ἀδῠνᾰτ-ος G0102
Impossible (of things or situations); powerless, weak (of persons)
The adjective ἀδύνατος (from alpha-privative + δυνατός, 'able') carries two clearly distinct senses depending on whether it describes things or persons. Applied to things, it means 'impossible' — what cannot be done — a sense crystallized in Jesus' repeated declaration that what is impossible with men is possible with God (Matt 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luke 18:27). Applied to persons, it means 'powerless' or 'weak' — someone lacking physical strength or moral capability, as with the lame man at Lystra (Acts 14:8) and the 'weak in faith' whom the strong should bear with (Rom 15:1).
Senses
1. impossible (of things) — Impossible — predicated of things, situations, or propositions rather than persons. This is the dominant sense, appearing eight times across the Gospels, Paul, and Hebrews. The core declaration is Jesus' teaching that 'with men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible' (Matt 19:26, Mark 10:27, Luke 18:27). Paul uses it of the law's impotence to justify — 'what the law was powerless to do' (Rom 8:3) — and Hebrews of spiritual impossibilities: 'it is impossible for those who were once enlightened... to be renewed' (Heb 6:4), and 'without faith it is impossible to please God' (Heb 11:6). Multilingual glosses converge decisively: 'impossible' in English and French, 'imposible' in Spanish, 'unmoeglich' in German. 8×
AR["المُستَحيلُ","الْمُسْتَحِيلَ","مُسْتَحيلٌ","مُسْتَحِيل","مُسْتَحِيلٌ"]·ben["অসম্ভব"]·DE["unmoeglich","ἀδύνατα","ἀδύνατόν"]·EN["impossible"]·FR["impossible"]·heb["אִי-אֶפְשָׁר","בִּלְתִּי-אֶפְשָׁרִי","בִּלְתִּי־אֶפְשָׁר","בִלְתִּי-אֶפְשָׁר","לֹא-אֶפְשָׁר","נִמְנָע"]·HI["असंभव","असमभव","असम्भव","असम्भव-था"]·ID["Tidak-mungkin","mustahil","tidak-mungkin","yang-tidak-mungkin"]·IT["adunata","adunaton","impossibile"]·jav["boten-saged","mboten-saged","mokal"]·KO["불가능하나","불가능하니","불가능하다","불가능한-것","불가능한-것이"]·PT["Impossível","impossível"]·RU["-закона","Невозможно","невозможно","невозможно,","невозможное"]·ES["Imposible","imposible","imposibles"]·SW["Haiwezekani","haiwezekani","kutoweza","ni","yasiyowezekana"]·TR["imkansız","imkânsız","imkânsızdır","olanaksız-olanı","İmkansız"]·urd["ناممکن","ناممکن-ہے"]
2. powerless, weak (of persons) — Powerless, weak, lacking strength — predicated of persons rather than things. In Acts 14:8, the man at Lystra is ἀδύνατος τοῖς ποσίν, 'impotent in his feet,' describing physical disability. In Rom 15:1, Paul exhorts the strong to bear the weaknesses of τῶν ἀδυνάτων, 'the powerless' or 'the weak' — those who lack the spiritual strength to navigate disputable matters. The shift from 'impossible' to 'weak/impotent' is confirmed in the Spanish glosses ('impotente,' 'debiles') and the classical Greek evidence where ἀδύνατος described invalids, paupers, and the disabled. 2×
AR["-الضُّعَفَاءِ","عاجِزٌ"]·ben["অক্ষম","দুর্বলদের"]·DE["unmoeglich","ἀδύνατος"]·EN["powerless","weak"]·FR["impossible"]·heb["חַלָּשִׁים","חַלָּשׁ"]·HI["असमर्थों-की","शक्तिहीन"]·ID["tidak-berdaya","yang-tidak-kuat"]·IT["impossibile"]·jav["boten-saged,","mboten-kiyat"]·KO["못-걷는","약한-자들-의"]·PT["fracos","impótente,"]·RU["-не","бессильный"]·ES["débiles","impotente"]·SW["dhaifu","wasio-na-nguvu"]·TR["güçsüz","güçsüzlerin"]·urd["لنگڑا","کمزوروں"]
Related Senses
H5921a 1. upon, on, over (spatial) (5443×)H0413 1. directional: to, toward (5366×)H1121a 1. son, male offspring, descendant (4914×)H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)H4428 1. king, human ruler (2518×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)H6440 1. before, in front of (spatial) (1870×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H3027 1. physical hand (body part) (1596×)H1697 1. word, speech, utterance (1235×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἀδῠνᾰτ-ος, ον, __I of persons, unable to do a thing, with infinitive, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀ. ὥστε.. Refs 5th c.BC+: superlative -ώτατος, λέγεινRefs 5th c.BC+ __I.2 absolutely, without strength, powerless, weakly, Refs 5th c.BC+; οἱ ἀ. men disabled for service, whether as invalids or paupers, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀ. χρήμασι poor, Refs 5th c.BC+; εἴς τι Refs 5th c.BC+; οἱ -ώτατοι persons of no importance,…