"impotent, weak; impossible"
Definition and meaning
impotent, weak; impossible
In the original Greek the word is written: ἀδύνατος
Historical context
Rome had controlled Judea since 63 BC. Herod the Great rebuilt the Temple into one of the most magnificent structures in the ancient world — and simultaneously murdered members of his own family. The common people paid multiple layers of taxation and were politically powerless. Into that world a carpenter from Galilee began teaching that the kingdom of God had arrived.
The people who first heard this word were not reading a book — they were living through empires, oppression, exile, and covenant. Every word carried the weight of that reality. Understanding it changes how you read Scripture.
Scripture references
These are the most notable occurrences of adynatos (G102) across the King James Bible.
But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible.
And Jesus looking upon them saith, With men it is impossible, but not with God: for with God all things are possible.
And he said, The things which are impossible with men are possible with God.
And there sat a certain man at Lystra, impotent in his feet, being a cripple from his mother's womb, who never had walked:
For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh:
We then that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of the weak, and not to please ourselves.
For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost,
That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
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Common questions
Strong's G102 (adynatos) is a Greek word that means: impotent, weak; impossible It appears 10 times in the King James Bible.
The word adynatos (G102) appears 10 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G102 is adynatos, a Greek word defined as: impotent, weak; impossible. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
adynatos is a Greek word found in the New Testament.