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Old & New Testament Greek Lexical Dictionary Greek Lexicon
Strong's #156 - αἰτία
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- cause, reason
- cause for which one is worthy of punishment, crime
- charge of crime, accusation
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αἰτί-α, ἡ,
responsibility, mostly in bad sense, guilt, blame, or the imputation thereof, i.e. accusation, first in Pi. O. 1.35 and Hdt., v. infr. (Hom. uses αἴτιος): — Phrases: αἰτίαν ἔχειν bear responsibility for, τινός A. Eu. 579, S. Ant. 1312; but usu. to be accused, τινός of a crime, φόνου Hdt. 5.70: c. inf., Ar. V. 506; foll. by ὡς.., Pl. Ap. 38c; by ὡς c. part., Id. Phdr. 249d; ὑπό τινος by some one, A. Eu. 99, Pl. R. 565b: reversely, αἰτία ἔχει τινά Hdt. 5.70, 71; αἰ. φεύγειν τινός S. Ph. 1404; ἐν αἰτίᾳ εἶναι or γίγνεσθαι, Hp. Art. 67, X. Mem. 2.8.6; αἰτίαν ὑπέχειν lie under a charge, Pl. Ap. 33b, X. Cyr. 6.3.16; ὑπομεῖναι Aeschin. 3.139; φέρεσθαι Th. 2.60; λαβεῖν ἀπό τινος ib. 18; αἰτίαις ἐνέχεσθαι Pl. Cri. 52a; αἰτίαις περιπίπτειν Lys. 7.1; εἰς αἰτίαν ἐμπίπτειν Pl. Tht. 150a; αἰτίας τυγχάνειν D. Ephesians 2:2; ἐκτὸς αἰτίας κυρεῖν A. Pr. 332; ἐν αἰτίῃ ἔχειν hold one guilty, Hdt. 5.106; δι' αἰτίας ἔχειν Th. 2.60, etc.; ἐν αἰτίᾳ βάλλειν S. OT 656; τὴν αἰτίαν ἐπιφέρειν τινί impute the fault to one, Hdt. 1.26; αἰτίαν νέμειν τινί S. Aj. 28; ἐπάγειν D. 18.283; προσβάλλειν τινί Antipho 3.2.4; ἀνατιθέναι, προστιθέναι, Hp. VM 21, Ar. Pax 640, etc.; ἀπολύειν τινὰ τῆς αἰτίης to acquit of guilt, Hdt. 9.88, etc.
αἰτία, (ας, ἡ;
1. cause, reason: Acts 10:21; Acts 22:24; Acts 28:20; κατά πᾶσαν αἰτίαν for every cause, Matthew 19:3; δἰ ἥν αἰτίαν for which cause, wherefore, Luke 8:47; 2 Timothy 1:6, 12; Titus 1:13; Hebrews 2:11; cf. Grimm on 2 Macc. 4:28.
2. cause for which one is worthy of punishment; crime of which one is accused: Matthew 27:37; Mark 15:26; John 18:38; John 19:4 (6; Acts 23:28); αἰτία θανάτου (A. V. cause of death) crime deserving the punishment of death, Acts 13:28; Acts 28:18.
3. charge of crime, accusation: Acts 25:18, 27. (All these meanings are in secular writings also; (but Liddell and Scott now make meaning 3 the primary one).) In Matthew 19:10 the words εἰ οὕτως ἐστιν ἡ αἰτία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετά τήν γυναικός find a simple explanation in a Latinism (causa equivalent tores:si ita res se habet, etc.) if the case of the man with his wife is so.
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αἰτία , -ας , ἡ ,
[in LXX: Genesis 4:13 (H5771), Proverbs 28:17 (H6231), and freq. in Wis, 2,3Mac ;]
1. cause, reason, occasion, case: Matthew 19:3, Luke 8:47, Acts 10:21; Acts 22:24; Acts 28:20, 2 Timothy 1:6; 2 Timothy 1:12, Titus 1:13, Hebrews 2:11; εἰ οὕτως ἐστὶν ἡ αἰ . al. (cf. Lat. Sir ita res se habet, and v. MM. VGT, s.v.), Matthew 19:10.
2. In forensic sense,
(a) accusation: Acts 25:18; Acts 25:27;
(b) cause for punishment, crime: Matthew 27:37 Mark 15:26, John 18:38; John 19:4; John 19:6, Acts 13:28; Acts 23:28; Acts 8:18.†
SYN.: ἔλεγχος G1650, a charge, whether moral or judicial, which has been proven. αἰ . is an accusation simply, false or true.
Copyright © 1922 by G. Abbott-Smith, D.D., D.C.L.. T & T Clarke, London.
P Petr III. 53 (n) (iii/B.C.) ἀπέσταλται εἰς Ἀλεξανδρείαν πρὸς αἰτίαν ὑπὲρ ἧς [ἀπ ]ολογίζεται α ̣̓[λ ]λ᾽ οὐ τυχὼν ἐπιδείξειν (? for -δεῖξαι) [π ]ρὸς βίαν ἔχετ ̣α ̣ι ̣, ";he was sent to Alexandria to meet a charge against him and make his defence; but since he did not succeed in clearing himself he is forcibly detained"; (Edd.). So BGU I. 267.8 (A.D. 199) τοῖς δικαία ̣[ν ] αι ̣̓τ ̣[ί ]αν ἐσχηκόσι, and so identically P Strass I. 22.3 f. (iii/AD.)—it was a legal formula. Note P Ryl II. 144.22 (A.D. 38) ἐτόλμησεν πθόνους ( = φθόνου) μοι ἐπαγαγεῖν αἰτίας τοῦ μὴ ὄντος ";to bring baseless accusations of malice"; (Edd.). In ib. 63.2 (iii/AD.—an astronomical dialogue) τίς δὲ ἡ αἰτία τούτων [τ ]ῶ [ν ] [εἰ ]δώλων (";What is the cause of these images?";—Edd.) we might possibly render ";case"; : Prof. Hunt paraphrases ";What is the meaning?"; If so, it comes fairly near Matthew 19:10 εἰ οὕτως ἐστὶν ἡ αἰτία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετὰ τῆς γυναικός. Cf. P Par 49.27 (B.C. 164–58) εἴπερ οὖν ἐστὶν αὕτη ἡ αἰτία. A more general use in P Hib I. 43.7 (B.C. 261 (260)) ἵνα μὴ αἰτίας ἔχῃς, ";lest you be blamed."; P Giss I. 40i. 2 (A.D. 212) joined with λ ̣[ιβ ]έλλου [ς ] in the sense of querellae (Ed.). The more ordinary meaning ";reason,"; ";excuse,"; like Matthew 19:3, etc., hardly needs illustration, but cf. BGU I. 136.25 f. (A.D. 135) κατὰ ταύτην [τὴν αἰ ]τίαν, P Oxy III. 472.5 (c. A.D. 130) εἶχεν μὲν οὖν αἰτίας, and frequently in the inscriptions, e.g. Michel 456.14 (ii/B.C.) διὰ ταύτας τὰς αἰτίας. BGU IV. 1205.7 (B.C. 28) τὴν αἰτίαν τοῦ φακοῦ has an insufficiently clear context. Ἄνευ αἰτίας, sine caussa, appears in PSI 41.16 (iv/A.D.).
Copyright © 1914, 1929, 1930 by James Hope Moulton and George Milligan. Hodder and Stoughton, London.
Derivative Copyright © 2015 by Allan Loder.