ἁμαρτωλ-ός G0268
hamartolos -- sinner, sinful; a person characterized by sin, used as both adjective and substantive noun
The adjective hamartolos ('sinful') and substantive ho hamartolos ('the sinner') derive from hamartano ('to miss the mark, to sin'). Across 47 New Testament occurrences, the word carries powerful social and theological freight. In the Gospels, 'sinners' (hamartoloi) form a category of socially marginalized people with whom Jesus deliberately associates -- tax collectors and sinners eat with him (Matt 9:10-13; Mark 2:15-17; Luke 15:1-2), provoking Pharisaic outrage. Jesus declares he came 'not to call the righteous but sinners' (Matt 9:13; Mark 2:17; Luke 5:32). In Luke especially, the word appears in poignant scenes: a 'sinful woman' anoints Jesus's feet (Luke 7:37-39), and the tax collector's prayer 'God be merciful to me, a sinner' becomes a model of humility (Luke 18:13). In the Pauline letters, the word operates in a theological register: 'while we were still sinners, Christ died for us' (Rom 5:8). Spanish pecadores, French pecheur, and German Sunder all render it consistently.
Senses
1. sinner, sinful person — A person characterized by sin, used both as an attributive adjective ('sinful') and as a substantive noun ('a sinner'), carrying social stigma in the Gospels and theological weight in the Epistles. Jesus's table fellowship with 'sinners' (Matt 9:10-13; Luke 15:1-2) provokes controversy and defines his mission. Luke's 'sinful woman' (7:37) and the tax collector who cries 'a sinner' (18:13) use the term with penitential force, while Paul employs it in doctrinal summary (Rom 5:8; Gal 2:17). Spanish pecadores, French pecheur, and German Sunder confirm a single semantic concept without subdivision. 47×
AR["الخُطاةِ", "الخُطَاةُ", "الْخُطَاةِ", "خاطِئينَ", "خُطاةً", "خُطاةٌ", "خُطاةٍ", "خُطاةُ", "خُطَاةً", "خُطَاةٌ", "خُطَاةِ"]·ben["পাপী", "পাপীদের", "পাপীরা", "পাপীরাও"]·DE["Suender", "Sünder"]·EN["of-sinners", "sinners"]·FR["pécheur"]·heb["חַטָּאִים", "חוֹטְאִים"]·HI["चुंगी-लेने-वालों", "पअपियोन-क", "पापियों", "पापियों-का", "पापियों-की", "पापियों-के", "पापियों-को", "पापी", "बैठे-थे"]·ID["berdosa", "orang-berdosa", "orang-orang-berdosa"]·IT["peccatore"]·jav["para-tiyang-dosa", "tiyang-dosa", "tiyang-dosa!", "tiyang-dosa,", "wong-dosa"]·KO["죄인들", "죄인들-의", "죄인들과", "죄인들도", "죄인들을", "죄인들의", "죄인들이"]·PT["de-pecadores", "pecadores"]·RU["-многие", "грешниками", "грешники", "грешников", "грешными", "грешных,", "нас"]·ES["a-pecadores", "de-pecadores", "pecadores"]·SW["na-wenye-dhambi!", "wadhambi", "wenye-dhambi", "wenye-dhambi,"]·TR["günahkarlar", "günahkarlarla", "günahkarların", "günahkârlar", "günahkârlarla", "günahkârları", "günahkârların", "günahkârların;"]·urd["محبت-کرنے-والوں-سے", "گناہگار", "گناہگاروں", "گناہگاروں-کا", "گناہگاروں-کو", "گناہگاروں-کی", "گنہگار", "گنہگاروں", "گنہگاروں-کو", "گنہگاروں-کے", "گُنہگاروں-کے"]
Matt 9:10, Matt 9:11, Matt 9:13, Matt 11:19, Matt 26:45, Mark 2:15, Mark 2:16, Mark 2:16, Mark 2:17, Mark 8:38, Mark 14:41, Luke 5:8 (+35 more)
Related Senses
H2896a 1. good (quality or moral) (305×)H7563 1. wicked person (259×)H7451c 1. moral evil or wickedness (234×)H5771 1. iniquity, sin, wrongdoing (222×)H6662 1. righteous person (substantive) (195×)G0266 1. sin, failure, transgression (173×)H2403b 1. sin, transgression (170×)H2617a 1. Covenant faithfulness, steadfast love (167×)H2398 1. Qal: to sin, commit sin (165×)H6666 1. righteousness, moral uprightness (145×)G5485 1. grace, divine favor (141×)H7451a 1. morally evil, wicked (129×)H2403b 2. sin-offering, sacrifice for sin (120×)G2570 1. good, right, excellent (98×)H6588 1. transgression, offense against God (88×)G0018 1. good (moral quality) (85×)H2896b 1. good, what is good (85×)H7451b 1. evil, wickedness (moral) (83×)H7451a 2. evil, harm, calamity (80×)G1342 1. righteous, upright (of persons) (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἁμαρτωλ-ός, όν, erroneous, ἁμαρτωλότερονRefs 4th c.BC+; erring, ἐν πᾶσινRefs 1st c.AD+ __2 of bad character, δοῦλοιRefs 1st c.BC+ W.: with genitive, sinning against, θεῶνRefs —ἁμαρτωλὴ γέρων, barbarism in Refs 5th c.BC+. adverb -ῶςRefs 5th c.BC+ __II substantive ἁμαρτωλός, ὁ, sinner, LXX+NT