ἄτοπος

From the study of 2 Thessalonians 3:2

Range of meaning

Literally 'without place,' out of place. In classical Greek: strange, unusual, absurd, odd. In later Greek, more and more moral: improper, wrong, outrageous, harmful. NT uses: Luke 23:41, 'this man has done nothing out of place' (nothing wrong); Acts 25:5, 'if there is anything amiss in the man'; Acts 28:6, nothing unusual or harmful happened to Paul after the snakebite.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'unreasonable' keeps the older 'absurd, senseless' sense. BSB 'wicked' and NASB 'perverse' lean toward the moral sense. Neither fully holds the core image of conduct that is wildly out of bounds, behaviour with no proper place among decent people.

How it drifted

In 1611, 'unreasonable' could mean 'contrary to reason, absurd, monstrous.' Today it mostly means 'asking too much' or 'not willing to compromise,' which is much milder than what Paul meant.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in classical and Hellenistic Greek for absurd or improper things (Plato, Aristotle). In the papyri (everyday documents) it is used for improper or outrageous behaviour, sometimes violence or harassment. In the Septuagint, Job 4:8 and similar passages use it for wrongdoing, and Proverbs 30:20 uses it for the adulteress who says 'I have done nothing atopon.'

From the study of Luke 23:41

Range of meaning

Literally "out of place" (a-, "not," plus topos, "place"). In older Greek it often means strange, odd or absurd. In later Greek it also means improper, out of line, wrong, sometimes wicked. It can even mean merely unusual, as in Acts 28:6, where the bystanders see "nothing unusual" happen to Paul after a snakebite.

Against the English

"Wrong" (BSB, WEB, NIV, ESV, NASB, NLT) is accurate but loses the picture. KJV's "amiss" and YLT's "out of place" stay closer to its understated feel. Latin went further with "nothing evil" (nihil mali), which is stronger and more moral in tone than the Greek word's own shape.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Old Testament offers striking parallels with the same verb for "do." In Job 27:6, Job protests his innocence: he is not aware of having done anything ἄτοπα. In Proverbs 30:20 (at 24:55 in the standard Greek edition), the adulteress wipes her mouth and says she has done nothing ἄτοπον. In 2 Maccabees 14:23, Nicanor stays in Jerusalem and does "nothing out of the way." The word is also used of people in 2 Thessalonians 3:2.