Greek word · G100

ἁδρότης

hadrotēs

abundance

'Thickness, bulk, fullness, richness'; by extension 'abundance, a large amount'. It comes from ἁδρός, 'thick, stout, full-grown, ripe, rich', used of well-grown grain, sturdy bodies, or important people.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἁδρότης, -τος, ἡ

(ἁδρός, thick, well-grown),

1. thickness, vigour.

2. abundance, bounty: 2 Corinthians 8:20.

† (AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of 2 Corinthians 8:20

Range of meaning

'Thickness, bulk, fullness, richness'; by extension 'abundance, a large amount'. It comes from ἁδρός, 'thick, stout, full-grown, ripe, rich', used of well-grown grain, sturdy bodies, or important people.

Against the English

'Abundance' (KJV, WEB, YLT); 'generous gift' (BSB, ESV, NASB); 'liberal gift' (NIV); 'generous gift' (NLT). 'Abundance' keeps the idea of size but may sound vague to a modern ear. 'Generous gift' keeps the idea of a gift but shifts the emphasis from the amount to the givers' attitude.

How it drifted

In older English 'abundance' simply meant a large quantity. Modern readers can hear it as general prosperity or 'abundant blessing', which loses the concrete point that this is a large sum of money in transit.

Used elsewhere in the period

Found only here in the New Testament. It is uncommon but attested in secular Greek for bulk or richness. The root adjective ἁδρός is common in classical and Koine Greek for things grown thick or large.

Where it appears

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 8:20 ἁδρότητι abundance

    We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this generous gift.

    Here: Used only here in the New Testament. It literally means 'bulk', 'fullness', and here it names the size of the sum. Paul expects a large amount, and the bigger the money, the bigger the room for suspicion.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.