Greek word · G2319
θεοστυγής
theostygēs
God-hating
A compound of theos ('god') + stugeō ('to hate, loathe'). In classical Greek the attested sense is overwhelmingly passive: 'hated by the gods', 'god-forsaken', used as a curse word or harsh insult. An active sense, 'hating God/the gods', is rare before Paul but appears in later Christian usage.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
θεοστυγής, -ές
(θεός, στυγέω),
1. passive, as frequently in cl., hateful to God: Romans 1:30 (R, txt., cf. Lit., Notes, 256).
2. Active, hating God: lb. (R, mg., cf. ICC, in l).†
(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 compound of theos ('god') + stugeō ('to hate, loathe'). In classical Greek the attested sense is overwhelmingly passive: 'hated by the gods', 'god-forsaken', used as a curse word or harsh insult. An active sense, 'hating God/the gods', is rare before Paul but appears in later Christian usage.
- Against the English
KJV, YLT, BSB, ESV, NIV, NASB: active ('haters of God', 'God-haters'). WEB: passive ('hateful to God'). The Latin Vulgate also took it passively (Deo odibiles, 'hateful to God'). English readers mostly meet only the active option and do not see that a real choice was made.
- How it drifted
Not a drift so much as a translators' decision. The active sense fits the surrounding list of human dispositions, so most modern versions adopt it. The passive classical sense is often not mentioned.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Classical: Euripides uses it of persons as 'hated by the gods' (e.g. Trojan Women 1213; Cyclops 396, 602). Early Christian: 1 Clement 35:5–6, which clearly paraphrases Romans 1:29–32, lists theostugia among the vices to be cast off and then says those who do these things are stugētoi tō theō, 'hateful to God'. This early reader seems to have heard both ideas in the word. BDAG s.v. records the classical passive sense and notes that the context of a vice list favours the active.
Where it appears
Romans · 1
-
Romans 1:30 θεοστυγεῖς, hateful to God,
slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful. They invent new forms of evil; they disobey their parents.
Here: A compound of 'God' and 'hate'. In ordinary Greek it usually meant 'hated by the gods', which was a strong insult close to 'god-forsaken' or 'damnable'. In a list of human vices many readers take it as active: 'God-haters'. Either way it names people at enmity with God, which is the root of the whole downward slide Paul describes from v. 21.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.