ἀμάρτυρος (amarturos)
amarturos
without witness
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The adjective amarturos means "without witness" or "unattested." It is formed from a negative prefix and a root related to testimony, describing something that lacks human confirmation or evidence. In the New Testament, this word appears only once, in Acts 14:17.
Paul and Barnabas use it to describe how God’s goodness reaches people who do not have the Law or prophetic revelation. He notes that God has left no nation without witness to Himself through common grace, such as rain and fruitful seasons. The term emphasizes that divine truth is not always mediated through special religious institutions or written texts.
This rare usage highlights a key theological point: general revelation provides enough evidence of God’s care for all people, even those outside the covenant community. The word serves as a reminder that God’s presence is attested by creation itself, requiring no human mediator to be known.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
It is easy to feel isolated when we do not see God’s hand moving in obvious ways. Yet Acts 14:17 reminds us that He has never left Himself without witness. Even when the church is small or unseen, creation itself testifies to His care through rain and harvests. This truth steadies our hearts during seasons of doubt.
You do not need special religious experiences to know God is near. The simple gifts of food and gladness are clear signs of His presence. When life feels quiet, look around at the world He sustains. These everyday blessings are enough evidence for faith, requiring no human mediator to be known.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- without witness1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- ἀμάρτυρον1×
Key Verses
-
Acts 14:17
Yet he didn’t leave himself without witness, in that he did good and gave you rains from the sky and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”
This is the only New Testament occurrence, where Paul uses the word to show that God’s goodness in nature serves as sufficient witness to all nations.