Original Word: φθόνος
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: phthonos
Pronunciation: FTHO-nos
Phonetic Spelling: (fthon'-os)
Definition: Envy, jealousy
Meaning: envy, a grudge, spite.

Word Origin: Derived from the Greek verb φθονέω (phthoneō), meaning "to envy" or "to be jealous."

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: - H7068 קִנְאָה (qin'ah): Often translated as "jealousy" or "zeal," this term can carry a similar connotation of envy or rivalry.

- H7065 קָנָא (qanah): A verb meaning "to be jealous" or "to envy."

Usage: In the New Testament, "phthonos" refers to a resentful awareness of another's advantages or possessions, often accompanied by a desire to possess the same. It is considered a destructive and sinful attitude that can lead to further wrongdoing. The term is used to describe a negative emotion that contrasts with the virtues of love and contentment.

Cultural and Historical Background: In the Greco-Roman world, envy was recognized as a common human vice, often associated with discord and strife. Philosophers like Aristotle discussed envy as a harmful emotion that could disrupt social harmony. In Jewish thought, envy was similarly viewed as a vice that could lead to moral and spiritual decay, as seen in various Old Testament narratives.

5355 phthónos (a primitive word, perhaps akin to 5351 /phtheírō, "decay, break-down, corrupt") – properly, strong feeling (desire) that sours, due to the influence of sin; (figuratively) the miserable trait of being glad when someone experiences misfortune or pain.

5355 /phthónos ("the feeling of ill-will") refers to the jealous envy that negatively "energizes" someone with an embittered mind. 5355 /phthónos ("ill-will") conveys "displeasure at another's good; . . . without longing to raise oneself to the level of him whom he envies, but only to depress the envied to his own level" (R. Trench, 90).

Word Origin
a prim. word
Definition
envy
NASB Translation
envy (7), envying (1), jealously (1).

STRONGS NT 5355: φθόνος

φθόνος, φθόνου, ὁ, from (Pindar and) Herodotus down, envy: Romans 1:29; Galatians 5:21; 1 Timothy 6:4; Titus 3:3; 1 Peter 2:1; διά φθόνον, for envy, i. e. prompted by envy (see διαφθονος B. II. 2b.), Matthew 27:18; Mark 15:10; Philippians 1:15 (Dio Cassius, 44, 36); πρός φθόνον ἐπιποθεῖ τό πνεῦμα ὁ κατῴκησεν (but see κατοικίζω) ἐν ἡμῖν; doth the Spirit which took up its abode within us (i. e. the Holy Spirit) long enviously? (see πρός, I. 3 g.), James 4:5 (but T (WH in second marginal reading) drop the interrogative); see on the passage Grimm in the Theol. Studien und Kritiken for 1854, p. 934ff. (Synonym: see ζῆλος, 2 at the end.)

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

envy.

Probably akin to the base of phtheiro; ill-will (as detraction), i.e. Jealousy (spite) -- envy.

see GREEK phtheiro

Forms and Transliterations

φθονοι φθόνοι φθονον φθόνον φθονος φθόνος φθονου φθόνου φθονους φθόνους φθονω φθόνω φθόνῳ phthono phthonō phthonoi phthónoi phthónōi phthonon phthónon phthonos phthónos phthonou phthónou phthonous phthónous

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