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ἐπιτιμία

epitimía

G2009 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Primarily, 'penalty' or 'punishment'—the imposition of a negative consequence or sanction in response to wrongdoing or an offense. Rarely, the word can denote an official penalty decreed by a court or authority. In legal or judicial contexts, emphasizes the outcome of a judicial process and the formal nature of the retribution. The sense of 'citizenship' or 'esteem' is not attested in surviving Hellenistic or Koine Greek sources, distinguishing it from the related noun τιμή (honor, value, or esteem). The word consistently signifies punitive measures, whether by human authorities or (metaphorically) divine agency.

Semantic Range

penalty imposed by authority, official punishment, judicial sanction, formal retribution

Root / Etymology

From ἐπί (upon, on) + τιμή (honor, value, worth). As a compound, the sense has shifted from the idea of 'honor placed upon' to 'penalty imposed', likely by extension from 'setting a value (τιμή) upon' an offense (i.e., valuation for the purpose of punishment or retribution).

Historical & Contextual Notes

Attested in Hellenistic and Koine Greek, especially in legal and administrative contexts, ἐπιτιμία refers specifically to the official imposition of a penalty or punishment. In papyri and inscriptions, used for penalties decreed by courts or magistrates. In the New Testament (notably absent), but equivalent terms occur in the Septuagint and other Second Temple literature for judicial or divine punishment. Distinguished from τιμωρία (retribution, vengeance) in that ἐπιτιμία concerns formal, often legal, punitive response rather than personal revenge. English translations sometimes obscure the technical nature of the term by rendering it simply as 'punishment', but the legal/judicial nuance should be emphasized. No evidence the term ever denoted 'citizenship' in extant sources—a gloss found in some older lexica reflects hypothetical derivation from civic rights, but this usage is unattested. Related to, but distinct from, τιμή ('honor', 'value'), and from ἐπιτιμάω ('to rebuke', 'to impose a penalty').

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from a compound of ἐπί and τιμή; properly, esteem, i.e. citizenship; used (in the sense of ἐπιτιμάω) of a penalty:--punishment.

Root Family

ἐπιτιμία (epitimia) — penalty, punishment, judicial sanction, formal retribution

Root τιμ- to value, to honor, to set a price (with ἐπί: to impose upon, to set as a consequence)

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G2009-01 ἐπιτιμία epitimia N NOM F SG punishment judicial penalty penalty 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G2009-01 2 Corinthians 2:6 ἐπιτιμία epitimia N NOM F SG punishment judicial penalty penalty
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