προσωπο-ληψία G4382
Partiality, favoritism; showing respect of persons based on outward appearance or status.
A compound noun formed from 'prosōpon' (face) and 'lambanō' (to receive), literally meaning 'face-receiving'--that is, making judgments based on someone's outward appearance or social standing. Every New Testament occurrence condemns this practice as incompatible with divine justice. Paul declares that God shows no partiality (Rom 2:11), and James insists that favoritism toward the rich violates the royal law of love (Jas 2:1). The Spanish rendering 'acepción de personas' preserves the Hebraic idiom of 'receiving faces,' while French 'partialité' and English 'favoritism' foreground the ethical violation.
Senses
1. sense 1 — The act of judging or treating people differently based on external markers such as wealth, social rank, or ethnicity rather than on merit or character. The literal etymology--'receiving the face'--echoes the Hebrew idiom 'nasa panim,' which the LXX translates with this word group. Paul, writing to Rome, insists God exercises no such bias in judgment (Rom 2:11); the same principle governs masters' treatment of slaves (Eph 6:9; Col 3:25). James makes it the centerpiece of an argument against class discrimination in the assembly (Jas 2:1), showing that favoritism contradicts faith in the glorious Lord Jesus Christ. 4×
AR["مُحاباةٌ", "مُحاباةٍ"]·ben["পক্ষপাতিত্ব", "পক্ষপাতে"]·DE["Parteilichkeit"]·EN["favoritism", "partiality"]·FR["partialité"]·heb["מַשְׂא-פָּנִים", "מַשְׂאֵי־פָנִים", "מַשֹּא-פָּנִים", "מַשּׂוֹא-פָּנִים"]·HI["पकशपअत", "पक्षपात", "पक्षपात-से"]·ID["pilih kasih", "pilih-kasih"]·IT["parzialita", "prosōpolēmpsia", "prosōpolēmpsiais"]·jav["pilih-asih", "pilih-kasih"]·KO["외모로-판단함-으로", "편파", "편파-가"]·PT["aceitação-de-pessoas", "acepção-de-pessoas"]·RU["лицеприятием", "лицеприятия"]·ES["acepción-de-personas", "parcialidades"]·SW["upendeleo"]·TR["adam-kayirma", "degil", "kayirmacilik", "kayırmacılıklarla"]·urd["طرف-داری", "طرفداری"]
Related Senses
H4941 1. justice, righteousness (134×)H4941 2. judgment, judicial decision (119×)H4941 3. ordinances, statutes (plural) (110×)H8199 1. to judge, adjudicate (98×)G2919 1. judge, pass judgment (76×)H8199 2. judge (person, office-holder) (61×)G2920 1. judgment / condemnation (48×)H7378 1. Qal: quarrel, contend, strive (42×)H4941 4. prescribed ordinance, regulation (34×)G1832 1. it is lawful, it is permitted (32×)G2917 1. judgment, condemnation (27×)G2919 2. be judged, stand trial (27×)H5360 1. vengeance, retribution (27×)H7378 2. Qal: plead, defend, litigate (22×)G2723 1. accuse, bring charges against (20×)G2923 1. judge (one who judges/decides) (19×)G2632 1. condemn, pass judgment against (18×)H1777 1. judge, adjudicate (18×)H1576 1. recompense, retribution (17×)H5359 1. vengeance, retribution (17×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
προσωπο-ληψία, ἡ, respect of persons, NT