Greek word · G144

αἴσθησις

aisthēsis

insight

First, sense-perception (sight, hearing and so on). By extension, perception, awareness and moral discernment: a practical, almost instinctive sense of what is fitting in concrete situations.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

αἴσθησις, -εως, ἡ

(αἰσθάνομαι), [in LXX chiefly for דַּעַת ;]

perception (MM, VGT, see word): Philippians 1:9.†

SYN.: ἐπίγνωσις, which see (cf. Cremer, 620). (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 Philippians 1:9

Range of meaning

First, sense-perception (sight, hearing and so on). By extension, perception, awareness and moral discernment: a practical, almost instinctive sense of what is fitting in concrete situations.

Against the English

KJV "judgment" (in the older sense of good judgment), WEB/ESV/NASB "discernment", BSB/NIV "depth of insight". "Insight" can suggest inward depth or deep thoughts, while the Greek word points to practical perception applied to real choices.

How it drifted

KJV's "judgment" now suggests condemning people or being "judgmental", the opposite of what Paul means.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used only here in the New Testament. It appears often in Septuagint Proverbs (e.g. Prov 1:4, 7, 22; 2:3, 10; 3:20), usually for Hebrew דַּעַת "knowledge", in the sense of practical moral understanding given to the young and simple. The related αἰσθητήριον in Heb 5:14 speaks of mature people whose "faculties" have been "trained by practice to distinguish good from evil". Greek moral writers also used the word family for perceiving what is fitting.

Where it appears

Philippians · 1

  1. Philippians 1:9 αἰσθήσει discernment

    And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight,

    Here: Used only here in the New Testament. It means the practical, almost sense-like ability to perceive what is fitting and right in a particular case. Verse 10 shows what it is for: to "test and approve the things that really matter."

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