Greek word · G5339

φείδομαι

pheidomai

to spare

To spare, hold back, refrain from using or harming; to treat leniently; to be sparing with something one values. In war and punishment contexts it means exempting someone from a fate others suffer.

Appears 10 times in 9 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

φείδομαι

[in LXX for חָמַל, חוּס, חָשַׂךְ, etc. ;]

to spare: 2 Corinthians 13:2; with genitive of person(s), Acts 20:29, Romans 8:32 11:21, 1 Corinthians 7:28, 2 Corinthians 1:23, 2 Peter 2:4-5; with inf., to forbear, 2 Corinthians 12:6.†

(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 Romans 8:32

Range of meaning

To spare, hold back, refrain from using or harming; to treat leniently; to be sparing with something one values. In war and punishment contexts it means exempting someone from a fate others suffer.

Against the English

"Spare" is a good match. What English loses is the echo: Greek-speaking Jews knew this exact verb from the story of Abraham and Isaac.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) at Genesis 22:12 and 16, the angel says to Abraham: ouk epheisō tou huiou sou tou agapētou, "you did not spare your beloved son." Paul's wording, tou idiou huiou ouk epheisato, follows it closely. Paul uses the same verb in Romans 11:21 ("if God did not spare the natural branches"); compare 2 Peter 2:4–5. Second Temple writers retold the binding of Isaac (the Akedah) often: Jubilees 17–18, the Qumran fragment 4Q225, Josephus (Antiquities 1.222–236), Philo (On Abraham), and 4 Maccabees 13:12; 16:20.

From the study of 2 Peter 2:4

Range of meaning

To spare, show leniency, refrain from doing harm, hold back.

Against the English

'Did not spare' is accurate in every major version.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used for God's severity in Romans 11:21 ('if God did not spare the natural branches') and his self-giving in Romans 8:32 ('did not spare his own Son'). The Septuagint uses it often for God's pity or lack of it.

From the study of 2 Corinthians 1:23

Range of meaning

To spare: to hold back from harming, punishing or destroying someone; also to refrain from doing something, or to use sparingly. In the Septuagint it often renders Hebrew words for pity and holding back judgment (ḥamal, ḥus).

Against the English

'Spare' is a good rendering, but in modern English 'to spare you' can sound like sparing someone an inconvenience or an awkward visit. In Greek the word belongs to the vocabulary of judgment: holding back a blow that was deserved.

Used elsewhere in the period

Rom 8:32 ('did not spare his own Son'); Rom 11:21 ('if God did not spare the natural branches'); Acts 20:29 ('wolves not sparing the flock'). In this letter Paul warns: 'if I come again I will not spare' (οὐ φείσομαι, 13:2), the same verb used for disciplinary action. 1 Cor 4:21: 'Shall I come to you with a rod, or with love?'

Similar words

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 20:29 φειδόμενοι sparing

    I know that after my departure, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock.

    Here: Present participle: they carry on without any restraint or pity. 'Not sparing' is an understatement for 'ravaging'. The wolves have no regard for the sheep's wellbeing.

Romans · 3

  1. Romans 8:32 ἐφείσατο, spared,

    He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also, along with Him, freely give us all things?

    Here: "Spared": God did not hold his Son back or exempt him. The wording matches the Greek of Genesis 22:12, 16, where Abraham "did not spare" his son.

  2. Romans 11:21 ἐφείσατο, φείσεται.¶ spared,, will He spare.

    For if God did not spare the natural branches, He will certainly not spare you either.

1 Corinthians · 1

  1. 1 Corinthians 7:28 φείδομαι.¶ am sparing.

    But if you do marry, you have not sinned. And if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.

2 Corinthians · 3

  1. 2 Corinthians 1:23 φειδόμενος sparing

    I call God as my witness that it was in order to spare you that I did not return to Corinth.

    Here: Present participle giving the motive: 'because I was sparing you'. It implies that a visit would have meant something painful for them, namely firm discipline, which Paul held back.

  2. 2 Corinthians 12:6 φείδομαι I refrain

    Even if I wanted to boast, I would not be a fool, because I would be speaking the truth. But I refrain, so no one will credit me with more than he sees in me or hears from me,

  3. 2 Corinthians 13:2 φείσομαι. I will spare [anyone].

    I already warned you the second time I was with you. So now in my absence I warn those who sinned earlier and everyone else: If I return, I will not spare anyone,

    Here: "I will not hold back." This reverses 1:23, where Paul says he stayed away "to spare you." This time he will not hold back from using his authority to discipline. The Greek has no object; "anyone" is supplied by translators.

2 Peter · 2

  1. 2 Peter 2:4 ἐφείσατο, spared,

    For if God did not spare the angels when they sinned, but cast them deep into hell, placing them in chains of darkness to be held for judgment;

    Here: To hold back from harming, to show leniency. The same verb opens verse 5 ('did not spare the ancient world'), so the two examples run in parallel.

  2. 2 Peter 2:5 ἐφείσατο, He spared,

    if He did not spare the ancient world when He brought the flood on its ungodly people, but preserved Noah, a preacher of righteousness, among the eight;

    Here: To refrain from harming someone you could harm, to show leniency. Saying God 'did not spare' means he did not hold back the judgment it had earned. The aorist tense presents it as a single, completed event in the past.

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