3389. métrolóas

Lexical Summary

métrolóas: Mother-insulter

Original Word: μήτρολόας
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: métrolóas
Pronunciation: may-troh-LOH-as
Phonetic Spelling: (may-tral-o'-as)
KJV: murderer of mothers
NASB: mothers
Word Origin: [from G3384 (μήτηρ - mother) and the base of G257 (ἅλων - threshing floor)]

1. a matricide, mother murderer
2. (literally) mother-thresher

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

murderer of mothers.

From meter and the base of halon; a mother-thresher, i.e. Matricide -- murderer of mothers.

see GREEK meter

see GREEK halon

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from métér and aloiaó (to smite)
Definition
a matricide
NASB Translation
kill* (1), mothers (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 3389: μητραλωας

μητραλωας (also μητραλοίας), L T Tr WH (see WH's Appendix, p. 152) μητρολῴας, μητρολου, ὁ (μήτηρ, and ἀλοιάω to thresh, smite), a matricide: 1 Timothy 1:9. (Aeschylus, Plato, Lucian, others.)

Topical Lexicon

Term and Context

The noun μητρολῴας appears once in the New Testament, in 1 Timothy 1:9, where Paul groups “those who kill their fathers and mothers” among a catalog of flagrantly lawless behaviors. It designates a matricide—a person who murders his own mother—and, by extension, a heart hardened against all natural affections (compare Romans 1:31).

Biblical Occurrence

1 Timothy 1:9: “We realize that the law is not enacted for the righteous, but for the lawless and rebellious, for the ungodly and sinful, for the unholy and irreverent, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers.”

The placement of μητρολῴαις between “unholy” and “murderers” underscores how grievous the sin is: it violates both the Fifth Commandment (“Honor your father and your mother,” Exodus 20:12) and the Sixth (“You shall not murder,” Exodus 20:13).

Old Testament Backdrop

1. The Law safeguarded parental honor by imposing the severest penalties on violent rebellion against parents (Exodus 21:15; Deuteronomy 21:18-21).
2. Proverbs celebrates the nurturing role of mothers and warns against despising them (Proverbs 1:8; 23:22-25).
3. Micah 7:6 portrays societal collapse when “a man’s enemies are the members of his own household”—an atmosphere in which matricide could arise.

Greco-Roman Setting

In Roman culture, parricide (the killing of a parent or close relative) was formally punished by the poena cullei, death by drowning in a sack with animals. Paul’s audience would recognize matricide as a crime so heinous that even pagan society recoiled from it. By listing μητρολῴαις, Paul demonstrates that the Mosaic Law continues to expose the extreme depravity of fallen humanity.

Theological Significance

1. Violation of Natural Affection

Killing one’s mother annihilates the most basic human bond given at birth. Scripture treats such violence as a sign of reprobation (2 Timothy 3:3 speaks of those “without natural affection”).
2. Lawful Use of the Law

Paul cites matricide to show that “the law is good if one uses it lawfully” (1 Timothy 1:8). The Decalogue remains a moral standard by which sin is defined and the need for grace is revealed.
3. Echoes of Cain

As Cain rose against Abel, so the matricide turns against the very source of his life. Both crimes spring from unchecked hatred and rebellion against God (Genesis 4:6-10; 1 John 3:12-15).

Pastoral and Disciplinary Implications

Paul’s list serves a dual function:
• To warn the church against tolerating even a hint of such callousness (1 Corinthians 5:11-13).
• To guide civil authorities in restraining evil (Romans 13:3-4). Where matricide exists, the sword of the magistrate is divinely authorized to act.

Christological Answer

Though Scripture never records Jesus addressing matricide specifically, the cross embodies its antidote. At Calvary He honored His own mother, entrusting her to John (John 19:26-27), fulfilling the Fifth Commandment in the midst of bearing the penalty for every breach of it. His atonement reaches even the μητρολῴας who repents, proving that “where sin increased, grace increased all the more” (Romans 5:20).

Ministry Application Today

1. Uphold the sanctity of family and the elderly, championing ministries that protect vulnerable parents.
2. Teach congregations that disregarding parental care is a grave spiritual issue, not merely a social lapse (Mark 7:10-13).
3. Intercede for perpetrators and victims of domestic violence, proclaiming forgiveness through Christ and insisting on legal accountability.
4. Counsel believers to maintain tenderness toward their mothers, reflecting the character of the Savior who valued His earthly mother even in His dying moments.

Summary

μητρολῴας stands as a stark reminder of humanity’s capacity for evil and the enduring authority of God’s moral law. By including it in his list, Paul integrates the Ten Commandments with gospel proclamation: the law exposes sin; grace in Christ forgives and transforms sinners; the Spirit empowers believers to honor the parents God has given them.

Forms and Transliterations

μητραλώαις μητρολωαις μητρολῴαις metroloais mētrolōais metrolṓiais mētrolṓiais

Englishman's Concordance

1 Timothy 1:9 N-DMP
GRK: πατρολῴαις καὶ μητρολῴαις ἀνδροφόνοις
KJV: and murderers of mothers, for manslayers,
INT: for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers for slayers of man

Strong's Greek 3389
1 Occurrence

μητρολῴαις — 1 Occ.