πρόφᾰσ-ις G4392
A plea or excuse offered to justify or conceal one's true motives; a pretext, pretense, or ostensible reason.
In the New Testament, prophasis almost always carries a negative edge — a false front designed to mask greed, self-interest, or hostility. Jesus denounces the scribes who devour widows' houses 'for a pretense' of long prayer (Matt 23:14; Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47), where Spanish 'pretexto' and Hindi 'bahane se' both sharpen the sense of deceptive cover. Yet in John 15:22, Jesus says the world now has 'no excuse' for its sin — here prophasis shifts from a fabricated reason to a legitimate justification that might, if it existed, actually exonerate. The word's semantic range thus stretches from outright deception to genuine (though absent) grounds for defense.
Senses
1. pretext, pretense (false reason) — A fabricated or insincere reason given to conceal the true motive — a false front or pretense. Multilingual evidence is remarkably unified: Spanish 'pretexto,' French 'prétexte,' German 'Vorwand,' and Hindi 'bahane se' all point to deliberate deception. Jesus' triple denunciation of hypocritical prayer (Matt 23:14; Mark 12:40; Luke 20:47) anchors this sense, while Paul acknowledges in Phil 1:18 that some preach Christ 'under pretext' — the motive is impure even if the message is true. 6×
AR["بِتَظاهُرٍ", "بِحُجَّةٍ", "بِذَريعَةٍ", "ذَريعَةِ"]·ben["অজুহাতে", "ছলে", "দীর্ঘ", "বহানায়"]·DE["Vorwand", "προφάσει"]·EN["as-a-pretense", "as-pretext", "for-a-pretense", "in-pretense", "on-pretense", "pretense"]·FR["prétexte"]·heb["אֲמַתְלָה", "בְּ-תוֹאֲנָה", "בְּתֹאֲנָה", "בְּתוֹאֲנָה", "בִּתְחִלָּה", "תוֹאֲנַת"]·HI["बहअन", "बहअने", "बहाने-से", "बहानेसे"]·ID["alasan", "berpura-pura", "dalih", "dengan-pura-pura"]·IT["pretesto", "prophasei"]·jav["alesan", "ing-alesan", "kangge-alesan"]·KO["구실로", "핑계로"]·PT["com-pretexto", "como-pretexto", "por-pretexto", "pretexto"]·RU["для-вида", "напоказ", "предлоге", "предлогом", "притворно"]·ES["con-pretexto", "por-pretexto", "pretexto"]·SW["kisingizio", "kwa-kisingizio", "kwa-muda-mrefu"]·TR["bahane", "bahaneler", "bahaneyle"]·urd["بہانے", "بہانے-سے"]
2. excuse, reason (justification) — A reason or justification offered in one's defense — an excuse that might (or might not) be legitimate. In John 15:22, Jesus declares that the world now has no prophasis for its sin: the word functions not as deceptive camouflage but as a defensive plea the accused might invoke. The French and German translations ('prétexte,' 'Vorwand') blur this distinction, but the context makes clear that what is absent is a real ground of justification, not merely a false story. 1×
AR["عُذْرًا"]·ben["অজুহাত"]·DE["Vorwand"]·EN["excuse"]·FR["prétexte"]·heb["תִּרוּץ"]·HI["बहाना"]·ID["alasan"]·IT["prophasin"]·jav["alesan"]·KO["핑계를"]·PT["pretexto"]·RU["оправдания"]·ES["excusa"]·SW["udhuru"]·TR["bahane"]·urd["بہانہ"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
πρόφᾰσ-ις, εως, ἡ, (προφαίνω) motive or cause alleged, whether truly or falsely: then, actual motive or cause, whether alleged or not: __I alleged motive, plea, without implication of truth or falsity, ἐπὶ σμικρῇ π. Refs 6th c.BC+; καὶ ἐπὶ μεγάλῃ καὶ ἐπὶ βραχείᾳ π. whether the plea put forward be a trifle or a weighty matter, Refs 5th c.BC+; τῆς αἰτίας τὴν π. the plea in the case, the basis of…