G1778 — ἔνταλμα (entalma)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G1778
Original: ἔνταλμα
Transliteration: entalma
Pronunciation: en'-tal-mah
Part of Speech: Neuter noun
Root: ἐντέλλομαι (entellomai, G1781) — to command, enjoin
Occurrences: 3 in NT (3 unique verses, 3 books)
First Occurrence: Mat 15:9 — "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments (entalmata) of men."
Hapax Legomenon: No (tris legomenon — appears exactly 3 times)

Lexicon Definition¶

From G1781 (entellomai); an injunction, i.e. religious precept — commandment.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 33.032 — Command, Order
Parent Domain: 33 — Communication
Other words in subdomain: ἐντέλλομαι (G1781), ἐντολή (G1785), διατάσσω (G1299), δόγμα (G1378), ἐπιταγή (G2003), ἐπιτάσσω (G2004), διαταγή (G1296), διάταγμα (G1297), διαστέλλω (G1291)

Domain Neighbors (33.032 — Command, Order)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV Translation(s)
G1781	ἐντέλλομαι	9	commanded, command
G1785	ἐντολή	60	commandment, commandments
G2003	ἐπιταγή	6	commandment
G1299	διατάσσω	5	he commanded, ordained
G1378	δόγμα	4	decrees, a decree
G2004	ἐπιτάσσω	4	he commandeth, commanded
G1296	διαταγή	2	ordinance, the disposition
G1297	διάταγμα	1	commandment

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
the commandments	2	66.7%
commandments	1	33.3%

All 3 occurrences are plural (ἐντάλματα, accusative plural neuter). The word never appears in singular form in the NT.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Colossians	1	1.1
Matthew	1	0.1
Mark	1	0.1

Concentrated entirely in Synoptic parallels (Mat/Mar) and one Pauline letter. Absent from the rest of the NT. The Matthew and Mark occurrences are a single logion of Jesus quoted from Isa 29:13 LXX; the Colossians occurrence echoes the same tradition.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Human Religious Precepts Contrasted with Divine Worship¶

Mat 15:9 — "But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments (entalmata) of men."
Mar 7:7 — "Howbeit in vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments (entalmata) of men."

Both are Jesus quoting Isa 29:13 (LXX), contrasting genuine worship of God with human-originated religious rules.

2. Perishable Human Regulations¶

Col 2:22 — "Which all are to perish with the using; after the commandments (entalmata) and doctrines of men?"

Paul warns against submitting to human regulations ("touch not; taste not; handle not") that have no lasting authority — they perish with use.

All three occurrences share the same semantic profile: human-originated religious commands that lack divine authority and are set in opposition to genuine worship or freedom in Christ.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἀπόχρησις (apochresis)	G671	1x (33%)	"perish with the using" — perishability of human rules (Col 2:22)
πᾶς (pas)	G3956	1x (33%)	"which all are to perish" — totality of human regulations (Col 2:22)
φθορά (phthora)	G5356	1x (33%)	"to perish" — corruption/decay of human commandments (Col 2:22)

With only 3 verses, collocation data is limited. The strongest contextual association across all occurrences is with διδασκαλία (didaskalia, G1319) "doctrines" — the phrase "commandments and doctrines of men" appears in all three verses (Mat 15:9 / Mar 7:7 / Col 2:22).

Word Family / Cognates¶

G1781 ἐντέλλομαι (entellomai) — root verb: to command, enjoin, charge (9v)
G1785 ἐντολή (entolē) — injunction, commandment, authoritative precept (60v)

All three derive from the same ἐν + τέλλω root. The key distinction: ἐντολή is the standard NT word for "commandment" (divine or human), while ἔνταλμα appears exclusively for human-originated precepts contrasted negatively with God's will.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ἐντολή (entolē)	G1785	commandments	entolē is the standard word for divine or human commandments (60v); entalma is used only for human religious precepts set against God's authority (3v)
מִצְוָה (mitsvah)	H4687	the commandments	Hebrew OT word for divine commandment (175v); never carries the pejorative connotation of entalma

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
פֶּה (peh)	H6310	3	7.27	"mouth" — Isa 29:13 LXX source: commands taught "by the mouth" of men
לֹא (loʾ)	H3808	3	2.96	Negative particle — contextual co-occurrence

The LXX background is Isa 29:13, where the MT reads מִצְוַת אֲנָשִׁים מְלֻמָּדָה ("a commandment of men, learned by rote"). The LXX renders this with ἐντάλματα ἀνθρώπων, and Jesus quotes the LXX form in Mat 15:9 / Mar 7:7.