asunder.” This word is not used in the New Testament.
The closest LXX (Septuagint) and New Testament words for a sudden, violent act of destruction are:
ἐκριζόω (ekrizoo), meaning “to uproot, utterly destroy.” It is used in Luke 17:6 and Jude 1:12.
ἐκρίπτω (ekripto), meaning “to drive away, drive out from.” It is used in the LXX in Psalm 1:4 and Proverbs 5:23.
The word δύναμις (dunamis) in the New Testament means “power, might, strength, force, capability.” It conveys the idea of great power; it is focused on the idea of ability or capability. An explosion is sudden and short-lived. The idea of power conveyed by δύναμις (dunamis) carries the idea long-lasting, enduring strength. It is an attribute of duration.
Applying the idea of “explosion/explosive” to δύναμις (dunamis) is a violation of natural language use and bleaches the core idea of the word, substituting it with a sensationalized error. It is a type of semantic back-formation and reconstruction, applying a modern and erroneous concept to an ancient term.
It is an outright error to claim that the use of δύναμις (dunamis) in the New Testament means explosive power. It is a reference to ability beyond our natural capacity, and its purpose is for sustained power, not a sudden flash of strength.