ἀνεκτός

From the study of Matthew 11:22

Range of meaning

From the verb anechomai, 'to hold up under, endure, put up with'. The adjective means 'bearable, endurable, tolerable', describing something a person can stand or survive, as opposed to something crushing. In the New Testament it appears only in the comparative form (anektoteron, 'more bearable') and always in Jesus' sayings about the day of judgment: Matthew 10:15; 11:22, 24; Luke 10:12, 14 (and in a later addition to Mark 6:11).

Against the English

'More tolerable' (KJV, WEB) and 'more bearable' (BSB, NIV, ESV) are both accurate. The risk is in looser paraphrase. 'Better off' (NLT) can suggest a good outcome, when the Greek only says the outcome is less unbearable. In modern English 'tolerable' can also mean 'acceptable' or 'so-so', which softens the original picture of something that has to be endured.

Used elsewhere in the period

In ordinary Greek of the period the word is used of conditions, burdens or conduct that a person can put up with (BDAG s.v. ἀνεκτός). The comparative formula with 'than' is distinctive to the Jesus tradition shared by Matthew and Luke. Its logic matches prophetic comparisons that shamed Israel by measuring it against notorious outsiders, such as Ezekiel 16:48 (Sodom did not do as Jerusalem has done) and Lamentations 4:6 (Jerusalem's punishment is greater than Sodom's).

From the study of Matthew 10:15

Range of meaning

Something that can be borne, endured or put up with. It comes from ἀνέχομαι, 'to hold up under, endure, put up with'. The comparative form ἀνεκτότερον means 'more endurable, less crushing'. The word assumes a weight being carried. It does not describe anything pleasant.

Against the English

BSB, NIV and ESV have 'more bearable'. KJV, NASB, WEB and YLT have 'more tolerable'. NLT turns it into 'better off'. 'Bearable' keeps the idea of a load best. 'Tolerable' was accurate in 1611 (it follows the Latin tolerabilius, 'more endurable'), but today it often means 'passable, fairly acceptable', which softens the picture.

How it drifted

In modern English 'tolerable' has slid toward 'acceptable, not too bad' (as in 'the food was tolerable'). Its older sense of 'able to be endured' has faded.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament it appears only in this saying and its parallels: Matthew 11:22, 24; Luke 10:12, 14 (and in later manuscripts of Mark 6:11). In wider Greek it is the usual word for what can or cannot be put up with: conditions, behaviour, suffering (BDAG s.v. ἀνεκτός).

From the study of Matthew 11:24

Range of meaning

From the verb anechomai, 'to hold up under, endure, put up with'. The adjective anektos means 'bearable, endurable, tolerable'. In ordinary Greek it describes a condition someone can stand, such as a tolerable climate or burden. It is often used with a negative ('not to be borne').

Against the English

'Tolerable' (KJV, WEB, ESV, NASB) and 'bearable' (BSB, NIV) are both accurate. Modern 'tolerable' can sound like 'acceptable' or 'pleasant enough'. The Greek is about how hard a sentence is to endure, not whether it is acceptable.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament it appears only in this comparative form and only in Jesus' sayings that compare towns with Sodom, Gomorrah, Tyre and Sidon (Matt 10:15; 11:22, 24; Luke 10:12, 14). Classical writers and papyri use it for things that can or cannot be put up with.