φθόνος G5355
Envy, jealousy, ill-will; resentful desire provoked by another's advantage, often listed among vices.
Phthonos describes the bitter emotion of envy -- a grudging resentment toward those who possess what one desires. In classical Greek it stood opposed to both goodwill (eunoia) and praise (epainos), and the New Testament preserves this sharp negative force. It appears in vice lists alongside murder, strife, and deceit (Rom 1:29; Gal 5:21; 1 Tim 6:4; Titus 3:3) and is identified as the motive behind Jesus' delivery to Pilate (Matt 27:18; Mark 15:10). Paul also notes that some preach Christ 'out of envy and rivalry' (Phil 1:15). Spanish envidia, French envie, and German Neid all capture the corrosive, hostile quality of this emotion.
Senses
1. envy, ill-will, jealousy — The vice of envy or jealous ill-will, a resentful hostility provoked by another person's good fortune, status, or possessions. In the NT it is consistently portrayed as destructive and sinful. The chief priests deliver Jesus to Pilate out of phthonos (Matt 27:18; Mark 15:10), revealing envy as a motive for the most consequential injustice in history. Paul catalogs it among works of the flesh (Gal 5:21) and among the vices characterizing unregenerate humanity (Rom 1:29; Titus 3:3). Even within the church, some preach from envy (Phil 1:15). The multilingual glosses (spa envidia, fra envie, deu Neid) are perfectly uniform, confirming a single sense of malicious jealousy with no positive or neutral usage in the NT. 9×
AR["الحَسَدُ", "حَسَداً", "حَسَدٌ", "حَسَدٍ"]·ben["ঈর্ষা", "ঈর্ষায়", "ঈর্ষার", "হিংসা,", "হিংসাগুলি", "হিংসায়", "হিংসার"]·DE["Neid", "φθόνον"]·EN["envies", "envy", "envyings", "of-envy"]·FR["Neid", "envie"]·heb["קִנְאָה", "קִנְאוֹת"]·HI["इरश्यअ", "ईर्ष्या", "डाह", "दअह", "दअह,"]·ID["iri", "iri-hati", "iri-hati,", "kedengkian", "perselisihan"]·IT["invidia", "invidioso"]·jav["drengki", "drengki,", "iri", "iri,", "keri", "keri,", "mèri", "mèri,"]·KO["시기", "시기,", "시기-로", "시기-에서", "시기로", "시기를"]·PT["ciúme", "de-inveja", "inveja", "invejas", "invejas,"]·RU["зависти", "зависти,", "зависть"]·ES["de-envidia", "envidia", "envidias"]·SW["husuda", "wivu", "wivu,"]·TR["kiskancligi", "kıskançlık", "kıskançlıkla", "kıskançlıklar", "kıskançlıkları", "kıskançlığa"]·urd["حسد", "حسد-میں", "حسد-کے", "حسدیں،", "رشک"]
Related Senses
G2309 1. want, desire (166×)G0025 1. to love actively (133×)H0157 1. love (verb, active Qal) (129×)H8055 1. Qal: rejoice, be glad (123×)H7453 1. neighbor, fellow man (120×)G0026 1. of love (115×)H1058 1. Qal: to weep, cry (112×)H0954 1. to be ashamed, feel shame (Qal) (95×)H8057 1. joy, gladness, delight (90×)H2781 1. disgrace, shame, dishonor (68×)G2307 1. will, desire, purpose (63×)G5463 1. rejoice, be glad (63×)G0027 1. beloved (61×)H8130 1. Qal: to hate, detest (60×)G5479 1. (59×)G1680 1. (53×)H8130 2. Qal ptcp: hater, enemy (53×)H0014 1. be willing, want (51×)H0157 2. lover, friend (Qal participle substantive) (51×)H1945 1. woe (50×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
φθόνος, ὁ, ill-will or malice, especially envy or jealousy of the good fortune of others Refs 5th c.BC+through envy, Refs 5th c.BC+; opposed to εὔνοια, Refs 5th c.BC+; opposed to ἔπαινος, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἴσχει ὄλβος φθόνον incurs envy, Refs 5th c.BC+; κρέσσων οἰκτιρμοῦ φθόνος better to be envied than pitied ! Refs 5th c.BC+; φ. συνεστιώμενος, of wealth, NT+5th c.BC+: with genitive objecti, envy…