This noun denotes a formal sentence, judicial decision, or official answer—particularly responses given by authorities or emperors. In classical Greek it could refer to judicial condemnations or imperial rescripts. Paul uses it in 2 Corinthians 1:9: 'we had the sentence of death within ourselves.' The context describes extreme affliction in Asia—Paul felt he had received a death sentence, either from authorities or from circumstances so dire that death seemed decreed. The term emphasizes official, authoritative pronouncement rather than mere opinion.