ἄγνωστος G0057
unknown, not known; describing something or someone unrecognized or unfamiliar
Paul encounters an Athenian altar 'TO AN UNKNOWN GOD' (agnōstō theō, Acts 17:23). The dative adjective modifies 'god,' describing a deity the Athenians acknowledged but didn't know. These altars apparently hedged religious bets—honoring any divinity they might have overlooked. Paul brilliantly uses this as his entry point: 'What you worship in ignorance, this I proclaim to you.' The term combines alpha-privative with 'ginōskō' (to know), meaning literally 'un-known.' It's the root of English 'agnostic'—one who claims God is unknowable.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The dative adjective describes the deity to whom the altar is dedicated: 'to an unknown god'—a divinity acknowledged but unidentified. Classical Greek uses the term for anything unfamiliar, forgotten, or unknowable. Paul's rhetorical move is masterful: he grants that the Athenians worship in ignorance, then identifies their unknown god as the Creator. Spanish 'AL DESCONOCIDO,' French 'inconnu,' and German 'ΑΓΝΩΣΤΩ' (transliterated caps) all preserve the inscriptional force. The irony cuts both ways: God is unknown not because he's unknowable but because they haven't sought him. 1×
AR["لِإِلٰهٍ"]·ben["অজ্ঞাত"]·DE["ΑΓΝΩΣΤΩ"]·EN["TO-UNKNOWN"]·FR["inconnu"]·heb["לְאֵל-לֹא-נוֹדָע"]·HI["अज्ञात"]·ID["KEPADA-YANG-TIDAK-DIKENAL"]·IT["sconosciuto"]·jav["DEWA"]·KO["알지-못하는"]·RU["НЕВЕДОМОМУ"]·ES["AL-DESCONOCIDO"]·SW["KWA-ASIYEJULIKANA"]·TR["BİLİNMEYEN"]·urd["انجانے"]
Related Senses
H3045 1. Qal: to know, perceive, understand (829×)H5315 1. soul, inner being (647×)H3820a 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (572×)H4672 1. Qal: find, discover (289×)G1492 1. know facts or truths (285×)H3824 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (250×)H1245 1. seek, search for (200×)G1097 1. know, be acquainted with (196×)H2142 1. Qal: remember, recall (173×)G2588 1. heart (inner self, mind, will) (158×)H0977 1. choose, select (Qal active) (145×)G2147 1. find, discover (144×)G5590 1. soul, inner self (100×)H4672 2. Niphal: be found, be discovered (99×)H1875 1. seek, search for (96×)H5315 2. life, vitality (94×)H1847 1. knowledge, discernment (90×)H2450 1. wise, prudent (84×)H7911 1. Qal: to forget (83×)H3684 1. fool, dullard (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἄγνωστος, ον, unknown, τινίRefs 8th c.BC+; unheard of, forgotten,Refs 5th c.BC+; unfamiliar, Refs 4th c.BC+ __2 not to be known, ἄγνωστόν τινα τεύχεινRefs 8th c.BC+; ἀγνωστστατοι γλῶσσαν most unintelligible in tongue, Refs 5th c.BC+ __3 not an object of knowledge, unknowable, ἄλογα καὶ ἄ.Refs 5th c.BC+; in comparative, harder to know, Refsadverb -τωςRefs 5th c.AD+ __4 as the name of a divinity at…