Greek word · G1965

ἐπίορκος

epiorkos

perjurer

From ἐπί + ὅρκος ('oath'): someone who swears falsely, or who breaks what he has sworn.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἐπί-ορκος, -ον

[in LXX: Zechariah 5:3 (שָׁבַע ni.) * ;]

1. of oaths, sworn falsely.

2. Of persons, perjured; as subst., a perjurer, false swearer: 1 Timothy 1:10.†

(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 1 Timothy 1:10

Range of meaning

From ἐπί + ὅρκος ('oath'): someone who swears falsely, or who breaks what he has sworn.

Against the English

KJV 'perjured persons', BSB and others 'perjurers'. Modern 'perjury' is limited to lying under oath in court. The Greek also covers breaking oaths in everyday business and contracts.

Used elsewhere in the period

Zechariah 5:3 LXX; Wisdom 14:25 (ἐπιορκία in a vice list); Philo, Decalogue 88; Matthew 5:33 (οὐκ ἐπιορκήσεις, 'you shall not swear falsely').

Similar words

Where it appears

1 Timothy · 1

  1. 1 Timothy 1:10 ἐπιόρκοις, for perjurers,

    for the sexually immoral, for homosexuals, for slave traders and liars and perjurers, and for anyone else who is averse to sound teaching

    Here: Someone who swears an oath falsely or breaks a sworn oath, which brings God's name into the lie. It is the courtroom side of the false-witness commandment.

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