ἀναίτιος G0338
guiltless, innocent, without blame or fault
This adjective describes those who are not the cause of wrong and therefore bear no guilt. Jesus uses it twice in Matthew 12, defending his disciples' Sabbath grain-plucking. Verse 5 notes that priests who work in the temple on Sabbath are ἀναίτιοί—guiltless. Verse 7 quotes Hosea 6:6 ("I desire mercy, not sacrifice") and adds that if the Pharisees understood this, they would not have condemned τοὺς ἀναιτίους—the guiltless. The classical background emphasizes being free from responsibility for wrong. Jesus applies it to those performing legitimate acts wrongly accused of Sabbath-breaking.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The guiltlessness theme appears consistently: Spanish 'inocentes' (innocent) and 'sin culpa' (without guilt), French 'innocent,' German preserving the Greek. Both verses defend people performing necessary or legitimate work against accusations of wrongdoing. Jesus argues from greater to lesser: if priests are guiltless working on Sabbath, how much more his disciples picking grain to satisfy hunger? The principle of mercy over ritual condemnation protects the innocent. 2×
AR["أَبرِيَاءِ", "بِلَا-لَومٍ"]·ben["নির্দোষ", "নির্দোষদের"]·DE["ἀναίτιοί", "ἀναιτίους"]·EN["guiltless"]·FR["innocent"]·heb["הַנְּקִיִּים", "נְקִיִּים"]·HI["निरदोश", "निरदोशोन-को"]·ID["orang-tidak-bersalah", "tidak-bersalah"]·IT["anaitioi", "anaitious"]·jav["tanpa-lepat", "tiyang-tanpa-lepat."]·KO["무죄하니라", "무죄한-자들을"]·RU["невиновны", "невиновных"]·ES["inocentes", "sin-culpa"]·SW["hawana-hatia", "wasio-na-hatia."]·TR["suçsuz", "suçsuzları"]·urd["بے-قصور", "بے-قصوروں-کو"]
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
ἀναίτιος, ον, also α, ον Refs 5th c.BC+:—in the best authors, only of persons, not being the fault or cause of a thing, guiltless, ἀναίτιον αἰτιάασθαιRefs 8th c.BC+; ἀναίτιος ἀθανάτοις guiltless before the gods, Refs 8th c.BC+ __2 with genitive of things, guiltless of a thing, Refs 5th c.BC+; φόνου, κακῶν, Refs 5th c.BC+ with infinitive, it is blamable to do, Refs __II not being the cause, τὸ ἀ.…