Greek word · G276

ἀμετάθετος

ametathetos

unchangeable

'Not able to be moved or changed'. It is made from a- ('not') and metatithēmi ('to transfer, alter, revoke'). It means unalterable or irrevocable, especially of a decision, decree or legal arrangement.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀ-μετάθετος, -ον

(μετατίθημι), [in LXX: 3Ma.5:1 3Mac 5:12 * ;]

immutable: Hebrews 6:18; as subat., τὸ ἀ., immutability, Hebrews 6:17 (see MM, VGT, see word).†

(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 Hebrews 6:18

Range of meaning

'Not able to be moved or changed'. It is made from a- ('not') and metatithēmi ('to transfer, alter, revoke'). It means unalterable or irrevocable, especially of a decision, decree or legal arrangement.

Against the English

'Immutable' (KJV, WEB, YLT) and 'unchangeable' (BSB) are accurate. They can sound like an abstract statement about God's inner being. The Greek is concrete: these two acts cannot be withdrawn or revised.

Used elsewhere in the period

It is rare in the Bible: only here and in 6:17 in the New Testament. In Greek documentary papyri it describes arrangements such as wills and contracts that may not be revoked (Moulton–Milligan). Greek writers such as Polybius use it of fixed decisions. The setting here, with 'heirs' (6:17) and God 'guaranteeing as a mediator' with an oath (ἐμεσίτευσεν), supports a legal, testamentary flavour.

From the study of Hebrews 6:17

Range of meaning

"Not able to be moved or changed", from a- ("not") and metatithēmi ("to move, change, transfer"). It describes decisions, rulings, wills and agreements that cannot be altered or cancelled. Its opposite, metathesis, means a change, transfer or removal.

Against the English

"Immutability" (KJV, WEB, YLT) is accurate but sounds abstract and philosophical. "Unchanging nature" (BSB, NIV) can make it sound like a statement about what God is like in general. The Greek word is about God's plan being irrevocable, much like a legally binding settlement.

How it drifted

Later theology used "immutability" for a philosophical attribute of God's being. That is a related idea, but this verse speaks more narrowly about one decision that cannot be revoked.

Used elsewhere in the period

Found in Hellenistic Greek writers such as Polybius. Moulton–Milligan cite papyri where it is used of arrangements and decisions that cannot be altered. It appears once in the Septuagint, in 3 Maccabees. Hebrews uses it twice, here and in 6:18 ("two unchangeable things"). Hebrews uses metathesis for the change of the law that comes with a new priesthood (7:12) and for the removal of what can be shaken (12:27).

Where it appears

Hebrews · 2

  1. Hebrews 6:17 ἀμετάθετον unchangeableness

    So when God wanted to make the unchanging nature of His purpose very clear to the heirs of the promise, He guaranteed it with an oath.

    Here: "Unalterable, irrevocable". The word was at home in legal settings, describing a decision or arrangement that cannot be changed or cancelled. It is the object of "to display": the thing God wanted shown is that his plan cannot be revoked.

  2. Hebrews 6:18 ἀμεταθέτων, unchangeable,

    Thus by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be strongly encouraged.

    Here: This picks up 'the unchangeable character of his purpose' from 6:17. It sounds like legal language: a settlement or will that cannot be altered or cancelled once it is made.

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