Greek word · G3804

πάθημα

pathēma

suffering

Something suffered or undergone: affliction, misfortune, pain. In Paul it can also mean passions or impulses (Rom 7:5; Gal 5:24). In the New Testament it is very often tied to the sufferings of Christ (2 Cor 1:5–7; Phil 3:10; 1 Pet 4:13; 5:1).

Appears 16 times in 16 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

πάθημα, -τος, τό

(πάσχω), like πάθος,

1. that which befalls one, a suffering, affliction: pl., Romans 8:18, 2 Corinthians 1:6-7, Colossians 1:24, 2 Timothy 3:11, Hebrews 2:10 10:32, 1 Peter 5:9; of Christ's sufferings: τὰ εἰς Χ., 1 Peter 1:11; τ. Χριστσῦ, 1 Peter 5:1; id. as shared by Christians, 2 Corinthians 1:5, Philippians 3:10, 1 Peter 4:13.

2. a passive emotion, affection, passion: Galatians 5:24; τ. ἀμαρτιῶν, Romans 7:5

3. = τὸ πάσχειν, an enduring or suffering: with genitive obj., Hebrews 2:9.†

SYN.: see: πάθος (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 Romans 8:18

Range of meaning

Something suffered or undergone: affliction, misfortune, pain. In Paul it can also mean passions or impulses (Rom 7:5; Gal 5:24). In the New Testament it is very often tied to the sufferings of Christ (2 Cor 1:5–7; Phil 3:10; 1 Pet 4:13; 5:1).

Against the English

"Sufferings" is accurate. BSB's "our present sufferings" adds "our", which is fair but narrows the phrase. Paul's "the sufferings of the now-time" covers the whole present age, including the creation's groaning that follows (8:20–22).

Used elsewhere in the period

Used in classical Greek for misfortunes and experiences. In the New Testament the same word names Christ's sufferings in 2 Cor 1:5 and 1 Pet 1:11. Paul's list in Rom 8:35 (affliction, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, danger, sword) shows how concrete these sufferings were.

From the study of Philippians 3:10

Range of meaning

Suffering, something endured or undergone. In the plural it means afflictions or misfortunes. It can also mean a passion or impulse (Rom 7:5; Gal 5:24), but in contexts about Christ it means things suffered.

Against the English

'Sufferings' is accurate. Modern readers may think of private misfortune such as illness or loss. In context the word means suffering connected with Christ: hostility, chains and death endured because of loyalty to him.

Used elsewhere in the period

Paul uses it for 'the sufferings of Christ' that overflow to believers in 2 Cor 1:5–7. Rom 8:17–18 sets 'the sufferings of this present time' alongside sharing his glory, and Col 1:24 has a related idea. 1 Peter 4:13 says 'share (koinōneite) Christ's sufferings', a close parallel.

From the study of Hebrews 2:10

Range of meaning

Something suffered; an affliction or painful experience. In the plural, a person's sufferings taken together. Related to paschō, 'to suffer, undergo'.

Against the English

BSB 'suffering' (singular) is acceptable but loses the plural. KJV, WEB and YLT 'sufferings' keep it.

Used elsewhere in the period

Rom 8:18 ('the sufferings of the present time... the glory'); 2 Cor 1:5–7; 1 Pet 1:11 ('the sufferings of Christ and the glories after'); Heb 2:9 ('the suffering of death'), 10:32 (the readers' own 'struggle of sufferings').

Where it appears

Romans · 2
  1. Romans 7:5 παθήματα passions

    For when we lived according to the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, bearing fruit for death.

    Here: Strong impulses or emotions that happen to a person and overpower them. Elsewhere Paul usually uses this word for "sufferings". Here, as in Galatians 5:24, it means passions.

  2. Romans 8:18 παθήματα sufferings

    I consider that our present sufferings are not comparable to the glory that will be revealed in us.

    Here: Plural: the many concrete things endured. Coming right after "suffer with him" (8:17), they are the believers' share in the Messiah's sufferings, and they are broad enough to cover the hardships listed in 8:35.

2 Corinthians · 3
  1. 2 Corinthians 1:5 παθήματα sufferings

    For just as the sufferings of Christ overflow to us, so also through Christ our comfort overflows.

    Here: Plural: concrete hardships and pains, not a mood. In Paul it often points to Christ's own passion and to what his people endure in union with him (Phil 3:10; Rom 8:17–18).

  2. 2 Corinthians 1:6 παθημάτων sufferings

    If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which accomplishes in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we experience.

    Here: Things suffered, endured or undergone. It looks back to "the sufferings of Christ" overflowing to us in verse 5.

  3. 2 Corinthians 1:7 παθημάτων, sufferings,

    And our hope for you is sure, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you will share in our comfort.

    Here: 'Sufferings', meaning actual hardships endured. In verse 5 Paul called them the Messiah's sufferings overflowing onto his people. The Greek has no 'our' here.

Galatians · 1
  1. Galatians 5:24 παθήμασιν passions

    Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

    Here: Elsewhere in Paul this word usually means "sufferings." Here, as in Romans 7:5, it means passions: strong emotions that come over a person and drive them. The word comes from the verb "to undergo, to be acted on," so these are impulses a person is carried along by rather than ones he chooses.

Philippians · 1
  1. Philippians 3:10 παθημάτων sufferings

    I want to know Christ and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to Him in His death,

    Here: The plural points to the concrete things Christ endured, ending in the cross. Paul, writing in chains, sees his own hardships for the gospel as a share in them.

Colossians · 1
  1. Colossians 1:24 παθήμασιν sufferings

    Now I rejoice in my sufferings for you, and I fill up in my flesh what is lacking in regard to Christ’s afflictions for the sake of His body, which is the church.

    Here: Things endured, hardships undergone. Here it means Paul's imprisonment and the hardships of his mission.

2 Timothy · 1
  1. 2 Timothy 3:11 παθήμασιν, sufferings

    my persecutions, and the sufferings that came upon me in Antioch, Iconium, and Lystra. What persecutions I endured! Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them.

    Here: What one undergoes or has done to one: here the bodily and personal harm that came with the persecutions. Paul uses the same word for Christ's sufferings, which he sees himself sharing (2 Cor 1:5; Phil 3:10).

Hebrews · 3
  1. Hebrews 2:9 πάθημα suffering

    But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, now crowned with glory and honor because He suffered death, so that by the grace of God He might taste death for everyone.

    Here: Something endured, especially pain. Hebrews comes back to this idea in 2:10 ('perfect through sufferings') and 5:8.

  2. Hebrews 2:10 παθημάτων sufferings

    In bringing many sons to glory, it was fitting for God, for whom and through whom all things exist, to make the author of their salvation perfect through suffering.

    Here: Plural: the whole experience of suffering, which reached its peak in 'the suffering of death' (v. 9). It includes testing and the cry described in 5:7–8.

  3. Hebrews 10:32 παθημάτων, of sufferings,

    Remember the early days that you were in the light. In those days, you endured a great conflict in the face of suffering.

    Here: 'Of sufferings': names what the contest consisted of. The genitive most likely means 'a contest made up of sufferings.' The same word describes Christ's own sufferings in 2:9–10, quietly linking the readers' ordeal to his.

1 Peter · 4
  1. 1 Peter 1:11 παθήματα sufferings

    trying to determine the time and setting to which the Spirit of Christ in them was pointing when He predicted the sufferings of Christ and the glories to follow.

    Here: Plural: the various things the Messiah would endure, such as rejection, abuse and death. 1 Peter uses the same word for what Christ suffered and for what his followers suffer (4:13; 5:1, 9).

  2. 1 Peter 4:13 παθήμασιν sufferings

    But rejoice that you share in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed at the revelation of His glory.

    Here: Plural: the concrete hardships Christ endured (insult, rejection, the cross; compare 2:21–23). The readers are now meeting the same kind of treatment.

  3. 1 Peter 5:1 παθημάτων, sufferings,

    As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you:

    Here: Plural: the whole series of things Jesus endured — arrest, abuse, trial, crucifixion. The same word in 1:11 and 4:13 pairs 'sufferings' with 'glory'.

  4. 1 Peter 5:9 παθημάτων sufferings

    Resist him, standing firm in your faith and in the knowledge that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kinds of suffering.

    Here: The things that happen to you and that you have to bear. In this letter it is the same word used for Christ's sufferings (1:11; 4:13; 5:1), so the readers' trouble is tied to his.

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