ἀθανασία

From the study of 1 Corinthians 15:53

Range of meaning

Deathlessness, immortality: the condition of not being subject to death. In classical Greek it was mainly the property of the gods. From Plato on, it was argued to be the natural property of the soul (Phaedo, Phaedrus). In Hellenistic Judaism it was a reward or gift linked with righteousness and wisdom.

Against the English

Every major English version has 'immortality', which is accurate as a dictionary equivalent. The problem is what readers assume about who has it and how. Modern 'immortality' usually brings to mind an immortal soul that survives the body by nature.

How it drifted

Christian thought from the second century on, shaped by Platonism, increasingly spoke of the soul as naturally immortal. 'Immortality' came to mean the soul's escape from the body, while Paul uses the word for what the resurrected body receives.

Used elsewhere in the period

Plato, Phaedo 105e–106e (arguing the soul is deathless). Wisdom 3:4: the righteous dead have 'hope full of immortality'. Wisdom 8:17: 'in kinship with wisdom there is immortality'. Wisdom 15:3. 4 Maccabees 14:5; 16:13 (martyrs 'born again into immortality'). In the New Testament the word appears only here, in v. 54, and in 1 Tim 6:16, where God 'alone has immortality'. That makes it a divine property which humans can only receive.

From the study of 1 Corinthians 15:54

Range of meaning

Deathlessness, immortality. In classical Greek it is the mark of the gods and, in Platonic philosophy, a natural property of the soul. In Hellenistic Judaism it is the reward God gives the righteous.

Against the English

"Immortality" is a fair translation. For many modern readers, though, it suggests a soul that cannot die and lives on apart from the body. Paul says the mortal body puts it on.

How it drifted

Through Platonic influence on later Christian thought, "immortality" came to mean mainly the soul's natural survival of death. Paul's word here describes something put on by the mortal body at the resurrection.

Used elsewhere in the period

Plato, Phaedo 105e–106e (the soul is deathless by nature). Wisdom of Solomon 3:4 ("their hope is full of immortality"); 15:3. 4 Maccabees 14:5; 16:13. In the New Testament it appears only here, in v. 53, and in 1 Tim 6:16 (God "alone has immortality").

From the study of 1 Timothy 6:16

Range of meaning

Literally 'deathlessness' (a-, 'not' + thanatos, 'death'): the state of not being subject to death. In Greek thought the gods were simply 'the deathless ones' (hoi athanatoi), so to claim athanasia was to claim divinity. In Hellenistic Jewish writing it also means the undying life God gives the righteous.

Against the English

'Immortality' and 'immortal' are accurate. The BSB's 'He alone is immortal' turns 'having immortality' into a description of what God is. That is fair, but it softens the Greek picture of something God possesses and others lack. NLT's 'can never die' brings out the root meaning well.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament it appears only here and in 1 Cor 15:53–54, where 'this mortal body must put on immortality' at the resurrection. There it is a garment given to humans, not something they have by nature. Wisdom of Solomon 3:4 says the hope of the righteous is 'full of immortality,' and 8:13, 17 and 15:3 also use it. 4 Maccabees 14:5 and 16:13 speak of martyrs' souls receiving immortality. Philo uses the word often of the soul's destiny.