σεμνότης

From the study of 1 Timothy 2:2

Range of meaning

Dignity, seriousness, gravity, respectability; conduct that deserves respect. The adjective semnos means 'worthy of respect, honourable' (Phil 4:8; 1 Tim 3:8, 11; Titus 2:2).

Against the English

'Dignity' (BSB, NASB, NLT), 'dignified' (ESV), 'reverence' (WEB), 'gravity' (YLT), 'honesty' (KJV), 'holiness' (NIV). KJV's 'honesty' meant 'honourableness, decency' in 1611 and now misleads. NIV's 'holiness' moves the word toward the Godward realm (the Greek for that would be hagiasmos or hosiotēs) and loses its social, public-reputation side.

How it drifted

'Honesty' (from Latin honestas, 'honourableness') narrowed after the 17th century to mean truthfulness. Tyndale and the KJV were using it in the older sense.

Used elsewhere in the period

Elsewhere in the NT only in the Pastoral Letters: 1 Timothy 3:4 (an overseer's children in submission 'with all dignity') and Titus 2:7 (Titus's teaching marked by 'dignity'). In Greek ethics it describes the respectable bearing of a good citizen or magistrate.

From the study of 1 Timothy 3:4

Range of meaning

Dignity, seriousness, respectability, a bearing worthy of reverence. It comes from the same root as σέβομαι, 'to revere'. The adjective σεμνός was first used of gods and holy things, then of people whose conduct earns respect: serious without being harsh, decent and honourable.

Against the English

KJV and YLT have 'gravity', WEB 'reverence', BSB 'complete dignity', ESV and NASB 'dignity', NIV 'worthy of full respect'. 'Gravity' is archaic and now sounds like physics or gloom. 'Reverence' sounds like worship. 'Dignity' is close but can sound like mere formality.

How it drifted

In 1611 'gravity' meant weighty, dignified seriousness. That sense has largely faded from everyday English.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the NT it occurs only in the Pastoral Letters: 1 Timothy 2:2 ('in all godliness and dignity'), here, and Titus 2:7 (Titus's teaching 'with dignity'). The adjective appears in 1 Timothy 3:8 and 3:11, Titus 2:2 and Philippians 4:8. In Greek moral writing (Aristotle, Plutarch, the inscriptions honouring benefactors) σεμνότης is a public virtue of the respected citizen. 2 Maccabees 3:12 uses it of the sanctity of the temple.

From the study of Titus 2:7

Range of meaning

From σέβομαι, 'to revere'. σεμνός first described gods and holy things as 'august, venerable'. Applied to people it means dignified, serious, worthy of respect. The noun means 'dignity, seriousness, gravity, a respect-worthy bearing'.

Against the English

'Dignity' (BSB, ESV) and 'seriousness' (NIV, WEB) are fair. KJV 'gravity' meant weightiness of character in 1611, but some modern readers now hear stiffness, gloom or humorlessness, which is not the point.

How it drifted

English 'gravity' and 'seriousness' can now suggest a joyless manner. The Greek is about weightiness that earns respect.

Used elsewhere in the period

It is a virtue word in the Pastoral Letters: 1 Tim 2:2 ('in all godliness and σεμνότης'), 3:4. Elders and deacons are to be σεμνός (Titus 2:2; 1 Tim 3:8, 11). Greek moralists and honorific inscriptions praise the σεμνότης of respected public figures.