Greek word · G358
ἄναλος
analos
unsalty
'Without salt, unsalted, saltless.' Formed from the negative prefix a(n)- and hals, 'salt'. It is rare in Greek and is used of food with no salt in it.
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
- Range of meaning
'Without salt, unsalted, saltless.' Formed from the negative prefix a(n)- and hals, 'salt'. It is rare in Greek and is used of food with no salt in it.
- Against the English
English versions say 'loses its saltiness' or 'becomes unsalty'. The Greek is more direct: the salt becomes un-salt. Matthew 5:13 and Luke 14:34 use a different verb, mōrainō, which means 'become insipid' and also 'become foolish'.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Found in Aristotle and later Greek writers for unsalted food. In the New Testament it occurs only here. The Latin Vulgate translates it insulsum, a word that also meant 'stupid' or 'witless', much like mōrainō in Matthew and Luke.
Where it appears
Mark · 1
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Mark 9:50 ἄναλον unsalty
Salt is good, but if the salt loses its saltiness, with what will you season it? Have salt among yourselves, and be at peace with one another.”
Here: Literally 'un-salt'. The salt has become the opposite of itself. It is a pointed contradiction: salt that is no longer salt.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.