G3900 — παράπτωμα (paraptoma)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3900
Original: παράπτωμα
Transliteration: paraptoma
Pronunciation: par-ap'-to-mah
Part of Speech: Neuter noun
Root: From G3895 παραπίπτω (parapiptō) — "to fall beside/aside"; compound of παρά (para, "beside/aside") + πίπτω (pipto, "to fall")
Occurrences: 20 unique verses (23 tokens) across 8 NT books
First Occurrence: Mat 6:14 — "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From G3895 (parapiptō); a side-slip (lapse or deviation), i.e. (unintentional) error or (wilful) transgression. The etymological image is of falling beside the path — a misstep rather than a direct assault. However, NT usage extends well beyond unintentional lapses to encompass the full gravity of human sin (Rom 5:15–20).

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 088 — Moral and Ethical Qualities and Related Behavior
Subdomain: 088038 — Sin, Wrongdoing, Guilt
Other words in subdomain: ἁμαρτάνω (G264), ἁμάρτημα (G265), ἁμαρτία (G266), ἁμαρτωλός (G268), ἄμεμπτος (G273), ἀθῷος (G121), αἰτία (G156)

Domain Neighbors (088038 — Sin, Wrongdoing, Guilt)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV Translation(s)
G266	ἁμαρτία	127	sin, sins
G268	ἁμαρτωλός	34	sinners, a sinner
G264	ἁμαρτάνω	19	sin, sinneth
G156	αἰτία	15	cause, accusation
G265	ἁμάρτημα	4	sins
G158	αἴτιος	3	fault, cause
G121	ἀθῷος	2	innocent
G51	ἀγνόημα	1	errors
G361	ἀναμάρτητος	1	is without sin

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
trespasses	7	35%
offence / offences	5	25%
the offence / the fall	2	10%
fall	1	5%
fault / faults	2	10%
sins (in sins / of sins / your sins)	3	15%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Romans	8	1.8
Ephesians	3	1.9
Matthew	3	0.3
Mark	2	0.3
2 Corinthians	1	0.4
Galatians	1	0.7
Colossians	1	1.1
James	1	0.9

Romans accounts for 40% of all occurrences (8/20 verses), with 6 clustered in the Adam-Christ comparison of 5:15–20. Ephesians is highest by density (1.9/100v). The word is absent from Luke, John, Acts, Hebrews, Peter, and Revelation.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Interpersonal Offenses Requiring Forgiveness¶

Mat 6:14 — "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you"
Mat 6:15 — "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses"
Mark 11:25 — "forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses"
Jas 5:16 — "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another"

2. The Adam–Christ Surplus Chain (Rom 5:15–20)¶

Rom 5:15 — "But not as the offence, so also is the free gift. For if through the offence of one many be dead, much more the grace of God... hath abounded unto many"
Rom 5:17 — "For if by one man's offence death reigned by one; much more they which receive abundance of grace... shall reign in life"
Rom 5:18 — "Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men"
Rom 5:20 — "Moreover the law entered, that the offence might abound. But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound"

3. Israel's National Stumbling¶

Rom 11:11 — "through their fall salvation is come unto the Gentiles, for to provoke them to jealousy"
Rom 11:12 — "Now if the fall of them be the riches of the world, and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles; how much more their fulness?"

4. The Human Condition Before Redemption¶

Eph 2:1 — "And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins"
Eph 2:5 — "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ"
Col 2:13 — "And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses"

5. Atonement and Non-Imputation¶

Rom 4:25 — "Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification"
2 Cor 5:19 — "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them"
Eph 1:7 — "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins"

6. Individual Moral Failure¶

Gal 6:1 — "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness"
Mat 18:35 — "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἀφίημι (aphiēmi)	G863	5x (25%)	"forgive trespasses" — Mat 6:14–15, Mark 11:25–26
πατήρ (patēr)	G3962	5x (25%)	"your Father will forgive your trespasses"
ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos)	G444	5x (25%)	"one man's offence" — the Adam figure in Rom 5
χάρις (charis)	G5485	5x (25%)	grace contrasted with / overcoming offence — Rom 5:15, 20; Eph 1:7, 2:5
εἷς (heis)	G1520	4x (20%)	"by one / of one" — Adam's single act in Rom 5:15–18
πολύς (polys)	G4183	4x (20%)	"many" dead / "much more" grace abounds — Rom 5:15–16
Χριστός (Christos)	G5547	4x (20%)	Christ as the counterpart to Adam's offence
μᾶλλον (mallon)	G3123	3x (15%)	"much more" intensifier in surplus-of-grace argument
νεκρός (nekros)	G3498	3x (15%)	"dead in trespasses" — Eph 2:1, 5; Col 2:13
ἁμαρτία (hamartia)	G266	2x (10%)	"trespasses and sins" hendiadys — Eph 2:1; Rom 5:20
δικαίωμα (dikaiōma)	G1345	2x (10%)	"righteousness" contrasted with offence — Rom 5:16, 18
δικαίωσις (dikaiōsis)	G1347	2x (10%)	justification as the remedy for offences — Rom 4:25, 5:18

Word Family / Cognates¶

G3895 παραπίπτω (parapiptō) — root verb: "to fall beside/aside, fall away" (1v — Heb 6:6 only in NT; also LXX Eze 14:13, 15:8)
G4098 πίπτω (pipto) — base verb: "to fall" (85v)

Synonyms¶

G266 ἁμαρτία (hamartia) — sin (127v) — the broadest and most general term for sin; missing the mark

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
σκάνδαλον (skandalon)	G4625	"offence"	skandalon = trap/stumbling-block causing another to sin; paraptoma = the sin itself (the fall, not the cause)
πρόσκομμα (proskomma)	G4348	"offence"	proskomma = obstacle that causes stumbling; paraptoma = the resulting transgression
ἁμαρτία (hamartia)	G266	"sin/sins"	hamartia = broadest sin term (missing the mark), condition and act; paraptoma = specific act of falling aside, often with nuance of deviation from known path
ἁμάρτημα (hamartema)	G265	"sins"	hamartema = individual sinful deed (concrete act); paraptoma = a lapse/misstep, can carry connotation of deviation or surprise
παράβασις (parabasis)	G3847	"transgression"	parabasis = stepping across a known boundary (deliberate violation of law); paraptoma = falling beside the path (may include unintentional element)

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Definition
מַעַל (ma'al)	H4604	4	7.66	treachery, unfaithful act
מָעַל (ma'al)	H4603	4	7.34	to act treacherously, be unfaithful
עֶוֶל ('evel)	H5766	3	6.38	injustice, unrighteousness
צְדָקָה (tsedaqah)	H6666	4	5.26	righteousness (antithetic context)
פֶּשַׁע (pesha')	H6588	3	5.56	revolt, rebellion, transgression

The highest PMI Hebrew source is H4604/H4603 מַעַל (ma'al) — "treachery, covenant unfaithfulness" — suggesting the LXX translators understood paraptoma as covering deliberate covenant breach, not merely accidental misstep.