πᾰθ-ημα G3804
Suffering, affliction (especially Christ's and the believer's); sinful passion or desire
The noun pathema carries two sharply distinct senses in the New Testament. In its dominant usage (fourteen occurrences), it denotes suffering and affliction -- above all the sufferings of Christ and the believer's participation in them. Paul writes that 'the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory' (Rom 8:18) and speaks of 'the fellowship of his sufferings' (Phil 3:10). But in two Pauline passages, pathema pivots to denote sinful passions or desires that operate in the human body: 'the passions of sins' working in our members (Rom 7:5) and 'those who belong to Christ have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires' (Gal 5:24). The multilingual evidence confirms the split: Spanish renders the first sense as 'padecimientos/sufrimientos' but the second as 'pasiones.'
1. suffering, affliction — Suffering, affliction, or hardship endured, especially in connection with Christ's passion and the believer's share in it. This is the dominant NT usage at fourteen occurrences. Paul's theology of suffering drives most instances: 'the sufferings of Christ abound in us' (2 Cor 1:5), 'the fellowship of his sufferings' (Phil 3:10), and 'the sufferings of this present time' (Rom 8:18). Hebrews 2:9-10 and 1 Peter 5:1 extend the term to Christ's own redemptive suffering. Multilingual glosses consistently yield vocabulary of affliction -- Spanish 'padecimientos/sufrimientos,' French 'souffrance,' German 'Leiden' -- all pointing to external hardship endured rather than internal desire. 14×
AR["آلامُ","آلامِ","آلامِهِ","آلَام","آلَامٍ","آلَامُ","آلَامِ","الآلامِ"]·ben["কষ্টসমূহ","কষ্টসমূহে","কষ্টে:","কষ্টের","দুঃখকষ্টের","দুঃখভোগ","দুঃখভোগগুলি","দুঃখভোগে","দুঃখভোগের","দুঃখভোগের,"]·DE["Leiden"]·EN["of-sufferings","suffering","sufferings"]·FR["Leiden","souffrance"]·heb["סְבָלוֹת","סֵבֶל","סֶבֶל"]·HI["कशतोन","दुख","दुख:","दुखों","दुखों-का","दुखों-के","दुखों-में","दुखों;"]·ID["penderitaan","penderitaan-penderitaan","penderitaan-penderitaan;"]·IT["sofferenza"]·jav["kasangsaran","kasangsaran,","sangsara:"]·KO["고난들","고난들-안에서","고난들-을","고난들로","고난들에","고난들의","고난들이","고난을"]·PT["de-sofrimentos","sofrimento","sofrimentos","sofrimentos,"]·RU["-нынешнего","страданий","страданий,","страдания","страдания,","страданиям","страданиям,","страданиях"]·ES["de-sufrimientos","padecimiento","padecimientos","sufrimientos"]·SW["mateso","mateso,","maumivu","ya-mateso"]·TR["aci-cekmelerimde","aci-cekmelerinin","acıları","acıların","acılarını","acılarının","böyle","o-","sabredene","ıstırabı"]·urd["دُکھ","دُکھوں-کے","دُکھوں،","دکھ","دکھوں","دکھوں-میں","دکھوں-کی","دکھوں-کے","دکھوں،"]
Rom 8:18, 2 Cor 1:5, 2 Cor 1:6, 2 Cor 1:7, Phil 3:10, Col 1:24, 2 Tim 3:11, Heb 2:9, Heb 2:10, Heb 10:32, 1 Pet 1:11, 1 Pet 4:13 (+2 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. passion, sinful desire — Sinful passion, desire, or impulse that operates within the human body, driving one toward sin. Only two clear NT occurrences surface: Rom 7:5 ('the passions of sins which were through the law were at work in our members') and Gal 5:24 ('those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires'). The semantic shift from external suffering to internal sinful impulse is decisive. Spanish marks it with 'pasiones' rather than 'padecimientos,' confirming the sense boundary. This usage connects to the classical Greek philosophical tradition where pathema denotes inner affections or conditions of the soul rather than external afflictions. 2×
AR["أَهْوَاءُ","الأهواءِ"]·ben["কষ্টসমূহ","দুঃখকষ্টগুলির"]·DE["Leiden"]·EN["passions"]·FR["Leiden","souffrance"]·heb["סֵבֶל"]·HI["वअस्नओन","वासनाएं"]·ID["nafsu","nafsu-nafsu"]·IT["sofferenza"]·jav["hawa-nepsu","hawa-nepsunipun"]·KO["정욕들","정욕들이"]·PT["paixões"]·RU["-через-","страстями"]·ES["pasiones"]·SW["tamaa"]·TR["tutkularla","tutkuları"]·urd["جذبات","جذبات-کے"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
πᾰθ-ημα, ατος, τό, dative plural παθημάτοις Refs:—that which befalls one, suffering, misfortune, Refs 5th c.BC+; τὸ π. τοῦ Χριστοῦ the passion of Christ, NT; of good fortune, χαῖρε παθὼν τὸ π. (deification) Refs 5th c.AD+: mostly in plural, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀκούσια π., opposed to ἑκούσια καὶ ἐκ προνοίας ἀδικήματα, Refs 5th c.BC+; τὰ δέ μοι π. μαθήματα γέγονε my sufferings have been my lessons Refs…