Greek word · G277
ἀμετακίνητος
ametakinētos
immovable
'Not able to be moved from its place, unshiftable'. It is metakineō ('shift, remove, move elsewhere') with a negating a-. Greek writers used it for fixed things, such as settled laws, positions or convictions that cannot be relocated.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
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 Corinthians 15:58
- Range of meaning
'Not able to be moved from its place, unshiftable'. It is metakineō ('shift, remove, move elsewhere') with a negating a-. Greek writers used it for fixed things, such as settled laws, positions or convictions that cannot be relocated.
- Against the English
'Immovable' / 'unmoveable' is accurate. NIV's 'Let nothing move you' turns the adjective into a command about outside pressure. That fits the sense, but it hides that Paul is describing what kind of people they are to be.
- Used elsewhere in the period
It appears only here in the New Testament. The verb behind it, metakineō, is used in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint) for shifting a neighbor's boundary stones (Deut 19:14), and Paul uses it in Col 1:23 for being 'shifted from the hope of the gospel'. Hearers would picture something being moved off its proper ground.
Where it appears
1 Corinthians · 1
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1 Corinthians 15:58 ἀμετακίνητοι, immovable,
Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast and immovable. Always excel in the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain.
Here: Literally 'un-shift-able', unable to be moved from one place to another. Where hedraioi says they are settled, this says no outside push will dislodge them. The word appears only here in the New Testament.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.