A verb describing the work of an artist shaping soft materials—clay, wax, earth—into desired forms. Classical usage often pictured the potter at the wheel. Paul employs this imagery theologically. In Romans 9:20, the clay cannot question the potter: 'Has the potter no right over the clay, to make from the same lump one vessel for honor and another for dishonor?' In 1 Timothy 2:13, the verb recalls Genesis creation: 'Adam was formed first, then Eve'—God as divine craftsman shaping humanity from the dust.