ἐφευρετής (epheuretēs)
epheuretēs
inventor
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The noun epheuretēs refers to an inventor or contriver, derived from roots meaning "to find out" or "discover." In the New Testament, it appears only once, in Romans 1:30, where Paul lists behaviors characteristic of a fallen world. Here, it is paired with "wickedness," describing those who are inventors of evil rather than mere participants in it.
This usage highlights a specific moral weight: these individuals do not just commit wrongs but actively devise new ways to harm others. The term suggests creativity turned toward destruction, contrasting sharply with the creative power attributed to God. By calling them "inventors," Paul emphasizes their agency and ingenuity in sin, portraying evil as a crafted product of human will rather than an accidental occurrence.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word epheuretēs describes someone who actively devises or contrives something new. In Romans 1:30, Paul uses it to describe people who are not just participants in sin but inventors of evil things. This suggests a deliberate creativity turned toward harm, where individuals craft new ways to hurt others rather than simply following existing patterns of wrongdoing.
For your faith, this word serves as a sobering reminder that evil often requires active thought and intention. It contrasts the destructive ingenuity of sin with the life-giving creativity God intends for us. Instead of using our minds to devise harm, we are called to channel that same inventive energy toward building up others and reflecting God’s character in our daily interactions.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- inventors1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- ἐφευρετὰς1×
Key Verses
-
Romans 1:30
backbiters, hateful to God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
This is the only New Testament occurrence, where Paul identifies 'inventors of evil things' as a specific trait of those who suppress the truth.