"vanity, folly, futility, from the Hebrew, religious error, Eph. 4:17; 2 Pet. 2:18; false religion, Rom. 8:20*"
Definition and meaning
vanity, folly, futility, from the Hebrew, religious error, Eph. 4:17; 2 Pet. 2:18; false religion, Rom. 8:20*
In the original Greek the word is written: ματαιότης
Historical context
Paul wrote Romans from Corinth, one of the most important commercial cities in the empire. Rome had a Jewish population of around 50,000. The letter addresses real tensions between Jewish believers with centuries of Torah tradition and Gentile believers with no such background. Emperor Nero was on the throne. Within ten years he would execute both Paul and Peter.
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 mataiotes (G3153) across the King James Bible.
For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
For when they speak great swelling words of vanity, they allure through the lusts of the flesh, through much wantonness, those that were clean escaped from them who live in error.
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Common questions
Strong's G3153 (mataiotes) is a Greek word that means: vanity, folly, futility, from the Hebrew, religious error, Eph. 4:17; 2 Pet. 2:18; false religion, Rom. 8:20* It appears 3 times in the King James Bible.
The word mataiotes (G3153) appears 3 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G3153 is mataiotes, a Greek word defined as: vanity, folly, futility, from the Hebrew, religious error, Eph. 4:17; 2 Pet. 2:18; false religion, Rom. 8:20*. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
mataiotes is a Greek word found in the New Testament.