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G459 · Greek · New Testament
ἄνομος
Anomos
Adjective/Noun
Lawless; without law; the lawless one

Definition

Paul's nuanced use of anomos is instructive: in 1 Corinthians 9:21, he describes himself as becoming "as one outside the law (anomos) to those outside the law" — yet he is not anomos to God (being "in-lawed" to Christ). Here anomos describes Gentile context, not moral condition. In 2 Thessalonians 2:8, "the lawless one (anomos)" is the antichrist whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth. And in 1 Timothy 1:9, anomos persons are those for whom law is a restraint — the ungodly, the unholy, the lawless.

Usage & Theological Significance

Anomos is the adjectival form of anomia — describing a person or thing that is lawless, outside the law, or in defiance of it. It can also function as a noun: "the lawless one." Paul uses it both of those outside the Mosaic law (Gentiles) and of the eschatological rebel.

Key Bible Verses

2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth.
1 Corinthians 9:21 To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (anomos) — not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ.
1 Timothy 1:9 "The law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient."
Acts 2:23 "This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men."
Isaiah 53:12 "Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors."

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