3805. pathétos

Lexical Summary

pathétos: Suffering, subject to suffering

Original Word: παθητός
Part of Speech: Adjective
Transliteration: pathétos
Pronunciation: pä-thā-tos'
Phonetic Spelling: (path-ay-tos')
KJV: suffer
NASB: suffer
Word Origin: [from a presumed derivative of G3806 (πάθος - passion)]

1. liable (i.e. doomed) to experience pain

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

suffer.

From the same as pathema; liable (i.e. Doomed) to experience pain -- suffer.

see GREEK pathema

HELPS Word-studies

Cognate: 3805 pathētós (an adjective, derived from 3958/pasxō, "to experience strong feeling, such as suffering") – properly, "passable, i.e. endued with the capacity of suffering, capable of feeling" (J. Thayer).

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from paschó
Definition
one who has suffered or is subject to suffering
NASB Translation
suffer (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 3805: παθητός

παθητός, παθητη, παθητον (πάσχω, παθεῖν);

1. passible (Latinpatibilis, Cicero, de nat. deor. 3, 12, 29), endued with capacity of suffering, capable of feeling; often in Plutarch, as παθητον σῶμα.

2. subject to the necessity of suffering, destined to suffer (Vulg.passibilis): Acts 26:23 (with the thought here respecting Christ as παθητός compare the similar language of Justin Martyr, dialog contra Trypho, chapters 36, 39, 52, 68, 76, 89); cf. Winers Grammar, 97 (92); (Buttmann, 42 (37)); (so in ecclesiastical writings also, cf. Otto's Justin, Greek index under the word; Christ is said to be παθητός and ἀπαθής in Ignatius ad Eph. 7, 2 [ET]; ad Polycarp, 3, 2 [ET]).

Topical Lexicon

Overview

Strong’s Greek 3805 appears only once in the New Testament (Acts 26:23). The term highlights that the Messiah is “subject to suffering.” While the word itself is rare, the reality it conveys—Messiah’s ordained suffering—is central to the gospel message proclaimed throughout Scripture.

Biblical Context

In Acts 26:23 Paul testifies before Agrippa that Moses and the Prophets foretold “that the Christ would suffer”. By selecting a term that stresses the very capacity or necessity of suffering, Paul frames Jesus’ passion not as an unfortunate turn of events but as an essential, God-appointed feature of messianic identity.

Christ’s Predicted Suffering

• Isaiah 53:3-5 foretells a Servant “despised and rejected… pierced for our transgressions.”
• Psalm 22:1-18 portrays the agony of crucifixion in vivid detail centuries before the event.
• Luke 24:26 records Jesus’ own words: “Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and then to enter His glory?”.

Together these passages establish that “the Christ would suffer,” aligning perfectly with Paul’s declaration in Acts 26:23.

Theological Significance

1. Divine Necessity: The Messiah’s suffering was not accidental; it was divinely ordained “before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:20).
2. Atonement: Suffering culminated at the cross, where Christ bore the judgment due sinners (1 Peter 3:18).
3. Resurrection and Mission: Acts 26:23 links suffering with resurrection and worldwide proclamation: “as the first to rise from the dead, [He] would proclaim light to our people and to the Gentiles”. Suffering is therefore the doorway to life and mission.

Historical Background in Apostolic Preaching

The early Church consistently argued from the Scriptures that the Christ must suffer:
• Peter at Pentecost (Acts 2:23-24).
• Peter and John at Solomon’s Colonnade (Acts 3:18).
• Paul in Thessalonica “explaining… that the Christ had to suffer and rise from the dead” (Acts 17:3).

Paul’s use of παθητός before a Jewish king underscores continuity with Israel’s Scriptures and repudiates the idea that the cross disproved Jesus’ messiahship.

Implications for Ministry and Discipleship

1. Preaching the Whole Gospel: Proclamation must include both the suffering and the resurrection of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:3-4).
2. Expectation of Shared Suffering: Believers are called to “follow in His steps” (1 Peter 2:21). Awareness that Messiah Himself was “subject to suffering” equips the Church to face opposition with hope (Philippians 1:29).
3. Evangelistic Bridge: Just as Paul appealed to prophetic fulfillment before Agrippa, modern evangelism can trace the theme of the suffering Messiah through the Old Testament to present Jesus as the anticipated Savior.

Related Scriptural Themes

• Redemptive Suffering: Hebrews 2:10; 5:8-9
• Union with Christ in Suffering: Romans 8:17; 2 Timothy 2:11-12
• Comfort in Affliction: 2 Corinthians 1:5; 1 Peter 5:10

Conclusion

Though Strong’s 3805 occurs only once, it crystallizes a foundational biblical truth: the Messiah is, by divine design, a suffering Messiah. This single term anchors Paul’s defense of the gospel, ties together prophetic expectation and apostolic proclamation, and continues to inform the Church’s understanding of salvation, mission, and endurance.

Forms and Transliterations

παθητος παθητός παθητὸς pathetos pathetòs pathētos pathētòs

Englishman's Concordance

Acts 26:23 Adj-NMS
GRK: εἰ παθητὸς ὁ χριστός
NAS: that the Christ was to suffer, [and] that by reason
KJV: Christ should suffer, [and] that
INT: that should suffer the Christ

Strong's Greek 3805
1 Occurrence

παθητὸς — 1 Occ.