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Greek · G988 · unreviewed

βλασφημία

Vilification (especially against God)

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βλασφημία G988
Pronunciation blasphēmía

What does βλασφημία (blasphēmía) mean in the Bible?

βλασφημία (blasphēmía) is a Greek word meaning "vilification (especially against God)". βλασφημία, -ας, ἡ (βλάσφημος), [in LXX: Eze. Defines the nature of the unforgivable sin. This term runs through the canonical themes of Revelation.

Full entry for βλασφημία (G988) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

vilification (especially against God)
Extended definition

Speech that dishonors or defames, especially when directed against God or His name and character.

(βλάσφημος), [in LXX: Eze.35:12 (נֶאָצָה), Da TH 3:29 (96) (שׁלה), Tob.1:18, 1Ma.2:6, 2Ma.8:4 10:35 15:24 * ;]

arailing slander: Mat.12:31 15:19, Mrk.3:28 7:22, Eph.4:31, Col.3:8, 1Ti.6:4, Ju 9, Rev.2:9
bspec., impious speech against God, blasphemy: Mat.26:65, Mrk.14:64, Luk.5:21, Jhn.10:33, Rev.13:5; ὄνομα βλασφημίας, Rev.13:1 17:3; with genitive obj. Mat.12:31; πρὸς τ. θεόν, Rev.13:6 (Cremer, 570; DB, i, 305; DCG ii, 423).
Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Why This Word Matters
Defines the nature of the unforgivable sin. Matthew 12:22–32
Grammatical Forms

How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.

Nominative · Singular · Feminine Matt 12:31 · Mark 7:22 · Eph 4:31 4×
Nominative · Plural · Feminine Matt 15:19 · Mark 3:28 · 1 Tim 6:4 3×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine Mark 14:64 · John 10:33 · Jude 1:9 · Rev 13:1 · Rev 17:3 5×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Matt 26:65 · Col 3:8 · Rev 2:9 3×
Accusative · Plural · Feminine Luke 5:21 · Rev 13:5 · Rev 13:6 3×
18 total occurrences across all forms in the biblical text Morphology: MorphGNT SBLGNT — CC BY-SA 3.0
Canonical Themes
Revelation
Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

New Testament Witnesses
Matthew 12:22–32 βλασφημία blasphēmía Nominative · Singular · Feminine
defiant slander against divine revelation
Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

Colossians 3 — Raised with Christ: Putting Off the Old Life and Putting On the New John 10 — The Good Shepherd, the Door, and the Son One with the Father Luke 5 — The Authority of Jesus to Call, Cleanse, Forgive, and Make New Mark 14 — The Son of Man Handed Over: Anointing, Supper, Gethsemane, Betrayal, Trial, and Denial Mark 3 — The Servant-King Confronted: Sabbath Mercy, Demonic Accusation, and the Family of God Mark 7 — True Defilement and Boundary-Crossing Mercy Matthew 12 — The Lord of the Sabbath, the Servant of the Lord, and the Crisis of Unbelief Matthew 15 — Tradition, the Heart, Gentile Faith, and the Compassionate Bread of the Messiah

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

Sources

MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0

Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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