μητρ-ᾰλοίας G3389
one who strikes or murders his mother; a matricide
This compound noun designates someone who commits violence against their mother, particularly to the point of murder. In 1 Timothy 1:9-10, it appears in Paul's catalog of lawless behaviors for which the law was established. The multilingual glosses consistently identify matricides or mother-strikers (Spanish matricidas, French/German forms). Ancient moral codes universally condemned such violations of family order as representing the ultimate breakdown of natural affection and societal structure.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Paul includes mother-strikers in his vice list in 1 Timothy 1:9, exemplifying the lawless and rebellious people for whom the law was given. The cross-linguistic evidence uniformly identifies those who strike or kill their mothers. The term appears paired with father-strikers, emphasizing violations of the fifth commandment. Such crimes represented the complete inversion of proper family honor, illustrating the depth of depravity the law addresses and from which the gospel rescues. 1×
AR["قاتِلي-الأُمَّهاتِ"]·ben["মাতৃহত্যাকারীদের,"]·DE["Mutterschlaeger"]·EN["mother-strikers"]·FR["μητρολῴαις"]·heb["לְ-מַכֵּי-אֵם"]·HI["मअत-घअत"]·ID["pembunuh-ibu"]·IT["mētrolōais"]·jav["tiyang-mejahi-ibu,"]·KO["모친-살해자들에게,"]·PT["matricidas"]·RU["матереубийцам"]·ES["matricidas"]·SW["wauaji-wa-mama"]·TR["anne-katillerine"]·urd["ماں-کے-قاتلوں"]
Related Senses
H2896a 1. good (quality or moral) (305×)H7563 1. wicked person (259×)H7451c 1. moral evil or wickedness (234×)H5771 1. iniquity, sin, wrongdoing (222×)H6662 1. righteous person (substantive) (195×)G0266 1. sin, failure, transgression (173×)H2403b 1. sin, transgression (170×)H2617a 1. Covenant faithfulness, steadfast love (167×)H2398 1. Qal: to sin, commit sin (165×)H6666 1. righteousness, moral uprightness (145×)G5485 1. grace, divine favor (141×)H7451a 1. morally evil, wicked (129×)H2403b 2. sin-offering, sacrifice for sin (120×)G2570 1. good, right, excellent (98×)H6588 1. transgression, offense against God (88×)G0018 1. good (moral quality) (85×)H2896b 1. good, what is good (85×)H7451b 1. evil, wickedness (moral) (83×)H7451a 2. evil, harm, calamity (80×)G1342 1. righteous, upright (of persons) (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
μητρ-ᾰλοίας, ου, ὁ, (ἀλοιάω) striking one's mother: hence, matricide, Refs 5th c.BC+:—also written μητρολῴας or μητρ-λώας, NT