Greek word · G1386

δόλιος

dolios

deceitful

Deceitful, treacherous, cunning. From δόλος, whose earliest sense is a bait or lure (as for fish), then any trick, stratagem or deceit used to catch someone.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

δόλιος, -α, -ον

(δόλος), [in LXX—chiefly in Pss, Pr, Sir—for etc. ;]

deceitful: 2 Corinthians 11:13.†

(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 11:13

Range of meaning

Deceitful, treacherous, cunning. From δόλος, whose earliest sense is a bait or lure (as for fish), then any trick, stratagem or deceit used to catch someone.

Against the English

"Deceitful" is accurate. It lacks the picture of the lure, the idea of catching people by trickery, which suits the image of predators feeding on the church (11:20).

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in the LXX Psalms for the treacherous man and the lying tongue: "the man of blood and deceit" (Ps 5:7 LXX), "deceitful tongue" (Ps 51:6 LXX; 119:2 LXX). Paul uses the related verb in 2 Cor 4:2 ("not falsifying [dolountes] the word of God") and the noun in 12:16, where he quotes the accusation that he caught the Corinthians "by trickery."

Where it appears

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 11:13 δόλιοι, deceitful,

    For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

    Here: From dolos, originally a bait or trap, then cunning and trickery. They are workers who work by deception. Paul flips a charge made against himself (12:16, "I caught you by trickery," dolos).

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