συνετός G4908
Intelligent, understanding, discerning; possessing insight and sound judgment.
Derived from syniemi ('to bring together mentally'), synetos describes someone who can synthesize information into understanding. Jesus thanks the Father for hiding things from 'the wise and understanding' (Matt 11:25; Luke 10:21), using the term almost ironically for those whose intellectual prowess becomes a barrier. In Acts 13:7, Sergius Paulus is called a 'man of understanding' — a straightforward compliment. Paul quotes Isaiah's judgment that God will 'destroy the understanding of the understanding ones' (1 Cor 1:19). Spanish captures this with both 'inteligentes' and 'prudente,' while French uses 'intelligent' and 'compréhensif.'
Senses
1. sense 1 — Intelligent, discerning, having understanding — describing a person endowed with the capacity to comprehend and synthesize. In Matthew 11:25 and Luke 10:21, Jesus uses it in a paradoxical context where worldly intelligence is contrasted with childlike faith. Acts 13:7 applies it approvingly to the Roman proconsul Sergius Paulus. Paul's citation of Isaiah 29:14 in 1 Corinthians 1:19 targets the self-sufficiency of human discernment. The Spanish split between 'inteligentes' (raw intellect) and 'prudente' (practical wisdom) hints at the adjective's breadth across both theoretical and applied understanding. 4×
AR["الفاهِمينَ", "فَهيمٍ", "فُهَماءَ"]·ben["বুদ্ধিমান", "বুদ্ধিমানদের"]·DE["verstaendig", "συνετῶν", "συνετῷ"]·EN["intelligent"]·FR["compréhensif", "intelligent"]·heb["נְבוֹנִים", "נָבוֹן"]·HI["बुद्धिमान", "समझदअर-ओन-से", "समझदारों", "समझदारों-की"]·ID["bijaksana", "cerdik", "orang-pandai"]·IT["intelligente"]·jav["para-pinter", "tiyang-pinter", "tiyang-pinter,", "wicaksana."]·KO["지혜로운", "총명한-자들", "총명한-자들-의", "총명한-자에게서"]·PT["entendidos", "inteligentes", "prudente."]·RU["разумным", "разумных"]·ES["entendidos", "inteligentes", "prudente"]·SW["mwenye-akili.", "wenye-akili", "wenye-akili,"]·TR["akıllı", "anlayışlılardan"]·urd["سمجھداروں", "سمجھداروں-کی", "عقلمند", "عقلمندوں"]
Related Senses
H3045 1. Qal: to know, perceive, understand (829×)H5315 1. soul, inner being (647×)H3820a 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (572×)H4672 1. Qal: find, discover (289×)G1492 1. know facts or truths (285×)H3824 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (250×)H1245 1. seek, search for (200×)G1097 1. know, be acquainted with (196×)H2142 1. Qal: remember, recall (173×)G2588 1. heart (inner self, mind, will) (158×)H0977 1. choose, select (Qal active) (145×)G2147 1. find, discover (144×)G5590 1. soul, inner self (100×)H4672 2. Niphal: be found, be discovered (99×)H1875 1. seek, search for (96×)H5315 2. life, vitality (94×)H1847 1. knowledge, discernment (90×)H2450 1. wise, prudent (84×)H7911 1. Qal: to forget (83×)H3684 1. fool, dullard (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
συνετός, ή, όν, (συνίημι) intelligent, sagacious, wise, Refs 5th c.BC+; φωνάεντα συνετοῖσιν Refs 5th c.BC+; of Zeus and Apollo, ξυνετοὶ καὶ τὰ βροτῶν εἰδότες Refs 5th c.BC+; of animals, Refs 4th c.BC+; σ. ἡλικίη the age of wisdom, Refs 1st c.BC+; ἡ συνετή alone,Refs 1st c.AD+; also τὸ σ., ={σύνεσις}, Refs 5th c.BC+; τὸ πρὸς ἅπαν ξ. Refs: with genitive of things, intelligent in a thing, ξ. πολέμου…