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πανουργία

panourgía

G3834 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Cleverness or skillfulness, especially in practical affairs; resourcefulness that may include inventiveness or shrewdness. In a negative or pejorative sense, it can denote craftiness, cunning, or deceptiveness—ingenuity used for unscrupulous or morally questionable ends. The primary meaning focuses on overall clever capability, but context frequently shades it toward negative applications involving trickery or guile.

Semantic Range

cleverness, resourcefulness, skillfulness, adroitness, cunning, craftiness, trickery, unscrupulous ingenuity, guile, deceptiveness

Root / Etymology

From πανοῦργος (panourgos, 'ready to do anything,' 'crafty, clever'), composed of πᾶν (pan, 'all') + ἔργον (ergon, 'work, deed'). Thus, 'one who does everything,' often implying someone able or willing to do whatever is necessary, ethically neutral or negative depending on context.

Historical & Contextual Notes

πανουργία is attested in classical Greek with both positive and neutral senses ('resourcefulness,' 'versatility'), especially in philosophical contexts (e.g., Xenophon, Plato), where it may be praised as practical intelligence. However, especially in Hellenistic and Koine literature, the term tends to take on a negative overtone, denoting cunning, trickery, or unscrupulous cleverness (cf. the New Testament: 1 Corinthians 3:19; 2 Corinthians 4:2, 11:3; LXX Job 5:13). The negative sense is more typical in Jewish–Christian texts, contrasting uprightness or 'wisdom from above' with cunning falsehood or deceit. Standard English translations (e.g., 'craftiness,' 'cunning,' 'guile') capture the negative side but often miss the word's possible broader or neutral meanings in non-biblical contexts. πανουργία should be distinguished from σοφία ('wisdom'), which more commonly carries a positive valence, and from δόλος ('deceit'), which is unambiguously negative; πανουργία can carry a spectrum from practical acumen to deviousness depending on context.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from πανοῦργος; adroitness, i.e. (in a bad sense) trickery or sophistry:--(cunning) craftiness, subtilty.

Root Family

πανουργία (panourgia) — cleverness, resourcefulness, cunning, craftiness, unscrupulous ingenuity

Root πανουργ- to do all (things), to be capable, to act with cunning or skill

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G3834-01 πανουργίᾳ panourgia N DAT F SG craftiness by craftiness craftiness 4
G3834-02 πανουργίαν panourgian N ACC F SG craftiness unscrupulous ingenuity craftiness 1

Occurrences in Scripture

5 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G3834-02 Luke 20:23 πανουργίαν panourgian N ACC F SG craftiness unscrupulous ingenuity craftiness
G3834-01 1 Corinthians 3:19 πανουργίᾳ panourgia N DAT F SG craftiness by craftiness
G3834-01 2 Corinthians 4:2 πανουργίᾳ panourgia N DAT F SG craftiness by craftiness craftiness
G3834-01 2 Corinthians 11:3 πανουργίᾳ panourgia N DAT F SG cunning by craftiness craftiness
G3834-01 Ephesians 4:14 πανουργίᾳ panourgia N DAT F SG craftiness by craftiness craftiness
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