Denotes a cause, reason, or responsible agent — spanning legal, moral, and theological registers. In Luke's passion narrative, Pilate three times declares he finds no 'cause' (aition) of guilt in Jesus (Luke 23:4, 14, 22), making this a key term in the trial's legal drama. The Ephesian town clerk warns that the riotous assembly has no legitimate 'cause' to justify itself (Acts 19:40). Most strikingly, Hebrews 5:9 applies the term to Christ as the 'author/source' of eternal salvation — a dramatic semantic leap from courtroom guilt to redemptive agency.