Lexical Summary
nomos: Law
Original Word: νόμος
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: nomos
Pronunciation: NO-mos
Phonetic Spelling: (nom'-os)
KJV: law
NASB: Law, laws, principle
Word Origin: [from a primary nemo "to parcel out" (especially food or grazing to animals)]
1. law (through the idea of prescriptive usage)
2. (genitive case) regulation
3. (specially) of Moses (including the volume), also of the Gospel
4. (figuratively) a principle
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
law.
From a primary nemo (to parcel out, especially food or grazing to animals); law (through the idea of prescriptive usage), genitive case (regulation), specially, (of Moses (including the volume); also of the Gospel), or figuratively (a principle) -- law.
HELPS Word-studies
3551 nómos – law. 3551 (nómos) is used of: a) the Law (Scripture), with emphasis on the first five books of Scripture; or b) any system of religious thinking (theology), especially when nomos occurs without the Greek definite article.
3551 /nómos ("law") then can refer to "the Law," or "law" as a general principle (or both simultaneously). The particular sense(s) of 3551 (nómos) is determined by the context.
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom nemó (to parcel out)
Definitionthat which is assigned, hence usage, law
NASB TranslationLaw (193), laws (2), principle (1).
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 3551: νόμοςνόμος,
νόμου,
ὁ (
νέμω to divide, distribute, apportion), in secular authors from
Hesiod down,
anything established, anything received by usage, a custom, usage, law; in the
Sept. very often for
תּורָה, also for
חֻקָּה,
דָּת, etc. In the N. T.
a command, law; and
1. of any law whatsoever: διά ποίου νόμου; Romans 3:27; νόμος δικαιοσύνης, a law or rule producing a state approved of God, i. e. by the observance of which we are approved of God, Romans 9:31, cf. Meyer (see Weiss edition), Fritzsche, Philippi at the passage; a precept or injunction: κατά νόμον ἐντολῆς σαρκίνης, Hebrews 7:16; plural of the things prescribed by the divine will, Hebrews 8:10; Hebrews 10:16; νόμος τοῦ νως, the rule of action prescribed by reason, Romans 7:23; the mention of the divine law causes those things even which in opposition to this law impel to action, and therefore seem to have the force of a law, to be designated by the term νόμος, as ἕτερος νόμος ἐν τοῖς μέλεσί μου, a different law from that which God has given, i. e. the impulse to sin inherent in human nature, or ὁ νόμος τῆς ἁμαρτίας (genitive of author), Romans 7:23, 25; Romans 8:2, also ὁ νόμος τοῦ θανάτου, emanating from the power of death, Romans 8:2; with which is contrasted ὁ νόμος τοῦ πνεύματος, the impulse to (right) action emanating from the Spirit, ibid.
2. of the Mosaic law, and referring, according to the context, either to the volume of the law or to its contents: with the article, Matthew 5:18; Matthew 12:5; Matthew 22:36; Luke 2:27; Luke 10:26; Luke 16:17; John 1:17, 45 (); ; Acts 6:13; Acts 7:53; Acts 18:13, 15; Acts 21:20; Acts 23:3; Romans 2:13 ((bis) here L T Tr WH omit the article (also G in Romans 2:13b)), Romans 2:15, 18, 20, 23b, 26; Romans 4:15a; Romans 7:1b, 5, 14, 21 (on the right interpretation of this difficult passage cf. Knapp, Scripta varii Argumenti, ii., p. 385ff and Fritzsche, Commentary to Romans, ii., p. 57; (others take νόμος here generally, equivalent to controlling principle; see 1 above under the end and cf. Winers Grammar, 557 (578); Buttmann, § 151, 15)); Romans 8:3; 1 Corinthians 9:8; 1 Corinthians 15:56; Galatians 3:13, 24; Ephesians 2:15 (on which passage see δόγμα, 2); 1 Timothy 1:8; Hebrews 7:19, 28; Hebrews 10:1, etc.; with the addition of Μωϋσέως, Luke 2:22; John 7:23; John 8:5; Acts 13:38() (here L T Tr WH omit the article); Acts 15:5; Acts 28:23; 1 Corinthians 9:9; of κυρίου, Luke 2:39; of τοῦ Θεοῦ, (Matthew 15:6 T WH marginal reading); Romans 7:22; Romans 8:7. κατά τόν νόμον, according to the (standard or requirement of the) law, Acts 22:12; Hebrews 7:5; Hebrews 9:22. νόμος without the article (in the Epistles of Paul and James and the Epistle to the Hebrews; cf. Winers Grammar, p. 123 (117); Buttmann, 89 (78); (some interpreters contend that νόμος without the article denotes not the law of Moses but law viewed as 'a principle', 'abstract and universal'; cf. Lightfoot on Galatians 2:19; also Fresh Revision, etc., p. 99; Vaughan on Romans 2:23; especially Van Hengel on Romans 2:12; Gifford in the Speaker's Commentary on Romans, pp. 41ff. (cf. Cremer, under the word). This distinction is contrary to usage (as exhibited e. g. in Wis. 18:4; Sir. 19:17 Sir. 21:11 Sir. 31:8 Sir. 32:1 Sir. 35:15, 24 (32); ,(33); 1 Macc. 2:21; 4 Macc. 7:7, and many other examples in the Apocrypha; see Wahl, Clavis Apocrr. under the word, p. 343), and to the context in such Pauline passages as the following: Romans 2:17, 25, 27; Romans 7:1(); ; Galatians 3:17, 18, 23, 24 (cf. Romans 2:12 and Romans 3:19; Romans 5:13 and Romans 5:14); etc. It should be added, perhaps, that neither the list of passages with the article nor of those without it, as given by Prof. Grimm, claims to be complete)): Romans 2:23a, 25; Romans 3:31; Romans 4:15b; Romans 5:13; Romans 7:1a, 2a; Romans 10:4; Romans 13:10; Galatians 3: ; Galatians 5:23; 1 Timothy 1:9; Hebrews 7:12, etc.; with the addition of κυρίου, Luke 2:23 (here L has the article), (L T Tr WH add the article); of Θεοῦ, Romans 7:25; of Μωϋσέως, Hebrews 10:28; especially after prepositions, as διά νόμου, Romans 2:12; Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:21; χωρίς νόμου, without the cooperation of the law, Romans 3:21; destitute or ignorant of the law, Romans 7:9; where no law has been promulged, Romans 7:8; οἱ ἐκ νόμου, those who rule their life by the law, Jews, Romans 4:14, 16 (here all editions have the article); οἱ ἐν νόμῳ, who are in the power of the law, i. e. bound to it, Romans 3:19 (but all texts here ἐν τῷ νόμῳ); ὑπό νόμον, under dominion of the law, Romans 6:14; Galatians 3:23; Galatians 4:4, 21; Galatians 5:18; οἱ ὑπό νόμον, 1 Corinthians 9:20; δικαιοῦσθαι ἐν νόμῳ, Galatians 5:4; ἔργα νόμου (see ἔργον, under the end); ἐν νόμῳ ἁμαρτάνειν, under law, i. e. with knowledge of the law, Romans 2:12 (equivalent to ἔχοντες νόμον, cf. Romans 2:14); they to whom the Mosaic law has not been made known are said νόμον μή ἔχειν, ibid. 14; ἑαυτοῖς εἰσί νόμος, their natural knowledge of right takes the place of the Mosaic law, ibid.; νόμος ἔργων, the law demanding works, Romans 3:27; διά νόμου νόμῳ ἀπέθανον, by the law itself (when I became convinced that by keeping it I could not attain to salvation, cf. Romans 7:9-24) I became utterly estranged from the law, Galatians 2:19 (cf. Winers Grammar, 210 (197); Buttmann, § 133,12). κατά νόμον, as respects the interpretation and observance of the law, Philippians 3:5. The observance of the law is designated by the following phrases: πληροῦν νόμον, Romans 13:8; τόν νόμον Galatians 5:14; πληροῦν τό δικαίωμα τοῦ νόμου, Romans 8:4; φυλάσσειν (τόν) νόμον, Acts 21:24; Galatians 6:13; τά δικαιώματα τοῦ νόμου, Romans 2:26; πράσσειν νόμον, Romans 2:25; ποιεῖν τόν νόμον, John 7:19; Galatians 5:3; τηρεῖν, Acts 15:5, 24 (Rec.); James 2:10; τέλειν, Romans 2:27 (cf. James 2:8); (on the other hand, ἀκυρουν τόν νόμον Matthew 15:6 T WH marginal reading). ὁ νόμος is used of some particular ordinance of the Mosaic law in John 19:7; James 2:8; with a genitive of the object added, τοῦ ἀνδρός, the law enacted respecting the husband, i. e. binding the wife to her husband, Romans 7:2 where Rec.elz omit τοῦ νόμου (so ὁ νόμος τοῦ πάσχα, Numbers 9:12; τοῦ λεπροῦ, Leviticus 14:2; other examples are given in Fritzsche, Ep. ad Romans, ii., p. 9; cf. Winer's Grammar, § 30, 2 β.). Although the Jews did not make a distinction as we do between the moral, the ceremonial; the civil, precepts of the law, but thought that all should be honored and kept with the same conscientious and pious regard, yet in the N. T. not infrequently the law is so referred to as to show that the speaker or writer has his eye on the ethical part of it alone, as of primary importance and among Christians also of perpetual validity, but does not care for the ceremonial and civil portions, as being written for Jews alone: thus in Galatians 5:14; Romans 13:8, 10; Romans 2:26; Romans 7:21, 25; Matthew 5:18, and often; τά τοῦ νόμου, the precepts, moral requirements, of the law, Romans 2:14. In the Epistle of James νόμος (without the article) designates only the ethical portion of the Mosaic law, confirmed by the authority of the Christian religion: Romans 2:9-11; Romans 4:11; in the Epistle to the Hebrew, on the other hand, the ceremonial part of the law is the prominent idea. 3. of the Christian religion: νόμος πίστεως, the law demanding faith, Romans 3:27; τοῦ Χριστοῦ, the moral instruction given by Christ, especially the precept concerning love, Galatians 6:2; τῆς ἐλευθερίας (see ἐλευθερία, a.), James 1:25; James 2:12; cf. ὁ καινός νόμος τοῦ κυρίου ἡμῶν Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, ἄνευ ζυγοῦ ἀνάγκης ὤν, the Epistle of Barnabas 2, 6 [ET] (see Harnack's note, in the place cited).
4. by metonymy ὁ νόμος, the name of the more important part (i. e. the Pentateuch), is put for the entire collection of the sacred books of the O. T.: John 7:49; John 10:34 (Psalm 81:6 ()); John 12:34 (Psalm 109:4 (); (Theod.) Daniel 2:44; Daniel 7:14); John 15:25 (Psalm 34:19 (); ()); Romans 3:19; 1 Corinthians 14:21 (Isaiah 28:11f; so 2 Macc. 2:18, where cf. Grimm); ὁ νόμος καί οἱ προφῆται, Matthew 11:13; John 1:46; Acts 13:15; Acts 24:14; Acts 28:23; Romans 3:21 (2 Macc. 15:9); equivalent to the system of morals taught in the O. T., Matthew 5:17; Matthew 7:12; Matthew 22:40; ὁ νόμος (οἱ) προφῆται καί ψαλμοί, the religious dispensation contained in the O. T., Luke 24:44 (ὁ νόμος, οἱ προφῆται καί τά ἀλλά πατριά βιβλία, proleg. to Sir.). Paul's doctrine concerning ὁ νόμος is exhibited by (besides others) Weiss, Biblical Theol. §§ 71, 72; Pfleiderer, Paulinismus, pp. 69f. (English translation, i., p. 68f; A. Zahn, Das Gesetz Gottes nach d. Lehre u. Erfahrung d. Apestel Paulus, Halle 1876; R. Tiling, Die Paulinische Lehre vom νόμος nach d. vier Hauptbriefen, as above with Dorpat, 1878). νόμος does not occur in the following N. T. books: 2 Corinthians, Colossians, Thessalonians, 2 Timothy, Peter, Jude, John, and Revelation.
Topical Lexicon
Definition and Scope of “Nomos” In the New Testament the noun νόμος ranges from the specific Mosaic legislation to any binding norm, principle, or power that governs conduct. Context determines whether it denotes the Pentateuch, the whole Hebrew Scriptures, civil statutes, a spiritual principle (“the law of the Spirit of life,” Romans 8:2), or even an alien power (“the law of sin,” Romans 7:23).
The Law in Old Testament Foundations
1. Covenant Setting: Exodus 19–24 presents the Law as the charter of Israel’s covenant relationship. Obedience brought blessing (Deuteronomy 28:1–14); disobedience incurred curse (Deuteronomy 28:15–68).
2. Tripartite Function: Though Scripture itself never partitions the Law, conservative theology observes moral (permanent ethical duties), ceremonial (sacrificial and ritual), and civil (judicial) elements, all finding unity in revealing God’s holiness.
3. Pedagogical Role: Galatians 3:24, “So the Law became our guardian to lead us to Christ, that we might be justified by faith”, underscores its preparatory nature.
“Nomos” as a Title for Scripture
Jesus and the apostles often use “Law” for the entire Tanakh. Luke 24:44 refers to “the Law of Moses and the Prophets and the Psalms.” John 10:34 cites Psalm 82:6 yet introduces it with, “Is it not written in your Law?” Likewise, 1 Corinthians 14:21 prefaces Isaiah 28:11–12 with “In the Law it is written.”
The Law in the Ministry of Jesus
1. Fulfillment, Not Abolition: “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets… I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them” (Matthew 5:17). Jesus deepens the Law’s intent by exposing heart–level sin (Matthew 5:21–48).
2. Summation in Love: Matthew 22:37–40; Matthew 7:12; the twin commands to love God and neighbor “hang” the whole Law and the Prophets.
3. Corrective Authority: Repeated “You have heard… but I say to you” contrasts rabbinic distortions with the Law’s true demand.
The Law in Acts and Early Church Controversies
Acts 15 records the Jerusalem Council debating whether Gentile converts must keep the Mosaic Law. Peter’s confession (“Why, then, do you test God by putting on the necks of the disciples a yoke…?” Acts 15:10) and James’s citation of Amos affirm salvation by grace, with only a few prohibitions (Acts 15:28–29) to preserve fellowship. Paul’s arrest scenes (Acts 21–28) reveal tensions between Jewish Law-keepers and the gospel mission.
Pauline Theology of Law
1. Universal Condemnation: “Through the Law comes awareness of sin” (Romans 3:20). Both Jew and Gentile stand guilty (Romans 2:12–24).
2. Inability to Justify: “A man is not justified by works of the Law but through faith in Jesus Christ” (Galatians 2:16).
3. Provocation of Sin: The commandment, holy and good, nevertheless occasions transgression in Adamic hearts (Romans 7:7–11).
4. Crucifixion With Christ: “Through the Law I died to the Law so that I might live to God” (Galatians 2:19).
5. New Principle of Life: “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and death” (Romans 8:2).
6. Ongoing Moral Norm: Romans 13:8–10 teaches that love, expressed in the Decalogue’s neighbor–directed commands, “fulfills the Law.”
The Law in Hebrews and the New Covenant
Hebrews contrasts Levitical regulations with the priesthood of Christ. “The Law appoints as high priests men who are weak, but the word of the oath… appoints the Son, who has been made perfect forever” (Hebrews 7:28). Shadow gives way to substance (Hebrews 10:1). Yet the promise of Jeremiah 31:33—“I will put My laws in their minds and write them on their hearts”—is realized, not rescinded (Hebrews 8:10).
The Royal Law and the Law of Liberty (James)
James 1:25 calls believers to persevere in “the perfect law of freedom,” while James 2:8 labels “You shall love your neighbor as yourself” the “royal law.” Far from antinomianism, gospel freedom empowers practical obedience.
Principle, Power, and Analogy
Paul extends “nomos” metaphorically:
• “Law of faith” (Romans 3:27) contrasts grace–received righteousness against merit.
• “Law of my mind” vs. “law of sin” (Romans 7:23) pictures conflicting forces within the believer.
• “Law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2) equals bearing one another’s burdens in Spirit-enabled love.
Historical Significance
1. Identity Marker: For Israel, Torah shaped calendar, diet, worship, and civil justice, preserving them amid pagan nations.
2. Scripture Formation: Early Christian preaching drew authority from the Law’s prophetic and typological content (Acts 13:15–39).
3. Doctrinal Clarity: Reformation theology’s “three uses of the Law” (civil restraint, mirror of sin, guide for gratitude) remain staples in catechesis and preaching.
Ministry Implications Today
1. Evangelism: The Law exposes guilt, preparing hearts for grace (Romans 7:13).
2. Discipleship: The moral commands, fulfilled in love and empowered by the Spirit, outline holy living (Galatians 5:22–23).
3. Corporate Worship: Reading from “the Law and the Prophets” (Acts 13:15) models the unity of Scripture around Christ.
4. Apologetics: Demonstrating prophetic fulfillment (John 1:45; Luke 24:44) authenticates Jesus as Messiah.
5. Ethics and Justice: Civil statutes reveal God’s concern for the vulnerable, guiding contemporary application in mercy ministries.
Representative Texts
• Matthew 5:18 – enduring authority of every “jot or tittle.”
• John 1:17 – “For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.”
• Romans 10:4 – “For Christ is the end of the Law, to bring righteousness to everyone who believes.”
• Galatians 3:19 – purpose “added because of transgressions, until the Seed should come.”
• 1 Timothy 1:8 – “Now we know that the Law is good if one uses it legitimately.”
• Hebrews 10:16 – Law written on hearts under the new covenant.
Synthesis
“Nomos” reveals God’s holy character, exposes human sinfulness, and, in its prophetic and typological dimensions, points decisively to Jesus Christ. Fulfilled yet not discarded, its moral essence now radiates through Spirit-empowered love, guiding the church in faith, holiness, and witness until “heaven and earth pass away” (Matthew 5:18).
Forms and Transliterations
νόμοι νόμοις νομον νόμον νομος νόμος νομου νόμου νομους νόμους νομω νόμω νόμῳ νόμων νοσερώ όμον nomo nomō nómoi nómōi nomon nómon nomos nómos nomou nómou nomous nómousLinks
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