Greek word · G368
ἀναντίρρητος
anantirrētos
indisputable
'Not to be spoken against': indisputable, beyond contradiction, undeniable. Used of facts, claims or proofs nobody can reasonably answer. The related adverb ἀναντιρρήτως means 'without objection' (Acts 10:29, where Peter says he came 'without raising any objection').
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ἀν-αντί-ρητος
(Τ, -ρρητος, -ον (ῥητός, spoken), [in Sm.: Job 11:2 33:13 * ;]
not to be contradicted, undeniable: Acts 19:36 (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
- Range of meaning
'Not to be spoken against': indisputable, beyond contradiction, undeniable. Used of facts, claims or proofs nobody can reasonably answer. The related adverb ἀναντιρρήτως means 'without objection' (Acts 10:29, where Peter says he came 'without raising any objection').
- Against the English
KJV 'cannot be spoken against' keeps the word's makeup (anti + rhētos, 'against' + 'spoken'). BSB, NIV and WEB 'undeniable' / 'can't be denied' give the sense well. No real drift.
- Used elsewhere in the period
A word of Hellenistic Greek prose, found in historians such as Polybius for facts or arguments beyond dispute. The adjective appears only here in the New Testament; the adverb only at Acts 10:29. Both are in Luke's writing, which fits his more literary Greek.
Similar words
Where it appears
Acts · 1
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Acts 19:36 ἀναντιρρήτων Undeniable
Since these things are undeniable, you ought to be calm and not do anything rash.
Here: Built from 'not' + 'against' + 'spoken': something nobody can talk back to. It stands first for emphasis: the clerk says the city's claims about Artemis are beyond argument, so nobody needs to defend them by force.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.