Greek word · G5196

ὕβρις

hybris

mistreatment

In classical and Hellenistic Greek, wanton violence or insolence that shames its victim: assault, humiliating treatment, outrage, insult. It can mean the arrogant attitude behind such acts, or the injury itself; at sea it can mean "damage" (Acts 27:10, 21).

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ὕβρις, -εως, ἡ

[in LXX chiefly for גָּאוֹן and cogn. forms ;]

1. wantonness, insolence.

2. = ὕβρισμα, an act of wanton violence, an outrage, injury: 2 Corinthians 12:10; metaphorically, of a loss by sea (find.), Acts 27:10, 21 (see MM, xxv).†

(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 Corinthians 12:10

Range of meaning

In classical and Hellenistic Greek, wanton violence or insolence that shames its victim: assault, humiliating treatment, outrage, insult. It can mean the arrogant attitude behind such acts, or the injury itself; at sea it can mean "damage" (Acts 27:10, 21).

Against the English

BSB/NIV/ESV/NASB "insults" and KJV "reproaches" sound verbal. WEB "injuries" and YLT "damages" point to harm done. The Greek can include both: degrading treatment in word and deed.

How it drifted

English "hubris" (from this word) now means excessive pride, the attitude of the doer. Here the word names what is done to Paul, and its honor-shame sting is lost in a light word like "insults."

Used elsewhere in the period

In Athenian law hybris was a serious offense: degrading someone in a way that robbed them of honor (N. R. E. Fisher, Hybris). Paul uses the related verb of his treatment at Philippi: "we had suffered and been shamefully treated (hybristhentes)" (1 Thess 2:2), referring to the beating and jailing of Acts 16. The noun form hybristēs ("violent, insolent man") describes Paul's own former conduct in 1 Tim 1:13.

Similar words

Where it appears

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 27:10 ὕβρεως disaster

    “Men, I can see that our voyage will be filled with disaster and great loss, not only to ship and cargo, but to our own lives as well.”

  2. Acts 27:21 ὕβριν disaster

    After the men had gone a long time without food, Paul stood up among them and said, “Men, you should have followed my advice not to sail from Crete. Then you would have averted this disaster and loss.

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 12:10 ὕβρεσιν, insults,

    That is why, for the sake of Christ, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

    Here: Treatment meant to degrade and shame: verbal abuse, but also beatings and public humiliation (compare the floggings and stoning in 11:24-25). Not the English "hubris" (arrogance) — here Paul is on the receiving end.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.