noun · feminine
profasias
Strong’sG4392
a pretext, an excuse
stem profasi-6 times in the New Testamentin 6 of 27 books2 of 10 forms occur
What it means
What the word means, in the words of the lexicons out of copyright — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones, wherever each has an entry for it.
πρό-φασις, -εως, ἡ
(< φήμι), [in LXX: Ps 140 (141):4 (עֲלִילָה), Da TH 6:4, 5 (5, 6) (עִלָּה), Pr 18:1, Ho 10:4*;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G4392 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
(προφαίνω) motive or cause alleged, whether truly or falsely: then, actual motive or cause, whether alleged or not:
I alleged motive, plea, without implication of truth or falsity, ἐπὶ σμικρῇ π. Refs 6th c.BC+; καὶ ἐπὶ μεγάλῃ καὶ ἐπὶ βραχείᾳ π. whether the plea put forward be a trifle or a weighty matter, Refs 5th c.BC+; τῆς αἰτίας τὴν π. the plea in the case, the basis of the charge, Refs 5th c.BC+; τοιαύτας ἔχοντες π. καὶ αἰτίας pleas and motives, Refs 5th c.BC+; π. ἐπιεικήςRefs 4th c.BC+; προφάσεις ἀληθεῖς λέγοντος pleading what was in fact true, Refs 5th c.BC+
I.2 falsely alleged motive (or cause), pretext, pretence, excuse, π. ἰδίης ἀβουλίης an excuse for.., Refs 5th c.BC+ in pretence, ostensibly, στενάχοντο γυναῖκες Πάτροκλον π., σφῶν δ᾽ αὐτῶν κήδε᾽ ἑκάστη Refs 8th c.BC+; opposed to τὸ ἀληθές, Refs 5th c.BC+; προφάσει τῶν δημοσίων on the pretence that public debts are owing, Refs 1st c.AD+; προφάσιος [εἵνεκεν], προφάσεως ἕνεκα, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐκ μικρᾶς π. Refs 5th c.BC+infinitive, αὕτη γὰρ ἦν σοι π. ἐκβαλεῖν ἐμέ for casting me out, Refs 5th c.BC+; π. τοῖς δειλοῖς ἔχει μὴ ἰέναι gives them an excuse or plea for not going, Refs 5th c.BC+; εὑρὼν π. Refs 4th c.AD+
I.2.b phrases, πρόφασιν διδόναι, ἐνδοῦναι, allow, afford an excuse, Refs 5th c.BC+; π. μηδεμίαν θέμενος making no excuse, Refs 6th c.BC+; π. προτεῖναι put forward a pretext, Refs 5th c.BC+; προφάσιας εἷλκον kept making pretences, Refs 5th c.BC+; π. τινὰ πρεσβείας πορισάμενοι Refs 5th c.BC+; ἔχει προφάσεις it is excusable,Refs 5th c.BC+
I.2.c elliptically, μή μοι πρόφασιν no excuse, no shuffling, Refs 5th c.BC+
II the actual motive, purpose, or cause, whether alleged or not, οὔτ᾽ εὐνῆς πρόφασιν κεχρημένος οὔτε τευ ἄλλου Refs 8th c.BC+; τὸ ἐκ προφάσεως τῶν.. στρατιωτῶν δηληγατευθὲν μέτρον ἐλαίου for the purpose of.., Refs 4th c.AD+; τὴν ἀληθεστάτην π., ἀφανεστάτην δὲ λόγῳ Refs 5th c.BC+: especially as a medical technical term, external exciting cause, ἐκ πάσης π. ἐκτιτρώσκουσι they miscarry on any provocation, Refs 5th c.BC+: generally, cause, σμικρὰ π. ἔξωθεν Refs 5th c.BC+; βραχεῖα π. Refs 5th c.BC+; φανερὴ π. Refs 5th c.BC+; βραχείας προφάσεως ἔδει μόνον ἐφ᾽ ᾗ.. δεξόμεθα.. it needed but a little to move us to.., Refs 5th c.BC+
II.2 occasion, θοἰμάτιον δεικνὺς τοδὶ πρόφασιν ἔφασκον, ὦ γύναι, λίαν σπαθᾷς I said à propos,.. I took occasion to say.., Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐπὶ τῇ ἐμῇ π. à propos of me, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἐπὶ τῇ π. τῆς ἐμαυτοῦ ἀρχῆς on the occasion of my accession, Refs 3rd c.AD+
III persuasion, suggestion, uncertain reading in Refs 5th c.BC+
IV preface, τὰς σημειώσεις ὑπὸ μίαν ἐκθησόμεθα π. Refs 1st c.AD+
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
Every form this word takes in Biblang, with the Greek it corresponds to and how often the New Testament uses it.
| Job in the sentence case | one singular | more than one plural |
|---|---|---|
| subject nominative | profasias | profasiais |
| object accusative | profasian1×πρόφασιν | profasiain |
| direct address vocative | profasiar | profasiair |
| of, belonging to genitive | profasiau | profasiaiu |
| to, for dative | profasia5×προφάσει | profasiai |
Tinted cells are forms the New Testament never uses, so there is no Greek to show against them — but they are still correct Biblang, built from the slots below like any other.
Why these forms, and no others — the slots that make them
profasia is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
6 occurrences, every one of them listed
profasian“excuse”objectaccusative singular1×
John 15:22… autoi, hamartan ouk echale; nun de profasian ouk echalō peri tau hamartau autoiu.… sin. Now, however, they have no excuse for their sin.
profasia“show”to, fordative singular5×
Mark 12:40… katesthiarōntois tain oikiain taiu chēraiu kai profasia makreim proseuchorōntois; houtois labeli perissoterem krimem.… of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will …
Luke 20:47… katesthialō tain oikiain taiu chēraiu kai profasia makreim proseucholō; houtois labeli perissoterem krimem.… of their houses, and for a show make lengthy prayers. These men will …
Acts 27:30“pretense”… chalarantoiu tan skafan eis tan thalassan profasia hōs ek prōrau ankurain mellarōntoiu ekteinarō,… to lower anchors from the bow, they let the lifeboat down into the sea.
Philippians 1:18“pretense”… gar? plēn hoti panto tropo, eite profasia eite alētheia, Christos katangelotō, kai en …What then is the issue? Just this: that in every way, whether by false motives or true, Christ is preached. And in this I …
1 Thessalonians 2:5… kolakeiau genina, kathōs oidavē, oute en profasia pleonexiau, theos marturos,… used words of flattery or any pretext for greed. God is our witness!