παράδοξος (paradoxos)
paradoxos
remarkable
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The adjective paradoxos describes something that is contrary to common expectation or received opinion. In the New Testament, it appears only once in Luke 5:26, where the crowd responds to Jesus’ healing with amazement. The sources characterize this reaction as a sense of the incredible or marvelous, capturing a moment where ordinary understanding is overturned by divine action.
Etymologically, the word combines para, meaning "beside" or "beyond," and doxa, meaning "opinion" or "glory." This structure suggests an event that stands outside normal judgment. While modern English uses "paradox" for logical contradictions, the biblical usage focuses on wonder rather than contradiction. It marks a reality that defies standard human assessment.
Translators typically render this term as "amazed" or "astonished" to convey the emotional impact of the miracle. The word highlights how God’s work often surprises those who rely solely on conventional wisdom. In Luke’s account, the crowd’s response underscores the unique authority Jesus possesses, leaving observers with a sense of the extraordinary.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The word paradoxos describes a moment where what we see stands outside our normal expectations. When Jesus healed the paralytic, the crowd did not just notice a miracle; they encountered something that defied their standard understanding of how things work. Their reaction was one of deep amazement, a sense that ordinary limits had been lifted by divine action.
In your own life, you may face moments that feel similarly unexpected. Circumstances might shift in ways that challenge your plans or assumptions. This word reminds us that God often works beyond the boundaries of human logic. It invites us to rest in the reality that His ways can surprise us with grace and power.
When events seem strange or contrary to what we thought possible, we are invited to respond with wonder rather than fear. This perspective helps us see God’s hand at work even when the path ahead is unclear. It encourages a heart open to the extraordinary possibilities of His presence in our daily lives.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- remarkable things1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- παράδοξα1×
Key Verses
-
Luke 5:26
Amazement took hold on all, and they glorified God. They were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today.”
The crowd uses this term to express their amazement at Jesus healing the paralytic, showing how divine action can overturn ordinary expectations.