ἀνέγκλη-τος G0410
Beyond accusation, unimpeachable; one against whom no formal charge can be brought.
An alpha-privative compound (an- + egkaleō, 'to bring a charge'), anegklētos describes someone against whom no legal indictment can stand. Paul uses it eschatologically at 1 Corinthians 1:8—God will present believers as unimpeachable on the day of Christ—and in Colossians 1:22 with similar force. In the Pastoral Epistles, it becomes a key qualification for church leaders: deacons must prove themselves blameless (1 Tim 3:10), and elders must be beyond reproach (Titus 1:6–7). Though close in meaning to amemptos (G0273), anegklētos carries a stronger forensic edge, as the multilingual evidence confirms: Spanish 'irreprochable' and German 'untadelig' both emphasize the legal dimension of being unindictable.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Unaccusable, beyond formal indictment, one against whom no charge can be sustained. The forensic flavor distinguishes this word from the broader amemptos: anegklētos specifically implies that no prosecutor could successfully bring a case. Paul deploys it eschatologically—believers will stand unimpeachable before Christ (1 Cor 1:8, Col 1:22). The Pastoral Epistles make it a concrete qualification for church office: deacons must be tested and found anegklētos (1 Tim 3:10), and elders must meet this standard (Titus 1:6–7). Spanish 'irreprensibles/irreprochable' and French 'irréprochable' both preserve the formal, almost courtroom nuance of the term. 5×
AR["بِلا-عَيبٍ", "بِلا-لَوْمٍ"]·ben["নির্দোষ"]·DE["untadelig"]·EN["above-reproach", "blameless"]·FR["irréprochable", "ἀνέγκλητοι", "ἀνέγκλητον", "ἀνέγκλητος", "ἀνεγκλήτους"]·heb["בִּלְתִּי-דֹפִי", "חֲסְרֵי-אַשְׁמָה", "חֲסַר-דֹפִי", "לְלֹא-אָשָׁם"]·HI["निरदोश", "निरदोश,", "निर्दोष"]·ID["tak-bercela", "tanpa tuduhan", "tidak-bercela", "tidak-bercela,"]·IT["anegklētoi", "anegklēton", "anegklētos", "anegklētous", "senza-biasimo"]·jav["ora-cacat", "tanpa-cacad", "tanpa-cacat", "tanpa-cacat,", "tanpa-dakwa"]·KO["책망할-것-없게", "흠-없는-자로", "흡-없는-자", "흡-없는-자들로", "흡-없는-자여야-한다"]·PT["irrepreensíveis", "irrepreensível", "irrepreensível,"]·RU["безупречный", "безупречным", "неповинными", "непорочными"]·ES["irreprensibles", "irreprochable"]·SW["bila-lawama"]·TR["içinde-", "sucsuz", "suçsuz", "suçsuz,"]·urd["بے-الزام", "بے-عیب"]
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
ἀνέγκλη-τος, ον, without reproach, blameless, Refs 5th c.BC+. adverb -τωςRefs 4th c.BC+ __II giving no ground for dispute, ἀ. τὰς οὐσίας πρὸς ἀλλήλους κατασκευάζεσθαιRefs 5th c.BC+. adverb -τως, ἔχεινRefs 4th c.BC+ __III active in adverb -τως uncomplainingly, Refs 1st c.AD+