3201. memphomai

Lexical Summary

memphomai: To blame, to find fault with, to reproach

Original Word: μέμφομαι
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: memphomai
Pronunciation: MEM-foh-my
Phonetic Spelling: (mem'-fom-ahee)
KJV: find fault
NASB: find fault, finding fault
Word Origin: [middle voice of an apparently primary verb]

1. to blame

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

find fault.

Middle voice of an apparently primary verb; to blame -- find fault.

HELPS Word-studies

3201 mémphomai (from mempteos, "rejected because condemned") – find fault, see as fully blameworthy (disgraceful, condemnable); hence, rejected because deep wrongs by omission or commission.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
a prim. verb
Definition
to blame, find fault
NASB Translation
find fault (1), finding fault (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 3201: μέμφομαι

μέμφομαι; 1 aorist ἐμεμψαμην; in classical Greek from Hesiod (Works, 184) down; to blame, find fault: absolutely, Romans 9:19; the thing found fault with being evident from what precedes, Mark 7:2 Rec.; αὐτούς, Hebrews 8:8 L T Tr marginal reading WH text, where R G Tr text WH marginal reading αὐτοῖς, which many join with μεμφόμενος (for the person or thing blamed is added by Greek writings now in the dative, now in the accusative; see Passow (or Liddell and Scott), under the word, cf. Krüger, § 46, 7, 3); but it is more correct to supply αὐτήν, i. e. διαθήκην, which the writer wishes to prove was not faultless (cf. 7), and to join αὐτοῖς with λέγει; (Buttmann, § 133, 9).

Topical Lexicon

Transliteration and Basic Sense

memphomai – a middle deponent verb whose semantic range centers on “finding fault,” “blaming,” or “censuring.” The focus is moral responsibility rather than hostile accusation; it highlights an evaluative judgment that something is not as it ought to be.

Occurrences in the New Testament

Romans 9:19

“One of you will say to me, ‘Then why does God still find fault? For who can resist His will?’”

Hebrews 8:8

“But God found fault with the people and said: ‘The days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah.’”

These two texts frame the verb’s entire New Testament usage and establish its theological contours: divine evaluation of human conduct and covenantal failure.

Linguistic Nuance

1. Ethical Assessment: memphomai addresses a moral or covenantal standard that has been violated. It is not mere disappointment but a judicial verdict.
2. Divine Initiative: In both verses the subject either explicitly (Hebrews) or implicitly (Romans) is God, underscoring that the ultimate discerner of fault is the Lord.
3. Contrast with Legal Accusation: Greek verbs such as katagoreo (“accuse in court”) or egkaleo (“indict”) stress legal procedure, while memphomai stresses the personal, moral aspect of blame.

Old Testament and Intertestamental Background

The Septuagint often employs memphomai in wisdom and prophetic literature to describe God’s disapproval of Israel’s rebellion (e.g., Wisdom of Solomon 12:12). This backdrop intensifies the Hebrews citation of Jeremiah 31, signaling continuity between the old covenant warnings and the promised new covenant.

Theological Themes

1. Divine Sovereignty and Human Responsibility (Romans 9:19): Paul engages the tension between God’s sovereign will and human culpability. By using memphomai, he affirms that God’s judgment upon sin remains righteous, even when His sovereign purposes are inscrutable.
2. Covenant Failure and Renewal (Hebrews 8:8): The verb pinpoints the inadequacy of the people, not the Law itself. God “found fault with the people,” leading to the new covenant inaugurated by Jesus Christ.
3. Righteous Judgment: Both occurrences reinforce that God’s judgments are morally grounded. He does not arbitrarily condemn; His blame arises from genuine transgression of His revealed will.
4. Grace Anticipated: In Hebrews, the very act of divine blame sets the stage for grace. The exposure of fault is preparatory to the gift of a better covenant.

Pastoral and Ministry Implications

1. Preaching on Accountability: memphomai urges proclamation that sinners remain morally answerable to God. Any presentation of grace must first reveal the divine assessment of fault.
2. Counseling and Church Discipline: The term models a form of fault-finding that is principled and redemptive, not vindictive. It guides believers to address sin with a goal of restoration.
3. Assurance in Sovereignty: Romans 9:19 encourages believers wrestling with divine election to trust God’s integrity; His blame is never unjust.
4. Covenant Living: Hebrews 8:8 invites the covenant community to examine whether their lives reflect the “faultless” obedience empowered by the Spirit under the new covenant.

Historical Reception

Early church fathers such as Chrysostom appealed to Romans 9:19 to defend God’s righteousness, insisting that divine blame presupposes genuine human freedom. Reformation exegetes likewise cited memphomai to balance doctrines of predestination with moral responsibility.

Summary

memphomai serves as a concise yet weighty reminder that God both diagnoses and addresses human failure. Its two New Testament appearances bracket the believer’s experience of conviction and covenant renewal: God finds fault, and God provides the remedy in Christ.

Forms and Transliterations

εμέμψαντο μεμφεται μέμφεται μεμφομενος μεμφόμενος memphetai mémphetai memphomenos memphómenos

Englishman's Concordance

Romans 9:19 V-PIM/P-3S
GRK: οὖν ἔτι μέμφεται τῷ γὰρ
NAS: does He still find fault? For who
KJV: Why doth he yet find fault? For who
INT: then yet does he find fault the indeed

Hebrews 8:8 V-PPM/P-NMS
GRK: μεμφόμενος γὰρ αὐτοὺς
NAS: For finding fault with them, He says,
KJV: For finding fault with them, he saith,
INT: finding fault indeed to them

Strong's Greek 3201
2 Occurrences

μέμφεται — 1 Occ.
μεμφόμενος — 1 Occ.