persistency in doing right

ἀγαθός, ή, όν (Hom.+) Comp. ἀμείνων (not in NT, but e.g. PGM 5, 50; 6, 2; Jos., Bell. 5, 19, Ant. 11, 296) 1 Cl 57:2; IEph 13:2; 15:1; βελτίων, also κρείσσων, colloq. ἀγαθώτερος (Diod S 8 Fgm. 12, 8; Judg 11:25 B; 15:2 B) Hm 8:9, 11. Superl. ἄριστος (Jos., C. Ap. 2, 156, Ant. 16, 142; Ath., R. 72, 8); colloq. ἀγαθώτατος (Diod S 16, 85, 7; Philo Bybl. [c. 100 A.D.] s. below 2aα; Heliod. 5, 15, 2; Synes., Ep. 143; Jos., Bell. 2, 277) Hv 1, 2, 3.—Ael. Dion. α, 10 rejects the forms ἀγαθώτερος, -τατος as wholly foreign to Greek (B-D-F §61, 1). When used of pers., freq. in ref. to good citizenship or acceptance of communal responsibility (cp. the def. in Cleanthes 3 [Coll. Alex. p. 229]).

① pert. to meeting a relatively high standard of quality, of things.

ⓐ adj. useful, beneficial καρποί (Procop. Soph., Ep. 27; Sir 6:19; Da 4:12 LXX) Js 3:17. δένδρον Mt 7:17f. γῆ productive, fertile soil (X., Oec. 16, 7 γῆ ἀ.—γῆ κακή; Diod S 5, 41, 6; Arrian, Anab. 4, 28, 3; Jos., Ant. 5, 178) Lk 8:8; B 6:8, 10. δόματα beneficial (Sir 18:17) Mt 7:11; Lk 11:13. δόσις Js 1:17; λόγος ἀ. πρὸς οἰκοδομήν useful for edification Eph 4:29 (cp. X., Mem. 4, 6, 11; Chion, Ep. 3, 6 πρὸς ἀνδρείαν ἀμείνους; Isocr. 15, 284 ἄριστα πρὸς ἀρετήν); γνώμη ἀ. a gracious declaration 1 Cl 8:2; ἡμέραι ἀ. happy (Cass. Dio 51, 19; PGen 61, 10; Sir 14:14; 1 Macc 10:55) 1 Pt 3:10; 1 Cl 22:2 (both Ps 33:13; 34:12); cp. 50:4.

ⓑ used as a pure subst.: sg. (Hom. et al.; ins, pap, LXX), ἀγαθόν, οῦ, τό the good (Diog. L. 1, 105 ἀγαθόν τε καὶ φαῦλον=a good and bad thing at the same time. TestAbr A 4, p. 80, 32 [Stone p. 8] of food); opp. (τὸ) κακόν Did., Gen. 21, 5; pl. ἀγαθά, ῶν, τά good things, possessions.

α. quite gener. τὰ ἀγαθά σου Lk 16:25 (cp. Job 21:13; En 103:3; PsSol 1:6, 5, 18; 17:44; 18:6; the opp. of τὰ κακά as Ephorus of Cyme [IV B.C.] περὶ ἀγαθῶν κ. κακῶν: 70 test. 1 Jac.; Diod S 18, 53, 1 ἀγαθῶν τε καὶ κακῶν μεταλαμβάνων; Job 2:10; s. SAalen NTS 13, ’66, 5 on En 98:9); τοιαῦτα ἀ. such fine things Hs 9, 10, 1.—ποιήσαι ταῦτα κ. περισσότερα ἀ. μεθʼ ἡμῶν to do these and far better things for us 1 Cl 61:3.

β. possessions, treasures (Hdt. 2, 172 et al.; PRyl 28, 182 δεσπότης πολλῶν ἀγαθῶν κ. κτημάτων; Sir 14:4; Wsd 7:11; TestJob 4:8; SibOr 3, 660; 750) Lk 1:53 (Ps 106:9.—Amphis Com. Fgm. 28 [IV B.C.], in Athen. 3, 56, 100a, χορτάζομαι ἐν ἅπασιν ἀγαθοῖς; Sb 7517, 4 [211/12 A.D.] ἀγαθῶν πεπληρῶσθαι); Gal 6:6; Hv 3, 9, 6; τὰ ἀ. τῆς γῆς 1 Cl 8:4 (Is 1:19; cp. TestAbr A 4 p. 81, 18 [Stone p. 10] ἀ. τῶν ἐπιγείων); esp. of crops (Diod S 3, 46, 1 τὰ ἀ.=‘the good gifts’, specifically ‘products of nature’; likewise 19, 26, 3. Even more generally Synes., Kingship 16 p. 17d τὰ ἀ.=food; Philo, Op. M. 16, Mos. 1, 6) Lk 12:18f.

γ. possessions of a higher order (Dio Chrys. 64 [14], 1 ἐλευθερία as μέγιστον τ. ἀγαθῶν; Ael. Aristid. 24, 4 K.=44 p. 825 D.: ὁμόνοια as μέγ. τῶν ἀ.; 45, 18 K.=8 p. 89 D.: τὰ τῆς ψυχῆς ἀγ. Diog. L. 6, 4 the priest promises the initiate into the Orphic mysteries πολλὰ ἐν ᾅδου ἀγαθά) Ro 3:8; 10:15 (Is 52:7).—Hb 9:11; 10:1; 2 Cl 6:6; 15:5.

② pert. to meeting a high standard of worth and merit, good

ⓐ as adj.

α. of humans and deities (the primary focus is on usefulness to humans and society in general, so Pind.+, s. AAdkins Merit and Responsibility ’60, 189f) beneficent, of God (Dio Chrys. 80 [30], 26 οἱ θεοί; Zoroaster in Philo Bybl.: 790 Fgm. 4, 52 Jac. [Eus. PE 1, 10, 52] God is ἀγαθῶν ἀγαθώτατος. Sallust. 1 πᾶς θεὸς ἀγαθός; contrast Did., Gen. 109, 3 ὁ διάβολος οὐ φύσει κακός … ἐστίν, ἀλλὰ … ἀγαθὸς γέγονεν.—Cp. IKosPH 92, 6f which calls Nero ἀ. θεός, ἀγαθὸς δαίμων [OGI 666, 3; POxy 1021, 8, both referring to Nero; POxy 1449, 4; s. also JKroll, D. Lehren d. Hermes Trismeg. 1914, 90; Rtzst., Erlösungsmyst. 189; 191ff] and Sb 349 θεῷ ἀγαθῷ Διὶ Ἡλίῳ; Philo, Leg. All. 1, 47 al.; Celsus 4, 14) Mt 19:17b (in Cleanthes, Stoic. I 127, 3ff [Eus. PE 13, 13, 37], a description of God follows the question τἀγαθὸν ἐρωτᾷς μʼ οἷόν ἐστʼ; cp. Orig., C.Cels. 3, 70, 9; Did., Gen. 98, 28); Mk 10:18b (Unknown Sayings 33–36); Lk 18:19b; Dg 8:8 (on these passages cp. Simonid., Fgm. 4, 6f χαλεπὸν ἐσθλὸν [=ἀγαθός ln. 10] ἔμμεναι; 7 θεὸς ἂν μόνος τοῦτʼ ἔχοι γέρας); μόνος ἀ. ἐστιν ibid.; πατὴρ ἀ. 1 Cl 56:16 (Philo, Op. M. 21 ἀ. εἶναι τὸν πατέρα κ. ποιητήν); ἀ. ἐν τ. ὁρωμένοις good in the visible world 60:1.—Of Christ Mk 10:17, 18a (DomGMurray, Downside Review 103, ’85, 144–46, w. ref. to Pirke Aboth 6, 3); Lk 18:18, 19a (WWagner, ZNW 8, 1907, 143–61; FSpitta, ibid. 9, 1908, 12–20; BWarfield, PTR 12, 1914, 177–228; WCaspari, Christent. u. Wissensch. 8, ’32, 218–31.—Cp. also the saying of Pythagoras in Diog. L., Prooem. 12, who does not wish to be called σοφός because μηδένα εἶναι σοφὸν ἀλλʼ ἢ θεόν); J 7:12.—Of humans, other than Jesus Mt 12:35; Ro 5:7; D 3:8; νομοθέται B 21:4; πονηροί τε καὶ ἀ. good and bad designating a motley crowd Mt 22:10. Same contrast 5:45 (cp. Jos., Ant. 8, 314). βελτίονα ποιεῖν make better 1 Cl 19:1; βελτίω γενέσθαι become better Dg 1; kind, generous (X., Cyr. 3, 3, 4; CIG 37, 49) Mt 20:15 (in Mk 10:17f=Lk 18:18 [s. above] it is understood as kind by JWellhausen, EKlostermann, Billerb., Wagner, Spitta, Dalman [Worte 277], EHirsch [D. Werden des Mk ’41, 246]); δεσπόται benevolent 1 Pt 2:18 (cp. PLips 40 II, 19, where a slave says ὁ ἀγαθὸς δεσπότης μου). δοῦλος (Heraclitus, Ep. 9, 3 [p. 212, 4 Malherbe]) Mt 25:21, 23; Lk 19:17. ἀνήρ (Teles p. 16, 6; Diod S 20, 58, 1; Epict. 3, 24, 51 al.; PLond I, 113/1, 8 p. 201; 2 Macc 15:12; 4 Macc 4:1; Jos., Bell. 5, 413, Ant. 18, 117; JGerlach, ΑΝΗΡ ΑΓΑΘΟΣ, diss. Munich ’32) Lk 23:50; Ac 11:24; νέαι Tit 2:5. ἀπόστολοι superb 1 Cl 5:3.

β. of things characterized esp. in terms of social significance and worth, πνεῦμα Lk 11:13 v.l.; ἐντολή Ro 7:12 (Ps.-Archytas [IV B.C.] in Stob., Ecl. 4, 138, IV 85, 17 H. νόμος ἀ. καὶ καλός); ἀγγελία (Pr 25:25) Hv 3, 13, 2; παιδεία Hs 6, 3, 6; μνεία ἀ. kindly remembrance 1 Th 3:6 (2 Macc 7:20 μνήμη ἀ.); ἐλπίς dependable (Pla., Rep. 331a; Chariton 7, 5, 10; Jos., Ant. 14, 96) 2 Th 2:16; μερὶς ἀ. the better part Lk 10:42; πρᾶξις (Democr. 177 πρῆξις; Did., Gen. 69, 7) 1 Cl 30:7; συνείδησις clear Ac 23:1; 1 Ti 1:5, 19; 1 Pt 2:19 v.l.; 3:16, 21; 1 Cl 41:1; διάνοια Hm 5, 2, 7; ἐπιθυμία (Pr 11:23; 13:12) pure (i.e. directed toward pure things) desire m 12, 1, 1f; 2:4f; 3:1; γνώμη ἀ. good intention B 21:2; ἀ. ἐν Χριστῷ ἀναστροφή admirable Christian conduct 1 Pt 3:16; ἀ. θησαυρός Mt 12:35; Lk 6:45; καρδία καλὴ καὶ ἀ. 8:15; ἔργον (Thu. 5, 63, 3; PCairMasp 151, 237) a good deed 2 Cor 9:8; Col 1:10; 1 Ti 5:10; 2 Ti 2:21; 3:17; Tit 1:16; 3:1; 1 Cl 2:7; 33:1; 34:4. Pl. ἔργα ἀ. (Empedocles [V B.C.] 112, 2) 1 Ti 2:10; also specif. of benefactions (w. ἐλεημοσύναι) Ac 9:36; 1 Cl 33:7; ἐν παντὶ ἔργῳ κ. λόγῳ ἀ. (for this Hellenic formulation cp. Lk 24:19; Ac 7:22; for the simple λόγος ἀ. s. 3Km 8:56; 4 Km 20:19; Is 39:8) 2 Th 2:17; ὑπομονὴ ἔργου ἀ. persistency in doing right Ro 2:7.

ⓑ as subst., sg. (s. 1b). Opp. (τὸ) κακόν Did., Gen. 21, 5; 27, 5.

α. that which is beneficial or helpful ἐργάζεσθαι τὸ ἀ. do what is good Ro 2:10; Hm 4, 2, 2; 7:4; also specif. of benefaction Gal 6:10 and of socially acceptable work Eph 4:28; Hm 2:4; τὸ ἀ. ποιεῖν (cp. Jos., Bell. 1, 392) Ro 13:3b; Hm 8:12; cp. 6, 2, 8.—Mt 19:17a; Ro 7:13; 12:9; 16:19; 1 Th 5:15; 1 Pt 3:13; 1 Cl 21:6; 2 Cl 13:1; Hm 8:2, 7.

β. τὰ ἀ. (ἀληθινὰ ἀ. Orig., C. Cels 7, 21, 10) good deeds J 5:29; cp. Hm 10, 3, 1 (TestAbr A 9 p. 87, 28 [Stone p. 22] ἀγαθά τε καὶ πονηρά).—B. 1176. DELG. M-M. TW. Sv.