Bible Lexicons

The sense of ";remissness,"; ";slackness,"; attaching to this adj. in Hebrews 6:12 ἵνα μὴ νωθροὶ γένησθε, appears in the use of the subst. in P Amh II. 78.15 (A.D. 184) ἐ ]ν νωθρίᾳ μου γενομένου, where the editors translate, ";moreover as I neglected my rights."; Νωθρός is is probably cognate with νόσος (Boisacq, p. 672), and the corresponding verb is used of ";sickness"; in a touching letter addressed by a slave to her master, P Giss I. 17.6 (time of Hadrian) ἠγωνίασα, κύριε, οὐ μετρίως, ἵνα ἀκούσω ὅτι ἐνώθρευσας. Elsewhere, as the editor notes, the verb is found in the papyri only in the middle, see e.g. PSI VI. 717.5 (ii/A.D.) μνήσ [θη ]τι π ̣ῶς σε νωθρευσάμενον [ὑ ]πηρέτησα, BGU II. 449.4 (ii/iii A.D.) ἀκούσας ὅτι νωθρεύῃ ἀγ ̣ωνιοῦμεν, P Tebt II. 421.5 (iii/A.D.) ( =Selections, p. 106) γενοῦ πρὸς ἐμὲ ἐπεὶ ἡ ἀδελφή σου νωθρεύεται, ";come to me, since your sister is sick.";