αἰτία, -as, 7); 1. cause, reason: Acts x. 21; xxii. 24; xxviii. 20; κατὰ πᾶσαν αἰτίαν for every cause, Mt. xix. 3; 8¢ ἣν αἰτίαν for which cause, wherefore, Lk. viii. 47; 2 Tim. i. 6,12; Tit. i. 13; Heb. 11. 11; ef. Grimm on 2 Mace. iv. 28. 2. cause for which one is worthy of punishment; crime of which one is accused: Mt. xxvil. 37; Mk. xv. 26; Jn. xviii. 38; xix. 4, [6; Acts xxiil. 28]; αἰτία θανάτου [A. V. cause of death] crime deserving the punishment of death, Acts xiii. 28; xxviii. 18. 3. charge of crime, accusation: Acts xxv. 18, 27. (All these signif. in prof. writ. also; [but L. and S. now make signif. 3 the primary].) In Mt. xix. 10 the words εἰ οὕτως ἐστὶν ἡ αἰτία τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετὰ τῆς γυναικός find a simple explanation in a Latinism (causa i. q. res: si ita res se habet, ete.) if the case of the man with his wife is so.

αἰτία aitia 20x

cause, motive, incitement; accusation, crime, case

αἰτία, -ας, ἡ,

[in LXX: Ge 4:13 (עָוֹן), Pr 28:17 (עָשַׁק), and freq. in Wi, II, III Mac;]

cause, reason, occasion, case: Mt 19:3, Lk 8:47, Ac 10:21 22:24 28:20, II Ti 1:6, 12, Tit 1:13, He 2:11 ; εἰ οὕτως ἐστιν ἡ αἰ. (cf. Lat. si ita res se habet, and v. MM. VGT, s.v.), Mt 19:10.

In forensic sense, accusation: Ac 25:18, 27;

cause for punishment, crime: Mt 27:37, Mk 15:26, Jo 18:38 19:4, 6, Ac 13:28 23:28 28:18.†

SYN.: ἔλεγχος, a charge, whether moral or judicial, which has been proven, αἰ. is an accusation simply, false or true.

OnE may ‘rebuke’ another without bringing the rebuked to a conviction of any fault on his part; and this, either because there was no fault, and the rebuke was therefore unneeded or unjust; or else because, though there was such fault, the rebuke was ineffectual to bring the offender to own it; and in this possibility of ‘rebuking’ for sin, without ‘ convincing’ of sin, lies the distinction between these two words. In ἐπιτιμᾶν lies simply the notion of rebuking ; which word can therefore be used of one unjustly checking or blaming another; in this sense Peter ‘began to rebuke’ his Lord (ἤρξατο ἐπιτιμᾶν, Matt. xvi. 22; cf. xix. 13; Luke xviii. 39):—or ineffectually, and without any profit to the person rebuked, who is not thereby brought to see his sin; as when the penitent robber ‘rebuked ’ (ἐπετίμα) his fellow malefactor (Luke xxiii. 40; cf. Mark ix. 25). But ἐλέγχειν is a much more pregnant word ; it is so to rebuke another, with such effectual wielding of the victorious arms of the truth, as to bring him, if not always to a confession, yet at least to a conviction, of his sin (Job v. 17; Prov. xix. 25), just as in juristic Greek, ἐλέγχειν is not merely to reply to, but to refute, an opponent. When we keep this distinction well in mind, what a light does it throw on a multitude of passages in the N. T.; and how much deeper a meaning does it give them. Thus our Lord could demand, “ Which of you convinceth (ἐλέγχει) Me of sin?” (John viii..46). Many ‘rebuked ’ Him; many laid sin to his charge (Matt. ix. 3; John ix. 16) ; but none brought sin home to his conscience. Other passages also will gain from realizing the fulness of the meaning of ἐλέγχειν, as John iii. 20; viii. 9; 1 Cor. xiv. 24, 25; Heb. xii. 5; butaboveall, the great passage, John xvi. 8; “ When He [the Comforter] is come, He will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judg14 SYNONYMS OF THE NEW TESTAMENT. ὃ ιν. ment:” for so we have rendered the words, following in our ‘reprove’ the Latin ‘ arguet ;’ although few, I think, that have in any degree sought to sound the depth of our Lord’s words, but will admit that ‘convince,’ which unfortunately our Translators have relegated to the margin, or ‘convict,’ would have been the preferable rendering, giving a depth and fulness of meaning to this work of the Holy Ghost, which ‘ reprove’ in some part fails to express.’ “Ἢρ who shall come in my room, shall so bring home to the world its own ‘sin,’ my perfect ‘ righteousness,’ God’s coming ‘judgment,’ shall so ‘ convince’ the world of these, that it shall be obliged itself to acknowledge them; and in this acknowledgement may find, shall be in the right way to find, its own blessedness and salvation.” See more on ἐλέγχειν in Pott’s Wurzel-Worterbuch, vol. iii. p. 720. Between αἰτία and ἔλεγχος, which last in the N. T. is found only twice (Heb. xi. 1; 2 Tim. iii. 16), a difference of a similar character exists. Airéa is an accusation, but whether false or true the word does not attempt to anticipate ; and thus it could be applied, indeed it was applied, to the accusation made against the Lord of Glory Himself (Matt. xxvii. 37); but Z\eyyos implies not merely the charge, but the truth of the charge, and further the manifestation of the truth of the charge; nay more than all this, very often also the acknowledgment, if not outward, yet inward, of its truth on the part of the accused ; it being the glorious prerogative of the truth in its highest operation not merely to assert itself, and to silence the adversary, but to silence him by convincing him of his error. Thus Job can say of God, ἀλήθεια καὶ ἔλεγχος παρ᾽ ? Lampe gives excellently well the force of this ἐλέγξει : ‘Opus Doetoris, qui veritatern que hactenus non est agnita ita ad conscientiam etiam renitentis demonstrat, ut victas dare manus cogatur. See an admirable discussion on the word, especially as here used, in Archdeacon Hare's Mission of the Comforter, ist edit. pp. 528-544. αὐτοῦ (xxiii. 7): and Demosthenes (Con. Androt. p. 600) ; Πάμπολυ λοιδορία τεκαὶα ἐτί α κεχωρισμένον ἐστὶν ἐλέγχου αἰτία μὲν γάρ ἐστιν, ὅταν τις ψιλῷ χρησάμενος λόγῳ μὴ παράσχηται πίστιν, ὧν λέγει' ἔλεγχος δέ, ὅταν ὧν ἂν εἴπῃ Tis καὶ τἀληθὲς ὁμοῦ δείξη. Cf. Aristotle (Rhet. ad Alez. 13): ἔλεγχος ἔστι μὲν ὃ μὴ δυνατὸν aAdws ἔχειν, ἀλλ᾽ οὕτως, ὡς ἡμεῖς λέγομεν. By our serviceable distinction between ‘ convict’ and ‘ convince’ we maintain a difference between the judicial and the moral ἔλεγχος. Both indeed will flow together into one in the last day, when every condemned sinner will be at once ‘convicted’ and ‘ convinced ; ᾿ which all is implied in that “‘ he was speechless ” of the guest found without a marriage garment (Matt. xxii. 12; cf. Rom. iii. 4).

αἰτία (aitia) — cause/charge. αἰτί-α, ἡ, responsibility, mostly in bad sense, guilt, blame, or the imputation thereof, i.e. accusation, first in [Refs 8th c.BC+] —Phrases: αἰτίαν ἔχειν bear responsibility for, τινός[Refs 5th c.BC+]; but usually to be accused, τινός of a crime, φόνου[Refs 5th c.BC+]: with infinitive, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; followed by ὡς.., [Refs 5th c.BC+]; by ὡς with participle, [Refs]; ὑπό τινος by some one, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐν αἰτίᾳ εἶναι or γίγνεσθαι, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; αἰτίαν ὑπέχειν lie under a charge, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; λαβεῖν ἀπό τινος[Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἐν αἰτίῃ ἔχειν hold one guilty, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; τὴν αἰτίαν ἐπιφέρειν τινί impute the fault to one, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἀνατιθέναι, προστιθέναι, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ἀπολύειν τινὰ τῆς αἰτίης to acquit of guilt, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

2. in forensic oratory, invective without proof (opposed to ἔλεγχος), [Refs 4th c.BC+]

3. in good sense, εἰ.. εὖ πράξαιμεν, αἰτία θεοῦ the credit is his, [Refs 4th c.BC+]; δι᾽ ὅντινα αἰτίαν ἔχουσιν Ἀθηναῖοι βελτίους γεγονέναι are reputed to have become better, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; ὧν.. πέρι αἰτίαν ἔχεις διαφέρειν in which you are reputed to excel, [Refs 5th c.BC+]; οἳ.. ἔχουσι ταύτην τὴν αἰ. who have this reputation, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

4. expostulation, μὴ ἐπ᾽ ἔχθρᾳ τὸ πλέον ἢ αἰτίᾳ[Refs 5th c.BC+]

II. cause, δι᾽ ἣν αἰτίην ἐπολέμησαν[Refs 5th c.BC+] {αἰτιάζομαι}, etc.; on the four causes of [Refs 5th c.BC+] — _dative_ αἰτίᾳ for the sake of, κοινοῦ τινος ἀγαθοῦ[Refs 5th c.BC+] in the sense of cause, not in that of accusation.

III. occasion, motive, αἰτίαν ῥοαῖσι Μοισᾶν ἐνέβαλε gave them a the me for song, [Refs 5th c.BC+]

IV. head, category under which a thing comes, [Refs 4th c.BC+]

V. case in dispute, ἡ αἰ. τοῦ ἀνθρώπου μετὰ τῆς γυναικός[NT]