Greek word · G157
αἰτίαμα
aitiama
charge
A charge or accusation, the thing someone is formally blamed for. It belongs to the family of aitia ('cause, grounds, charge') and aitiaomai ('to accuse, blame').
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
αἰτίωμα (Rec. αἰτίαμα, the usual form; see MM, VGT, see word), -τος, τό
(αἰτιάομαι, αἰτία),
a charge, accusation: Acts 25:7.†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
A charge or accusation, the thing someone is formally blamed for. It belongs to the family of aitia ('cause, grounds, charge') and aitiaomai ('to accuse, blame').
- Against the English
BSB, WEB, NIV and ESV say 'charges', which is exact. KJV's 'complaints' was an acceptable legal word, but today it sounds like grumbling. Some modern versions say 'accusations', which is accurate, though 'charges' better suits a hearing before a governor.
- How it drifted
Only the KJV rendering has drifted: 'complaint' has largely moved from a formal grievance to everyday dissatisfaction, although lawyers still use it in the older sense.
- Used elsewhere in the period
This is the only use of the word in the New Testament, and it is very rare anywhere in Greek. Moulton-Milligan point to a first-century papyrus from Egypt for the word's use in the sense of blame or fault; I am relying on the lexicons here. The much more common relative aitia is used in the same legal way in this chapter (Acts 25:18, 25:27) and earlier in Acts (13:28, 23:28).
Where it appears
Acts · 1
-
Acts 25:7 αἰτιώματα charges
When Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that they could not prove.
Here: Formal accusations laid before a judge. This is courtroom language, not grumbling.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.