Dictionaries :: Anathema

Anathema:

anything laid up or suspended; hence anything laid up in a temple or set apart as sacred. In this sense the form of the word is anath(ee)ma, once in plural used in the Greek New Testament, in Luk 21:5, where it is rendered "gifts." In the LXX. the form anathema is generally used as the rendering of the Hebrew word herem, derived from a verb which means (1) to consecrate or devote; and (2) to exterminate. Any object so devoted to the Lord could not be redeemed (Num 18:14; Lev 27:28,29); and hence the idea of exterminating connected with the word. The Hebrew verb (haram) is frequently used of the extermination of idolatrous nations. It had a wide range of application. The anathema or herem was a person or thing irrevocably devoted to God (Lev 27:21,28); and "none devoted shall be ransomed. He shall surely be put to death" (27:29). The word therefore carried the idea of devoted to destruction (Num 21:2,3; Jos 6:17); and hence generally it meant a thing accursed. In Deu 7:26 an idol is called a herem = anathema, a thing accursed.

In the New Testament this word always implies execration. In some cases an individual denounces an anathema on himself unless certain conditions are fulfilled (Act 23:12,14,21). "To call Jesus accursed" [anathema] (1Cr 12:3) is to pronounce him execrated or accursed. If any one preached another gospel, the apostle says, "let him be accursed" (Gal 1:8,9); i.e., let his conduct in so doing be accounted accursed.

In Rom 9:3, the expression "accursed" (anathema) from Christ, i.e., excluded from fellowship or alliance with Christ, has occasioned much difficulty. The apostle here does not speak of his wish as a possible thing. It is simply a vehement expression of feeling, showing how strong was his desire for the salvation of his people.

The anathema in 1Cr 16:22 denotes simply that they who love not the Lord are rightly objects of loathing and execration to all holy beings; they are guilty of a crime that merits the severest condemnation; they are exposed to the just sentence of "everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord."

Anathema:

separated; set apart

Anathema:

a-nath'-e-ma (anathema): This word occurs only once in the King James Version, namely, in the phrase "Let him be anathema. Maranatha" (1Co 16:22); elsewhere the King James Version renders anathema by "accursed" (Ro 9:3; 1Co 12:3; Ga 1:8,9), once by "curse" (Ac 23:12). Both words-anathema and anathema-were originally dialectical variations and had the same connotation, namely, offering to the gods. The non-Attic form-anathema-was adopted in the Septuagint as a rendering of the Hebrew cherem (see ACCURSED), and gradually came to have the significance of the Hebrew word-"anything devoted to destruction." Whereas in the Greek Fathers anathema-as cherem in rabbinic Hebrew-came to denote excommunication from society, in the New Testament the word has its full force. In common speech it evidently became a strong expression of execration, and the term connoted more than physical destruction; it invariably implied moral worthlessness. In Ro 9:3 Paul does not simply mean that, for the sake of his fellow-countrymen, he is prepared to face death, but to endure the moral degradation of an outcast from the kingdom of Christ. In 1Co 12:3 the expression, "Jesus is anathema"-with its suggestion of moral unfitness-reaches the lowest depths of depreciation, as the expression, "Jesus is Lord," reaches the summit of appreciation.

Written by Thomas Lewis

Anathema: An Accursed Thing.

If any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be ANATHEMA Maranatha. (1 Corinthians 16:22)

Anathema:

For ANATHEMA see under CURSE

Anathema:

which literally means a thing suspended, is the equivalent of the Hebrew word signifying a thing or person devoted. Any object so devoted to Jehovah was irredeemable. If an inanimate object, it was to be given to the priests (Numbers 18:14) if a living creature or even a man, it was to be slain (Leviticus 27:28-29). The word anathema frequently occurs in St. Paul's writings, and is generally translated accused. An examination of the passages in which it occurs shows that it had acquired a more general sense as expressive either of strong feeling (Romans 9:3) or of dislike and condemnation (1 Corinthians 12:3; 16:22; Galatians 1:9).