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ἀθανασία

athanasía

G110 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

State of not subject to death; unending life or inability to die. Refers to the quality or condition of being incapable of dying or experiencing death, and by extension, exemption from decay and corruption. In contexts, may denote either the intrinsic property of everlasting life or a divinely granted state of perpetual existence without death.

Semantic Range

deathlessness, immortality, inability to die, exemption from death, everlasting life, imperishability

Root / Etymology

From ἀ- (a-, privative prefix meaning 'not') + θάνατος (thanatos, 'death'), forming a compound meaning 'deathlessness'.

Historical & Contextual Notes

First attested in classical Greek philosophy (e.g. Plato, Aristotle) to describe the undying or eternal nature, especially of gods or the soul. In Hellenistic and Second Temple Jewish literature, the term acquires greater eschatological significance, often in contrast to mortal, corruptible existence. In the Septuagint (rare) and New Testament (notably 1 Corinthians 15:53–54; 1 Timothy 6:16), ἀθανασία refers to the incorruptible state given by God—either as a divine attribute or as the transformed destiny of humans in resurrection contexts. Standard English 'immortality' reflects only part of the semantic range; the Greek also emphasizes the ontological reality of unending, imperishable life versus mortality and decay. Distinct from ἀφθαρσία (incorruptibility), though closely related—ἀθανασία focuses more on the absence of death, while ἀφθαρσία centers on the absence of decay or corruption.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from a compound of Α (as a negative particle) and θάνατος; deathlessness:--immortality.

Root Family

ἀθανασία (athanasia) — deathlessness, inability to die, exemption from death, imperishability

Root θαν- to die, death

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G110-01 ἀθανασίαν athanasian N ACC F SG immortality deathlessness deathlessness 3

Occurrences in Scripture

3 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G110-01 1 Corinthians 15:53 ἀθανασίαν athanasian N ACC F SG immortality deathlessness immortality
G110-01 1 Corinthians 15:54 ἀθανασίαν athanasian N ACC F SG immortality deathlessness deathlessness
G110-01 1 Timothy 6:16 ἀθανασίαν athanasian N ACC F SG immortality deathlessness deathlessness
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