anomia

ἀνομία

What the Word Actually Means

Lawlessness; literally "without law," the privative a- negating nomos (law/Torah). Matthew 7:23.

When Yeshua turns people away in Matthew 7, the charge He levels is anomia. The word is built from nomos, law, with the a that negates it, so at its root it means simply without law, and for a Hebraic ear, without Torah. It is the word rendered "lawlessness" or "iniquity," but notice what Yeshua binds it to: not "you broke a rule," but "I never knew you." The lawless life and the unknown life are the same life. To live sourced from oneself rather than from the Father's instruction is anomia, and its end is not a failed exam but a relationship that never was.

What English Gives You

lawlessness; without law; without Torah

The Original

ἀνομία

Where to Find It

Matthew 7:23; Matthew 24:12; 1 John 3:4

Source Language

Greek

The Root

ἀ- (privative) + νόμος (nomos, law)

How to Say It

anomia

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