ἀφῐλ-άργῠρος G0866
not loving money, free from the love of money, without greed for silver
This rare adjective describes a person who is not enslaved to the love of money or silver. It appears in two key pastoral contexts: as a qualification for church overseers and as a general exhortation to believers. The Greek compound combines the negative prefix with 'philargyros' (lover of silver), creating a vivid portrait of financial contentment. The multilingual evidence preserves the literal structure 'not-loving-money', emphasizing the deliberate rejection of materialism as a character trait essential to spiritual leadership and Christian living.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The word appears exclusively in ethical instruction about character qualities, both in 1 Timothy's list of overseer qualifications and in Hebrews' call to contentment. Spanish, French, and German glosses all preserve the compound negative structure, showing how this virtue was understood across cultures as active freedom from greed rather than mere absence of wealth. The two occurrences frame this as both a leadership requirement (1 Tim 3:3) and a universal Christian calling (Heb 13:5). 2×
AR["بَعِيدُونَ-عَنِ-حُبِّ-المَال", "غَيْرَ-مُحِبٍّ-لِلمالِ"]·ben["অর্থলোভহীন", "অর্থলোভহীন;"]·DE["nicht-geldliebend"]·EN["Without-love-of-money", "not-loving-money"]·FR["nicht-geldliebend"]·heb["חָפְשִׁי-מִכֶּסֶף", "לֹא-אוֹהֵב-כֶּסֶף"]·HI["धन-लोभ-से-रहित", "लोभरहित"]·ID["Bebas-dari-cinta-uang", "tidak-cinta-uang"]·IT["aphilarguron", "aphilarguros"]·jav["Tanpa-arta", "ora-seneng-dhuwit;"]·KO["돈-사랑-없이", "돈-사랑하지-않는;"]·PT["Sem-amor-ao-dinheiro", "não-avarento"]·RU["Несребролюбивый", "несребролюбивым"]·ES["Sin-amor-al-dinero", "no-amante-del-dinero"]·SW["Bila-kupenda-fedha", "si-mpenda-fedha"]·TR["Para-sevgisinden-uzak", "para-sevmez"]·urd["بغیر-روپیہ-پرستی۔", "بےلالچ"]
Related Senses
H4325 1. water, waters (582×)H6965b 1. Qal: to rise, arise, get up (432×)H2091 1. gold (the metal) (389×)H0068 1. stone, rock (material/object) (267×)H5178a 1. bronze/copper as metal (131×)H6083 1. dust, dry earth, soil (108×)H8313 1. burn, set fire to (94×)H2734 1. anger was kindled (82×)G5204 1. water (80×)H2822 1. darkness, absence of light (80×)G5457 1. light (illumination) (71×)G0450 1. rise, stand up (physical) (69×)H6965b 2. Qal: to stand firm, endure, be valid (50×)H6999a 2. burn sacrifice on altar (Hifil) (45×)H5553 1. rock, cliff (physical feature) (43×)H6965b 4. Hifil: to establish, confirm (covenant/kingdom/word) (40×)H1197a 1. burn, be on fire (39×)H4306 1. rain, showers (38×)H1653 1. rain, precipitation (34×)G4655 1. darkness (30×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἀφῐλ-άργῠρος, ον, not loving money, NT+2nd c.BC+. adverb -ρωςRefs 2nd c.BC+