καταχράομαι

From the study of 1 Corinthians 7:31

Range of meaning

Built from chraomai ('use') with the strengthening prefix kata- ('down, thoroughly'). Its range runs from 'use fully, make full use of' and 'use up, consume' to, in some contexts, 'misuse, abuse' (using beyond proper limits). In some literary Greek it can even mean 'make away with' or 'destroy'.

Against the English

KJV 'as not abusing it'; YLT 'as not using it up'; WEB 'as not using it to the fullest'; NASB 'did not make full use of it'; BSB 'as if not dependent on them'; NIV 'as if not engrossed in them'.

How it drifted

In 1611 'abuse' could still mean 'use wrongly or excessively' (Latin abusus, 'using up / misusing'). Today it suggests cruelty, harm or addiction. A modern reader of the KJV hears 'don't mistreat the world', which is a different thought from Paul's 'don't use it as though you could wring everything out of it'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Paul's only other use is 1 Cor 9:18: he preaches free of charge 'so as not to make full use of (katachrēsasthai) my right' to support. There the sense is plainly 'use to the full', not 'abuse', and it is the best guide to his meaning here. In Greek papyri and literature the verb covers 'use up, spend' as well as 'misuse'. Lexicons such as BDAG and LSJ give both ranges.

From the study of 1 Corinthians 9:18

Range of meaning

From chraomai, 'to use', with kata- giving the sense 'fully, down to the bottom'. It can mean (1) to use to the full or use up, and (2) to use wrongly, misuse. Context decides which.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and YLT have 'abuse'. Modern versions mostly have 'make full use of' (ESV, NIV, NASB); BSB has 'use up'. To a modern reader 'abuse' suggests wrongdoing or exploitation, which would make Paul call the support he has just defended an abuse.

How it drifted

The English tradition followed the Latin Vulgate's abutar (from abutor). In classical Latin, abutor also meant 'use up, use fully' as well as 'misuse'. English 'abuse' kept only the negative sense, and Tyndale and the KJV passed it on.

Used elsewhere in the period

The only other NT use is 1 Cor 7:31, 'those who use the world as not making full use of it'. There 'use fully' clearly fits better than 'abuse'. Both senses appear in ordinary Greek.