Greek word · G538

ἀπατάω

apataō

to trick

To deceive, cheat, mislead, seduce. It means leading someone into a false belief that harms them, often by attractive or flattering means.

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

What it means

ἀπατάω, -ῶ

(ἀπάτη), [in LXX for פָּתָה, נָשָׁא hi., etc. ;]

to deceive: with accusative, James 1:26; with accusative of person(s), dative of thing(s), Ephesians 5:6; pass., 1 Timothy 2:14 (on its infrequency in late writers, see MM, VGT, see word; cf. ἐξαπατάω).†

(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 Ephesians 5:6

Range of meaning

To deceive, cheat, mislead, seduce. It means leading someone into a false belief that harms them, often by attractive or flattering means.

Against the English

'Deceive' is accurate. The Greek leans toward being seduced by something appealing, not only being given false information.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, or LXX), Eve says 'the serpent deceived me' (ēpatēsen me, Gen 3:13). Later writers echo this (1 Tim 2:14). James 1:26 uses it of self-deception. Ephesians 4:22 uses the related noun for 'the desires of deceit' that corrupt the old self.

From the study of James 1:26

Range of meaning

ἀπατάω means to deceive, mislead or seduce. καρδία, like the Hebrew lev, is the inner self as a whole: mind, will, conscience and feeling, the place where a person makes judgments and decisions.

Against the English

NIV and NLT ('deceive themselves', 'fooling yourself') give the sense well but drop 'heart'. 'Deceives his heart' (BSB, ESV, NASB) keeps the picture that the faculty he uses to judge himself has been misled. Modern readers may hear 'heart' as feelings only. Here it means his self-assessment and his whole moral orientation.

How it drifted

In English, 'heart' has narrowed toward emotion. The biblical heart is mainly where a person thinks and decides.

Used elsewhere in the period

The phrase continues 1:22, where hearers who do not act are 'deceiving yourselves' (using a different verb, παραλογίζομαι). Compare Jeremiah 17:9 on the deceitfulness of the heart, and Obadiah 3: 'the pride of your heart has deceived you' (LXX: ἐπῆρεν, a similar idea).

From the study of 1 Timothy 2:14

Range of meaning

To deceive, cheat or mislead. It means making someone believe something false so that they act on it. The verb can describe seduction and fraud, and also being taken in by 'empty words' (Eph 5:6).

Against the English

English 'deceived' is accurate. The point is what it is said about. It is used of Adam only to deny it, and the denial covers being tricked, not doing wrong.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament, Genesis 3:13 has Eve say ὁ ὄφις ἠπάτησέν με, 'the serpent deceived me.' Adam's excuse in 3:12 is different: 'the woman you gave me, she gave me.' Paul's wording follows Genesis closely. Elsewhere in the New Testament it appears in Eph 5:6 and James 1:26.

Where it appears

Ephesians · 1

  1. Ephesians 5:6 ἀπατάτω should deceive

    Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things the wrath of God is coming on the sons of disobedience.

    Here: A present-tense command addressed to a third person: 'let no one go on deceiving you'. It names a steady pressure to be talked out of the truth, not a single trick.

1 Timothy · 1

  1. 1 Timothy 2:14 ἠπατήθη, was deceived,

    And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman who was deceived and fell into transgression.

    Here: Passive: 'was tricked'. This is the verb of Genesis 3:13 in the Greek Old Testament, where Eve says 'the serpent deceived me.' Adam never makes that claim in Genesis. He blames the woman, not a trick.

James · 1

  1. James 1:26 ἀπατῶν deceiving

    If anyone considers himself religious and yet does not bridle his tongue, he deceives his heart and his religion is worthless.

    Here: Present participle and still part of the 'if' clause: he goes on misleading himself. It echoes 1:22, where people who hear but do not do are 'deceiving yourselves'.

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