ἀνεξ-ερεύνητος G0419
unsearchable, inscrutable, beyond investigation
This compound adjective describes what cannot be searched out or traced to its source. Paul uses it in Romans 11:33 to characterize God's judgments and ways—they exceed human capacity to investigate or comprehend fully. The term appears in philosophical writings for things beyond rational inquiry. English 'unsearchable,' Spanish 'inescrutables' (inscrutable), and French 'insondable' (unfathomable) all emphasize the impossibility of exhaustive investigation. German's 'unerforschlich' (unresearchable) captures the sense that no amount of inquiry will penetrate to the bottom.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Beyond investigation, unsearchable (Rom 11:33). Paul exclaims about 'the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments!' The term indicates not that God's ways are mysterious in a confusing sense but that they extend beyond human capacity for investigation. The Spanish 'inescrutables' and French 'insondable' (unfathomable—literally unable to be plumbed) both suggest depth beyond measurement. This is not obscurantism but appropriate humility before divine wisdom. 1×
AR["أَعْمَقَ"]·ben["অনুসন্ধানযোগ্য"]·DE["unerforschlich"]·EN["unsearchable"]·FR["insondable"]·heb["לֹא-נֶחְקָרִים"]·HI["अखोजनीय"]·ID["tak-terselami"]·IT["imperscrutabile"]·jav["mboten-saged-dipun-tliti"]·KO["헤아릴-수-없으냐"]·PT["inescrutaveis"]·RU["неисследимы"]·ES["inescrutables"]·SW["yasivyochunguzika"]·TR["araştırılamaz"]·urd["ناقابل-تلاش"]
Related Senses
H8033 1. There (locative adverb) (835×)H7760a 1. put, place, set physically (444×)H8064 1. heavens / sky (329×)H5439 1. around, all around (spatial) (319×)H4057b 1. wilderness, desert region (270×)H3220 1. sea, body of water (269×)H0520a 1. cubit (unit of length) (246×)H0127 1. ground, land (territory) (210×)H3383 1. Jordan River (proper noun) (183×)G1093 1. earth, the world (176×)H5800a 1. forsake, abandon (Qal active) (166×)H8121 1. sun (celestial body) (133×)H7126 1. offer, present sacrificially (122×)H6828 1. north, cardinal direction (120×)H2351 1. outside, exterior space (119×)H5104 1. river, stream (119×)H7341 1. width, breadth (101×)G1563 1. there (95×)H7126 2. draw near, approach (95×)G2281 1. sea, large body of water (91×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἀνεξ-ερεύνητος (Hellenistic ἀνεξεραύν-), ον, not to be searched out, NT+1st c.AD+