Greek word · G150

αἰσχρός

aischros

shameful

In Greek of the period: ugly or base. Morally, disgraceful or shameful, whatever brings dishonor in the eyes of the community and the gods. The opposite of kalos ('fine, noble, honorable').

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

αἰσχρός, -ά, όν

(αἶσχος, shame, disgrace), [in LXX: Genesis 41:3 ff. (רַע, רֹעַ), Judith 12:12, al. ;]

base, shameful: 1 Corinthians 11:6 14:35, Ephesians 5:12, Titus 1:11 (MM, VGT, see word).†

(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 Ephesians 5:12

Range of meaning

In Greek of the period: ugly or base. Morally, disgraceful or shameful, whatever brings dishonor in the eyes of the community and the gods. The opposite of kalos ('fine, noble, honorable'). Related words: aischynē (shame, disgrace), aischrotēs (obscenity, 5:4), aischrologia (filthy or abusive talk, Col 3:8).

Against the English

BSB, NIV and ESV say 'shameful'. NASB says 'disgraceful'. KJV and WEB say 'a shame'. 'Shameful' and 'disgraceful' are accurate. In modern speech 'it is a shame' usually means 'it's a pity', which is not what the Greek says.

How it drifted

The KJV's 'it is a shame' was exact in 1611, when the phrase meant 'it is a disgrace'. The everyday idiom has since weakened to 'that's unfortunate'.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament: 1 Cor 11:6 and 14:35 ("it is shameful [aischron] for a woman…"), and Titus 1:11 ("shameful gain"). Greek moralists used the same reasoning as this verse. Commentators often cite Isocrates, To Demonicus 15: what is shameful to do, do not think it decent even to speak of.

From the study of Titus 1:11

Range of meaning

Ugly; shameful, disgraceful, base. A central honour-and-shame term for what brings dishonour on a person in the eyes of the community.

Against the English

KJV/YLT 'filthy lucre', BSB 'dishonorable gain', WEB/NIV 'dishonest gain', ESV 'shameful gain', NASB 'sordid gain'. 'Dishonest' narrows the meaning to fraud. The Greek condemns the gain as disgraceful even if no law was broken.

How it drifted

'Filthy' in KJV came from Tyndale's 'filthy lucre'. To modern ears it can make money itself sound dirty, when the word condemns how the money was made.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Pastorals forbid elders and deacons to be aischrokerdēs, 'greedy for shameful gain' (Titus 1:7; 1 Tim 3:8). 1 Pet 5:2 warns elders not to shepherd aischrokerdōs. Most strikingly, the historian Polybius (Histories 6.46.3) says that greed was so native to Crete that 'among the Cretans alone of all people no gain is thought shameful (aischron)'.

Similar words

Where it appears

1 Corinthians · 2

  1. 1 Corinthians 11:6 αἰσχρὸν disgraceful

    If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off. And if it is shameful for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head.

  2. 1 Corinthians 14:35 αἰσχρὸν shameful

    If they wish to inquire about something, they are to ask their own husbands at home; for it is dishonorable for a woman to speak in the church.

Ephesians · 1

  1. Ephesians 5:12 αἰσχρόν shameful

    For it is shameful even to mention what the disobedient do in secret.

    Here: An honor-and-shame word for what is ugly or degrading, the kind of thing that disgraces whoever takes part in it. Here it describes even talking about these deeds, not only doing them.

Titus · 1

  1. Titus 1:11 αἰσχροῦ of shameful

    who must be silenced. For the sake of dishonorable gain, they undermine entire households and teach things they should not.

    Here: A word from the language of honour and shame: base, ugly, disgraceful. It judges the profit by how it is earned. Making money out of teaching God's things is degrading.

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