The Greek noun anoche (ἀνοχή) means forbearance, restraint, or patient tolerance. Derived from anechoo (to hold back, endure), it describes the holding back of judgment or punishment — divine patience extended.
Anoche appears only twice in the New Testament, both in Romans: in Romans 2:4, Paul rebukes those who presume on 'the riches of his kindness, forbearance (anochees) and patience.' In Romans 3:25-26, God is said to have presented Christ as the atoning sacrifice 'to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance (anochee) he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished.' The cross is the answer to God's forbearance — centuries of divine patience toward sin were not overlooked but fully addressed in Christ's substitutionary death.