Greek word · G4256
προαιτιάομαι
proaitiaomai
to accuse
"To charge or accuse beforehand." It comes from αἰτία, "cause, ground of accusation, legal charge" (as in the charge posted over Jesus' cross, Matt 27:37), and αἰτιάομαι, "to accuse, blame."
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
"To charge or accuse beforehand." It comes from αἰτία, "cause, ground of accusation, legal charge" (as in the charge posted over Jesus' cross, Matt 27:37), and αἰτιάομαι, "to accuse, blame."
- Against the English
KJV's "we have before proved" makes Paul sound as if he has completed a logical demonstration. The Greek says he has filed an indictment. BSB/NIV "made the charge," ESV/NASB "charged" and YLT "did before charge" are accurate. WEB's "previously warned" weakens the legal sense.
- How it drifted
The KJV-era "proved" moved the word from the law court to the debating hall. In modern ears "proved" also suggests a finished proof, not an accusation awaiting the trial's outcome.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The word appears only here in the New Testament, and it is rare elsewhere. The simple verb αἰτιάομαι is common in legal and rhetorical Greek for bringing a charge. It fits the courtroom vocabulary all through Romans 1–3: "judgment" (κρίμα), "without excuse" (ἀναπολόγητος, 1:20; 2:1), "every mouth stopped" and "accountable" (ὑπόδικος) in 3:19.
Where it appears
Romans · 1
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Romans 3:9 προῃτιασάμεθα We have already charged
What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin.
Here: "We have already brought the charge." It is built from "before" plus the verb for formally accusing someone (αἰτία = a legal charge). Paul is pointing back to his indictment in 1:18–3:8. The word occurs only here in the New Testament. "We" is probably Paul speaking as author.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.