Greek word · G102

ἀδύνατος

adynatos

unable

Of persons: powerless, unable, weak. Of things: impossible, something that cannot be done.

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀ-δύνατος, -ον,

[in LXX for אֶבְיוֹן, דַּל, etc. ;]

1. of persons, unable, powerless: Acts 14:8; figuratively Romans 15:1 (MM, VGT, see word).

2. Of things, impossible: Matthew 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luke 18:27, Romans 8:3, Hebrews 6:4,18 10:4 11:6.

† (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 Matthew 19:26

Range of meaning

Of persons: powerless, unable, weak. Of things: impossible, something that cannot be done.

Against the English

'Impossible' is accurate. The English hides the wordplay: 'can' (dunatai) in v. 25, 'impossible' (a-dunaton, literally 'un-able') and 'possible' (dunata) all come from the same root.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used for real impossibility in Hebrews 6:4, 6:18 ('impossible for God to lie') and 11:6. In the Septuagint the related verb appears in Genesis 18:14 and in Job 42:2 ('nothing is impossible for you').

From the study of Hebrews 10:4

Range of meaning

Used of people: "powerless, disabled" (Acts 14:8, a man unable to use his feet; Romans 15:1, "the weak"). Used of things in the neuter, "it is impossible": something that cannot happen at all, by nature or by logic (BDAG).

Against the English

Every major English version has "impossible" or "not possible" (KJV). That is accurate. English cannot easily copy how the Greek puts the word first in the sentence, so it lands with full force.

Used elsewhere in the period

Hebrews uses the word four times, each for a hard line: it is impossible to renew apostates to repentance (6:4–6), impossible for God to lie (6:18), impossible for this blood to remove sins (10:4), impossible to please God without faith (11:6). Greek philosophical writing often used "it is impossible that…" to state a principle that admits no exceptions.

From the study of Acts 14:8

Range of meaning

Literally 'without power' (a- 'not' + dynatos 'able, powerful'). Said of people, it means weak, powerless, disabled or unable. Said of things or actions, it means 'impossible' (e.g., Luke 18:27, 'what is impossible with men'; Heb 6:18). With a dative of the body part, as here ('in the feet'), it means that limb has no working strength.

Against the English

KJV and WEB say 'impotent in his feet,' which in 1611 meant 'without power.' NASB gives 'had no strength in his feet,' and ESV 'could not use his feet.' NIV and NLT fold it into the single word 'lame/crippled' and drop this first description entirely.

How it drifted

In older English 'impotent' meant powerless in general (Latin impotens). Since the nineteenth century it has narrowed almost entirely to sexual dysfunction, so the KJV/WEB wording now misleads.

Used elsewhere in the period

In classical and Hellenistic Greek it is common in both senses, 'unable' and 'impossible.' The Septuagint uses it of the weak and helpless (e.g., Job 5:16; Prov 30:14 LXX). Hobart (1882) thought Luke used it as a medical term, but Cadbury (1926) showed that ordinary educated writers such as Josephus and Plutarch used it just as freely.

Similar words

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 19:26 ἀδύνατόν impossible

    Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

    Here: Not 'very hard' but 'cannot be done'. It picks up the disciples' verb 'can' (dunatai, v. 25): they asked who is able, and Jesus says no human is.

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 10:27 ἀδύνατον [it is] impossible

    Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but not with God. For all things are possible with God.”

    Here: Literally "un-able." It answers the disciples' "who is able (dunatai) to be saved?" with the same root: for humans it is not merely hard but impossible. Greek gives no "it is" and no stated subject. The "it" is being saved, or entering God's kingdom.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 18:27 ἀδύνατα impossible

    But Jesus said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God.”

    Here: 'Things that cannot be done.' It is strong, absolute language and picks up the camel-and-needle picture of v. 25. Jesus does not soften it to 'very hard'.

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 14:8 ἀδύνατος crippled

    In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked.

    Here: 'Without power' or 'without strength.' With 'in the feet' it means his feet had no strength and could not carry him. It is the first of three descriptions of the same disability.

Romans · 2

  1. Romans 8:3 ἀδύνατον powerless [being]

    For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful man, as an offering for sin. He thus condemned sin in the flesh,

    Here: Can mean 'unable' (the law's incapacity) or 'impossible' (the thing that couldn't be done). Either way it names something the law could not bring about: setting people free from sin's grip and death.

  2. Romans 15:1 ἀδυνάτων weak

    We who are strong ought to bear with the shortcomings of the weak and not to please ourselves.

    Here: The exact opposite of dynatoi: the same word with a negative prefix ("un-able"). The wordplay is deliberate. The "un-able" are the "weak in faith" of 14:1, whose conscience does not yet allow them the freedom the strong enjoy. It does not mean morally failing.

Hebrews · 4

  1. Hebrews 6:4 ἀδύνατον [It is] impossible

    It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,

    Here: Placed first for emphasis: "Impossible!" The sentence does not finish until verse 6, where we learn what is impossible: "to renew them again to repentance." Hebrews uses this word for real impossibilities (6:18 God cannot lie; 10:4 animal blood cannot take away sins; 11:6 pleasing God without faith), not for things that are merely hard.

  2. Hebrews 6:18 ἀδύνατον [it is] impossible

    Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.

    Here: A flat 'it is impossible'. It is the same word Hebrews uses in 6:4 ('it is impossible… to renew them to repentance'), so the hard 'impossible' of 6:4 is answered by a comforting one here.

  3. Hebrews 10:4 ἀδύνατον Impossible [it is]

    because it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

    Here: Placed first for emphasis: "Impossible!" It is a flat statement about what cannot happen at all, not about what is hard or unlikely. Hebrews uses this word for its absolute claims (6:4, 6:18, 11:6).

  4. Hebrews 11:6 ἀδύνατον [it is] impossible

    And without faith it is impossible to please God. For anyone who approaches Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.

    Here: 'Impossible' in the strict sense. Hebrews uses the word for things that cannot happen at all: that God should lie (6:18), or that animal blood should remove sins (10:4).

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