ἡσσάομαι

From the study of 2 Peter 2:20

Range of meaning

To be lesser, to be inferior; especially to be defeated or overcome in battle or contest.

Against the English

"Overcome" is fine, but readers can miss the deliberate link to v.19, where the same verb appears: "by whatever someone is defeated, to this he has been enslaved."

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in Greek for military defeat. In the Septuagint it is used for losing in battle (e.g., Isa 31:8). In 2 Cor 12:13 it means being treated as lesser.

From the study of 2 Peter 2:19

Range of meaning

To be lesser, weaker, inferior. Most often it means to be defeated or worsted in battle, a lawsuit or a contest. It can also mean to give in to something (pleasure, anger, money).

Against the English

BSB ('whatever has mastered him') blends the defeat and the slavery together. KJV, WEB and YLT ('overcome') keep the battle picture. The perfect tense, a defeat that stays in force, is mostly lost in English.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in classical writers and the Septuagint for losing in war (e.g. Isa 31:8 LXX). Greek moral writers spoke of being 'worsted by pleasure' (hēttōn tōn hēdonōn), and Xenophon and Plato use this vocabulary for the person with no self-control. The New Testament uses it only here, in 2 Peter 2:20, and in 2 Cor 12:13.

From the study of Sirach 19:24

Range of meaning

Passive of hēttaō: to be defeated, be overcome, be inferior to, fall short of.

Against the English

'Has small/little understanding' (Brenton, WEB), 'lacks understanding' (RSV and similar). These soften the image of being outdone or coming off second-best.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used of defeat in battle and of being worsted in rivalry in ordinary Greek. In the New Testament: 2 Corinthians 12:13 ('in what were you less favoured'), 2 Peter 2:19–20 ('overcome').