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etc-14: Judgment Passages — Word Studies

G2851: kolasis (punishment)

  • Definition: From kolazo; penal infliction; punishment, torment
  • NT Occurrences: 2 (extremely rare)
  • Matt 25:46 — "everlasting punishment" (KJV)
  • 1 John 4:18 — "fear hath torment/punishment" (KJV)
  • Lexical note: kolasis is derived from kolazo (G2849), meaning "to curtail, prune, check, restrain." The noun kolasis emphasizes the corrective/penal nature of punishment. In classical Greek, kolasis was distinguished from timoria: kolasis focused on the subject's correction, while timoria focused on the satisfaction of the punisher. In NT usage, kolasis appears only twice.
  • Translation: KJV renders it "punishment" in Matt 25:46

Kolasis in the Septuagint and Intertestamental Literature

While kolasis appears only twice in the NT, its usage in the LXX and intertestamental literature provides additional semantic context:

LXX occurrences: - Ezek 14:3,4,7; 18:30; 44:12 — The LXX renders mikshol ("stumbling block") with kolasis. The context in each case is God cutting off idolaters — the punishment described is death and removal, not correction or ongoing suffering. - Wisdom of Solomon 19:4 — Kolasis describes the punishment of the Egyptians drowned in the Red Sea. This is capital punishment — the Egyptians died. They were not corrected or reformed; they were destroyed. - 2 Maccabees 4:38 — Kolasis describes the execution of Andronicus, who was killed as punishment for murdering the high priest Onias. The text states "the Lord repaid him with the punishment he deserved" — and Andronicus was put to death. This is explicitly capital punishment.

Significance for Matt 25:46: In LXX usage, kolasis is frequently associated with death and destruction rather than ongoing conscious suffering. The classical Greek distinction between kolasis (corrective punishment) and timoria (retributive punishment), articulated by Aristotle (Rhetoric 1369b), had collapsed by the first century. Both terms had become general words for punishment/penalty without the classical nuance.

The LXX data does not definitively determine Matt 25:46's meaning, but it demonstrates that kolasis was commonly used for punishments that resulted in death. The NT's two uses (Matt 25:46; 1 John 4:18) do not require the meaning "ongoing conscious torment."

Note: The LXX/deuterocanonical references are cited here as linguistic evidence about word usage, not as canonical Scripture. They document how kolasis was understood in the Greek-speaking Jewish world from which the NT authors wrote.

G2920: krisis (judgment/decision)

  • Definition: Decision (subjectively or objectively, for or against); judgment, condemnation
  • NT Occurrences: 48 (BLB count), 34 unique KJV occurrences
  • KJV translations: "judgment" (18x), "of judgment" (8x), "damnation" (2x), "the judgment" (2x), "accusation" (2x), "judgments" (2x)
  • Key occurrences in study passages:
  • John 5:29 — "resurrection of damnation" (anastasis kriseos — literally "resurrection of judgment")
  • John 5:24 — "shall not come into condemnation" (krisis)
  • John 5:27 — "authority to execute judgment" (krisis)
  • John 5:30 — "my judgment is just" (krisis)
  • Heb 10:27 — "fearful looking for of judgment" (krisis)
  • Note: The KJV translates krisis as "damnation" in John 5:29, but the same word is translated "judgment" in 5:22, 5:24, 5:27, 5:30. The word itself means judgment/decision, not damnation specifically.

G2917: krima (judgment/sentence)

  • Definition: From krino; a decision (the function or the effect, for or against)
  • NT Occurrences: 28
  • KJV translations: Various — "judgment," "condemnation," "damnation"
  • Distinction from krisis: krima tends to emphasize the result/verdict; krisis emphasizes the process/act of judging

G3639: olethros (destruction/ruin)

  • Definition: From ollymi (to destroy); ruin, destruction
  • NT Occurrences: 4
  • All occurrences:
  • 1 Cor 5:5 — "destruction of the flesh"
  • 1 Thess 5:3 — "sudden destruction cometh upon them"
  • 2 Thess 1:9 — "everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord"
  • 1 Tim 6:9 — "drowning men in destruction and perdition"
  • KJV translations: "destruction" (3x), "the destruction" (1x)
  • Note: olethros consistently means destruction/ruin. It is derived from ollymi (to destroy), the same root as apollymi (G622). Paul uses it for the fate of the wicked in 2 Thess 1:9.

G5098: timoria (punishment)

  • Definition: From timoreo; vindication, penalty, punishment
  • NT Occurrences: 1 (hapax legomenon in noun form)
  • Heb 10:29 — "sorer punishment"
  • Classical distinction: timoria focuses on the satisfaction due to the offended party (retributive), while kolasis focuses on the correction of the offender. Both appear once each in these judgment passages.

G684: apoleia (destruction/perdition)

  • Definition: From apollymi; ruin, loss, destruction, perdition
  • NT Occurrences: 17
  • KJV translations: "perdition" (5x), "destruction" (4x), "waste" (2x), "perish" (1x), "die" (1x), "damnable" (1x), "pernicious ways" (1x), "damnation" (1x)
  • Key occurrence: Heb 10:39 — "draw back unto perdition" (apoleia) contrasted with "saving of the soul"
  • Note: apoleia is from the same root as apollymi (G622, "destroy/perish"). The word carries destruction/ruin meaning.

H1860: dera'on (contempt/abhorrence)

  • Definition: From an unused root meaning to repulse; an object of aversion; abhorring, contempt
  • OT Occurrences: 2 (extremely rare)
  • Dan 12:2 — "everlasting contempt"
  • Isa 66:24 — "an abhorring unto all flesh"
  • Note: This word appears ONLY in these two passages. Dan 12:2 and Isa 66:24 share this rare vocabulary. In Isa 66:24, it describes the reaction of the living to "carcases" (peger) — dead bodies, not living beings. The word describes how the transgressors are viewed (with aversion/repulsion), not what they experience.

H6297: peger (carcass/corpse)

  • Definition: From pagar (to be exhausted/faint); a carcass, corpse, dead body
  • OT Occurrences: 22
  • Usage: Always refers to a dead body, never a living person
  • Key passages:
  • Gen 15:11 — birds of prey on carcasses
  • Lev 26:30 — carcasses upon idols
  • Num 14:29,32 — carcasses in wilderness
  • 1 Sam 17:46 — carcasses of Philistines
  • Isa 14:19 — cast out like abominable branch, clothed with slain
  • Isa 34:3 — dead bodies stink
  • Isa 66:24 — "carcases of the men that have transgressed"
  • Nah 3:3 — great number of carcasses
  • Critical observation: In Isa 66:24, the subjects viewed are peger — dead bodies. The worm and fire act upon corpses, not living conscious beings. This is decomposition imagery.

Cross-Study References

  • etc-06: olethros/apollymi destruction vocabulary study
  • etc-07: olam (H5769) duration study — covers Dan 12:2 "everlasting"
  • etc-08: aionios (G166) study — covers Matt 25:46 "everlasting"
  • etc-11: Rev 14:10-11 torment passages
  • etc-12: Rev 20:10 devil/beast/false prophet
  • etc-13: Lake of fire / second death

Generated: 2026-02-20