Lexical Summary noseó: To be sick, to be diseased, to be ill Original Word: νοσέω Strong's Exhaustive Concordance dote. From nosos; to be sick, i.e. (by implication, of a diseased appetite) to hanker after (figuratively, to harp upon) -- dote. see GREEK nosos NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom nosos Definition to be sick NASB Translation has a morbid interest (1), morbid interest (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 3552: νοσέωνοσέω, νόσῳ; (νόσος); from (Aeschylus), Herodotus down; to be sick; metaphorically, of any ailment of the mind (ἀνηκέστω πονηρία νόσειν Ἀθηναιους, Xenophon, mem. 3, 5, 18 and many other examples in Greek authors): περί τί, to be taken with such an interest in a thing as amounts to a disease, to have a morbid fondness for, 1 Timothy 6:4 (περί δόξαν, Plato, mor., p. 546 d.). Topical Lexicon Root Idea and Figurative Development The verb νοσέω originally described physical illness in classical Greek literature. Paul adopts the term to portray a pathological state of mind in which false teachers are driven by an unhealthy fixation on speculative debates. The shift from bodily sickness to doctrinal sickness underscores that error is not a harmless intellectual pastime but a spiritual disease that infects the church body. Biblical Occurrence 1 Timothy 6:4 contains the lone New Testament occurrence: “He is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy craving for controversies and for word battles that result in envy, strife, slander, evil suspicions”. The context (1 Timothy 6:3-5) contrasts wholesome teaching that accords with godliness with the diseased mentality that spawns relational decay. Theological Implications 1. Spiritual health is inseparable from sound doctrine. Paul frames truth as therapeutic, error as pathogenic (cf. 2 Timothy 1:13-14). Pastoral Application • Diagnose teaching by its fruit. Does it promote godliness and charity, or envy and strife? (Matthew 7:16-20). Historical Testimony • Ignatius warned that some “have the plague” of false teaching (Letter to the Trallians 6), echoing Paul’s medical metaphor. Cross-References to Related Concepts • “Gangrene” of profane chatter (2 Timothy 2:17) Ministry Significance Today The solitary appearance of νοσέω serves as a diagnostic lens for every generation. Whenever teaching gravitates toward novelty, speculation, or profit, leaders must recognize the symptom, prescribe the pure milk of the word, and quarantine unrepentant propagators. Spiritual health is preserved not by intellectual stagnation but by constant return to “the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Timothy 6:3). Forms and Transliterations νοσων νοσών νοσῶν noson nosôn nosōn nosō̂nLinks Interlinear Greek • Interlinear Hebrew • Strong's Numbers • Englishman's Greek Concordance • Englishman's Hebrew Concordance • Parallel Texts |
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