λήθ-η G3024
forgetfulness, oblivion
This noun denotes the state of having forgotten or the condition of oblivion. In classical Greek, it personified forgetfulness and named a mythical river in Hades whose waters caused loss of memory. In 2 Peter 1:9, it describes the spiritual blindness of those who lack Christian virtues—they have forgotten the cleansing from their former sins.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Second Peter 1:9 warns that believers lacking spiritual qualities are nearsighted to the point of blindness, having fallen into forgetfulness of their purification from past sins. The multilingual glosses (forgetfulness, olvido, λήθην, Vergessen) capture the cognitive lapse Peter describes. This forgetfulness represents not mere absent-mindedness but a dangerous spiritual amnesia about one's identity in Christ. 1×
AR["نِسيانًا"]·ben["বিস্মৃতি"]·DE["Vergessen"]·EN["forgetfulness"]·FR["λήθην"]·heb["שִׁכְחָה"]·HI["भूल"]·ID["lupa"]·IT["lēthēn"]·jav["kesupen"]·KO["잊음을"]·PT["esquecimento"]·RU["забвение"]·ES["olvido"]·SW["kusahau"]·TR["unutkanlığı"]·urd["بھول"]
Related Senses
H3045 1. Qal: to know, perceive, understand (829×)H5315 1. soul, inner being (647×)H3820a 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (572×)H4672 1. Qal: find, discover (289×)G1492 1. know facts or truths (285×)H3824 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (250×)H1245 1. seek, search for (200×)G1097 1. know, be acquainted with (196×)H2142 1. Qal: remember, recall (173×)G2588 1. heart (inner self, mind, will) (158×)H0977 1. choose, select (Qal active) (145×)G2147 1. find, discover (144×)G5590 1. soul, inner self (100×)H4672 2. Niphal: be found, be discovered (99×)H1875 1. seek, search for (96×)H5315 2. life, vitality (94×)H1847 1. knowledge, discernment (90×)H2450 1. wise, prudent (84×)H7911 1. Qal: to forget (83×)H3684 1. fool, dullard (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
λήθ-η, Doric dialect λάθα, ἡ, forgetting, forgetfulness, personified in Refs 8th c.BC+; λήθην ποιεύμενος τά μιν ἐόργεε forgetting.., Refs 5th c.BC+; λήθη λαμβάνει, ἔχει τινά, Refs 5th c.BC+; εἰς λ. ἀφιγμένα forgotten, Refs 1st c.BC+ __II after Refs 8th c.BC+, of a place of oblivion in the lower world, Λήθης δόμοι Refs 5th c.BC+; also, ὁ τῆς Λήθης ποταμός, of the river Λιμαίας in Lusitania, Refs 1st c.BC+