UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: lawless

Semantic entry: 88.140

Semantic domains: Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior

Subdomains: Act Lawlessly

Definition: (derivative of ἀνομία ‘to live lawlessly,’ 88.139: ἀνομία) pertaining to living without regard to law, in the sense of refusing to obey laws

Sense 2: without the Law

Semantic entry: 33.57

Semantic domains: Communication

Subdomains: Written Language

Definition: pertaining to being without the Law (specifically the first five books of the OT)

Notes: Even from the two contexts of RV CO1 9:21 · LV CO1 9:21 · Read together CO1 9:21 and RV ROM 2:12 · LV ROM 2:12 · Read together ROM 2:12, it should be clear that ἄνομος[b] and ἀνόμως carry quite different implications in different contexts. In RV CO1 9:21 · LV CO1 9:21 · Read together CO1 9:21 a phrase such as ‘without the Law’ must be understood in the sense of ‘not being under obligation to the Law’ or ‘not being bound by the Law,’ and so RV CO1 9:21 · LV CO1 9:21 · Read together CO1 9:21 must be translated in a number of languages as ‘with those who are not bound by the Law, I live as one who is not bound by the Law,’ referring in these instances to the Law of Moses. It is important, however, in rendering the expression ‘not bound by the Law’ to avoid a phrase which would mean ‘lawless’ or ‘heedless of the Law.’ In the case of RV ROM 2:12 · LV ROM 2:12 · Read together ROM 2:12, the phrase ‘without the Law’ must refer to those who are ignorant of the Law and thus are not bound by it, and so RV ROM 2:12 · LV ROM 2:12 · Read together ROM 2:12 must be rendered in some languages as ‘those who sin without knowing anything about the Law are lost, but quite apart from any relationship to the Law.’|For another interpretation of ἄνομος in RV CO1 9:21 · LV CO1 9:21 · Read together CO1 9:21, see 11.42: ἄνομος.

Sense 1: Gentile, heathen, pagan

Semantic entry: 11.42

Semantic domains: Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes

Subdomains: Socio-Religious

Definition: a non-Jew who lives completely without reference to the Jewish Law

Notes: For another interpretation of ἄνομος in RV CO1 9:21 · LV CO1 9:21 · Read together CO1 9:21, see 33.57: ἄνομος / 33.57: ἀνόμως.|In a number of contexts, it may be best to speak of ‘Gentiles’ as ‘those who are not Jews.’ In some languages the equivalent of ‘Gentiles’ is simply ‘foreigners,’ but one must be very certain that the use of a term meaning ‘foreigners’ will actually designate non-Jews rather than those people who do not speak the particular receptor language.|It would be a serious mistake to render ἄνομος as ‘lawless’ on the basis of its etymology. To speak of a ‘lawless person’ is to imply that he transgresses existing laws rather than being one who is not subject to the Mosaic Law.