UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: immoral, evil, wicked

Semantic entry: 88.110

Semantic domains: Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior

Subdomains: Bad, Evil, Harmful, Damaging

Definition: pertaining to being morally corrupt and evil

Notes: In translating RV MAT 5:11 · LV MAT 5:11 · Read together MAT 5:11 it is important to indicate that the words spoken are not evil in themselves, but the content of what is spoken involves attributing evil and wicked deeds to the followers of Jesus. It may, therefore, be necessary to say in some languages ‘when men speak against you by saying that you have done wicked deeds.’

Sense 2: bad, worthless

Semantic entry: 65.27

Semantic domains: Value

Subdomains: Good, Bad

Definition: pertaining to possessing a serious fault and consequently being worthless

Notes: In a number of languages one must speak of ‘bad fruit’ in the context of RV MAT 7:18 · LV MAT 7:18 · Read together MAT 7:18 as ‘fruit which does not taste good.’ It is often wrong to use an expression such as ‘rotten fruit,’ since a good tree may produce fruit which rots as a result of being overly ripe.

Sense 3: guilty

Semantic entry: 88.314

Semantic domains: Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior

Subdomains: Sin, Wrongdoing, Guilt

Definition: pertaining to guilt resulting from an evil deed

Notes: In a number of languages it would be entirely misleading to speak of ‘a guilty conscience,’ for this would seem to imply that there is something sinful about the conscience itself. In reality, it is the conscience that says that a person is guilty, and therefore it may be necessary to translate RV HEB 10:22 · LV HEB 10:22 · Read together HEB 10:22 as ‘with hearts that have been purified from a condition in which their conscience has said that they are guilty.’

Sense 4: to be sick, to be diseased

Semantic entry: 23.149

Semantic domains: Physiological Processes and States

Subdomains: Sickness, Disease, Weakness

Definition: (a figurative extension of meaning of πονηρός[a] ‘evil,’ 88.110: πονηρός) a state of being sickly or diseased (in the NT with special reference to the eyes)

Notes: For other interpretations of πονηρός with ὀφθαλμός, see 57.108: ὀφθαλμός / 57.108: πονηρός and 88.165: ὀφθαλμός / 88.165: πονηρός. See also 23.132: ἁπλοῦς.

Sense 5: the Evil One, He who is evil

Semantic entry: 12.35

Semantic domains: Supernatural Beings and Powers

Subdomains: Supernatural Beings

Definition: (a title for the Devil, literally: the evil one) the one who is essentially evil or in a sense personifies evil

Collocations: ὁ πονηρός

Sense 6: jealous(y)

Semantic entry: 88.165

Semantic domains: Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior

Subdomains: Envy, Jealousy

Definition: (an idiom, literally: evil eye) a feeling of jealousy and resentment because of what someone else has or does

Notes: It is also possible to understand ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός in RV MAT 20:15 · LV MAT 20:15 · Read together MAT 20:15 as meaning ‘stinginess’ (see 57.108: ὀφθαλμός / 57.108: πονηρός). See also 23.149: πονηρός.

Collocations: ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός

Sense 7: stingy, miserly

Semantic entry: 57.108

Semantic domains: Possess, Transfer, Exchange

Subdomains: Give

Definition: (an idiom, literally: evil eye) to be stingy

Notes: It is also possible that ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός in RV MAT 20:15 · LV MAT 20:15 · Read together MAT 20:15 is to be understood in the sense of ‘jealous’ (see 88.165: ὀφθαλμός / 88.165: πονηρός). See also 23.149: πονηρός.

Collocations: ὀφθαλμὸς πονηρός