Lexical Summary echthra: Enmity, hostility, hatred Original Word: ἔχθρα Strong's Exhaustive Concordance enmity, hatred. Feminine of echthros; hostility; by implication, a reason for opposition -- enmity, hatred. see GREEK echthros HELPS Word-studies Cognate: 2189 é Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 2189: ἔχθραἔχθρα, ἔχθρας, ἡ (from the adjective ἐχθρός), enmity: Luke 23:12; Ephesians 2:14 (15),16; plural, Galatians 5:20; ἔχθρα (Lachmann ἔχθρα feminine adjective (Vulg.inimica)) Θεοῦ, toward God, James 4:4 (where Tdf. τῷ Θεῷ); εἰς Θεόν, Romans 8:7; by metonymy, equivalent to cause of enmity, Ephesians 2:14 (15) (but cf. Meyer. (From Pindar down.)) Topical Lexicon Concept and BackgroundThe term denotes personal hostility or deep-seated opposition, whether between human parties or toward God Himself. In the Septuagint it frequently translates Hebrew nouns for “hatred” or “enmity” (for example Genesis 3:15; Numbers 35:21), thus carrying forward the biblical theme of relational rupture introduced at the Fall and threaded through redemption history. Occurrences in the New Testament • Luke 23:12 – Political rivals Herod Antipas and Pontius Pilate “became friends” that day; previously “there had been enmity between them.” The noun is applied to civic leaders, showing that even seemingly sophisticated alliances are often held hostage to mutual hostility until a common cause briefly unites them. • Romans 8:7 – “The mind of the flesh is hostile to God.” Here enmity is vertical: fallen humanity’s moral disposition resists divine authority and cannot submit to His law. • James 4:4 – Friendship with the world is called “hostility toward God,” identifying spiritual infidelity as the heart of the problem. Human loves inevitably align either with God or with the rebellious world order. • Galatians 5:20 – “Hostilities” appear in the catalogue of “works of the flesh,” revealing that persistent interpersonal conflict is an external symptom of an internal sinful nature. • Ephesians 2:15; 2:16 – Christ “abolished the enmity” embodied in the Mosaic commandments as a dividing wall between Jew and Gentile, and “extinguished their hostility” through the cross. The word thus shifts from describing a human attitude to designating a structural barrier—one decisively removed in the atonement. Theological Significance 1. Sin as Relational Rupture Enmity encapsulates the fundamental breach introduced by sin: estrangement from God (Romans 8:7; James 4:4) and from one another (Luke 23:12; Galatians 5:20). Scripture consistently treats broken relationships as moral, not merely social, problems. 2. The Cross as the End of Enmity Ephesians 2 portrays Christ’s death as both the demolition of the Jewish ceremonial wall and the cure for the deeper hostility between God and humanity. The passive sense (“the enmity was put to death”) underscores that reconciliation is God’s initiative, not human achievement. 3. New‐Creation Ethic Because believers are united to Christ, hostility is incompatible with life in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16-26). The church is called to embody the peace already secured, displaying a foretaste of the restored relationships that will characterize the consummated kingdom. Historical and Cultural Context In Greco-Roman society, political “friendship” (philia) often masked pragmatic rivalry; thus Luke’s description of Herod and Pilate would have resonated with first-century readers familiar with tenuous alliances. Paul’s application of the term to Jew-Gentile relations addressed a centuries-old divide reinforced by dietary, ceremonial, and social markers. The gospel’s claim to dissolve that hostility presented a revolutionary social vision. Ministry and Pastoral Implications • Reconciliation Ministry – Believers are ambassadors of the message that God “has committed to us the word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19). Congregations should actively dismantle ethnic, cultural, and socio-economic hostilities that contradict the one-new-man reality. • Conflict Resolution – Pastoral counseling must address the heart issues behind quarrels. Galatians 5:20 warns that unchecked hostility betrays a flesh-dominated life and threatens exclusion from the kingdom (Galatians 5:21). • Evangelism – Romans 8:7 and James 4:4 remind evangelists that unbelief involves active hostility toward God, requiring spiritual regeneration rather than mere persuasion. Relation to Other Biblical Themes • Peace (eirēnē) – The antithesis of enmity; Christ’s peacemaking (Ephesians 2:14) stands over against the relational chaos of the flesh. • Love (agapē) – Love seeks the good of the other, thereby casting out enmity. The Spirit’s fruit (Galatians 5:22) is the divine antidote to the flesh’s hostility. • Covenant – Old Covenant ordinances that once marked Israel’s distinctiveness became, post-Christ, obsolete as boundary markers, their removal signaling the universal reach of the New Covenant. Eschatological Outlook The final state foretold in Revelation—where “the dwelling place of God is with man” (Revelation 21:3) and nations are healed—represents the ultimate extinction of enmity. Present obedience anticipates that future harmony. Summary Enmity in Scripture is more than antipathy; it is the relational fallout of sin, resolved only through the reconciling work of Jesus Christ. Its six New Testament occurrences trace a movement from political rivalry to cosmic reconciliation, challenging believers to live out the peace already won at the cross. Forms and Transliterations εχθρα έχθρα ἔχθρα ἔχθρᾳ εχθραι έχθραι ἔχθραι εχθραίνετε εχθραίνοντάς εχθραίνοντές εχθραίνουσιν εχθραίνων εχθραν έχθραν ἔχθραν έχθρας εχθρεύσουσιν εχθρεύσω εχθρία echthra échthra echthrai échthrai échthrāi echthran échthranLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel TextsEnglishman's Concordance Luke 23:12 N-DFSGRK: γὰρ ἐν ἔχθρᾳ ὄντες πρὸς NAS: for before they had been enemies with each other. KJV: at enmity between INT: indeed at emnity were between Romans 8:7 N-NFS Galatians 5:20 N-NFP Ephesians 2:15 N-AFS Ephesians 2:16 N-AFS James 4:4 N-NFS Strong's Greek 2189 |
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