Greek word · G3865
παραθεωρέω
paratheōreō
to neglect
Built from para ('beside, past') and theōreō ('look at'). In earlier Greek it can mean 'examine side by side' or 'compare'. In Hellenistic Greek (the everyday Greek of the period) it commonly means 'overlook, disregard, neglect' (BDAG).
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
Built from para ('beside, past') and theōreō ('look at'). In earlier Greek it can mean 'examine side by side' or 'compare'. In Hellenistic Greek (the everyday Greek of the period) it commonly means 'overlook, disregard, neglect' (BDAG).
- Against the English
'Neglected' (KJV, WEB, ESV) can sound like a deliberate failure of duty. 'Overlooked' (BSB, YLT, NIV) keeps closer to the 'looked past' picture and leaves open whether anyone meant it.
- Used elsewhere in the period
This is its only use in the New Testament. It is not a technical term.
Similar words
Where it appears
Acts · 1
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Acts 6:1 παρεθεωροῦντο were being overlooked
In those days when the disciples were increasing in number, the Grecian Jews among them began to grumble against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
Here: Literally 'were being looked past'. The tense shows the neglect kept happening. The passive form does not say who did the overlooking or whether it was deliberate.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.