Greek word · G420
ἀνεξίκακος
anexikakos
not resentful
Made from anechomai, "to bear, put up with", and kakos, "bad, evil". It means bearing wrong or ill-treatment patiently, enduring insult without resentment or retaliation.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ἀνεξί-κακος, -ον
(fut., ἀνέξομαι, κακός)
patiently forbearing (cf. ἀνεξικακία, Wisdom of Solomon 2:19; and see MM, VGT, see word): 2 Timothy 2:24.†
(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 2 Timothy 2:24
- Range of meaning
Made from anechomai, "to bear, put up with", and kakos, "bad, evil". It means bearing wrong or ill-treatment patiently, enduring insult without resentment or retaliation.
- Against the English
KJV and WEB "patient" is too general: today it suggests calm waiting, not taking abuse. YLT "patient under evil" is the most literal. NASB has "patient when wronged", ESV "patiently enduring evil", NIV "not resentful", BSB "forbearing", and NLT "patient with difficult people", which softens the element of being wronged.
- How it drifted
"Patient" in modern English mostly means tolerating delay, so the specific sense of absorbing injury drops out.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Wisdom of Solomon 2:19: the ungodly plan to test the righteous man "with insult and torture, so that we may learn his gentleness and test his forbearance (anexikakia)". Epictetus (Enchiridion 10): if abuse comes, "you will find forbearance (anexikakia)" within you to meet it. The noun was a recognised virtue in both Jewish and Stoic writing.
Where it appears
2 Timothy · 1
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2 Timothy 2:24 ἀνεξίκακον, forbearing,
And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.
Here: Literally "putting up with bad things". He takes insult and ill-treatment without striking back or turning bitter. The word appears only here in the New Testament.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.