κάκ-ωσις G2561
ill-treatment, oppression; mistreatment or harsh treatment of someone
This noun describes harsh or cruel treatment, especially of those who should be protected or cared for. In Acts 7:34, Stephen quotes God's words to Moses: 'I have surely seen the mistreatment (kakōsin) of my people in Egypt.' The term denotes the oppression Israel suffered under Pharaoh—forced labor, brutality, infanticide. God sees kakōsis and responds with deliverance. The word appears in contexts of systemic injustice or abuse of power, and God's consistent response is to act on behalf of the mistreated.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Stephen's speech employs kakōsis to characterize Egypt's oppression of Israel, echoing Exodus 3:7. The Spanish 'aflicción' and French 'mauvais-traitement' (bad-treatment) both capture the abuse involved. God declares, 'I have seen the mistreatment of my people'—he is not indifferent to injustice. The exodus narrative establishes a pattern: God hears the cry of the oppressed and delivers them, judging those who perpetrate kakōsis. Stephen's speech indicts his hearers for continuing this pattern of resisting God's messengers. 1×
AR["مَذَلَّةَ"]·ben["কষ্ট"]·DE["κάκωσιν"]·EN["mistreatment"]·FR["mauvais-traitement"]·heb["עֳנִי"]·HI["दुःख"]·ID["penindasan"]·IT["maltrattamento"]·jav["kasangsaran"]·KO["학대-를"]·PT["aflição"]·RU["угнетение"]·ES["aflicción"]·SW["mateso"]·TR["kötü-davranılmasını"]·urd["دکھ"]
Related Senses
H7965 1. peace, absence of conflict (198×)H3467 1. save, deliver, rescue (Hifil active) (156×)H5127 1. flee, run away (Qal) (144×)G1515 1. peace, well-being, harmony (93×)H8002 1. peace offering(s) (87×)G4982 1. save spiritually, grant salvation (79×)H3444 1. salvation, deliverance (67×)H4422 1. Nifal: escape, flee (63×)H1272 1. flee, run away (Qal) (58×)H6869b 1. distress, trouble (57×)G4991 1. of salvation (46×)G2347 1. tribulation, affliction, distress (45×)H0983 1. security, safety, confidence (42×)H6031b 1. Piel: afflict, oppress (42×)H6040 1. affliction, misery, suffering (36×)H3468 1. salvation, deliverance (33×)G5343 1. flee, run away (28×)H3467 2. savior, deliverer (Hifil participle substantive) (28×)H8668 1. salvation, deliverance (27×)H8252 1. be quiet, be at rest (26×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
κάκ-ωσις [ᾰ], εως, ἡ, (κᾰκόω) ill-treatment, τοῦ ἡγεμόνος Refs 5th c.BC+; oppression, τοῦ λαοῦ LXX __2 especially in Law, ill-usage, of persons by their natural protectors, ὁ τῆς κ. νόμος Refs 5th c.BC+; κ. γονέων, ὀρφανῶν, ἐπικλήρου, οἴκου ὀρφανικοῦ, Refs 4th c.BC+; τοκέων κ. Refs 4th c.BC+; also κ. ἐπαρχίας misgovernment, of the Rom. actio repetundarum, Refs 1st c.AD+ __II suffering, distress, Refs 5th c.BC+; of the effects of disease, Refs 5th c.BC+