μετάνοια
Repentance
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What does μετάνοια (metánoia) mean in the Bible?
μετάνοια (metánoia) is a Greek word meaning "repentance". μετάνοια, -οίας, ἡ (μετανοέω), [in LXX: Pro. God’s kindness aims at repentance, highlighting the proper response to grace. This term runs through the canonical themes of Kingdom, Messiah, Redemption.
Full entry for μετάνοια (G3341) · Browse the biblical lexicon
Meaning
Change of mind involving deliberate turning away from sin toward God, not mere feeling of regret.
(μετανοέω), [in LXX: Pro.14:15, Wis.11:23 12:10, 19, Sir.44:16 * ;] after-thought, change of mind, repentance: Heb.12:17; of repentance from sin, Mat.3:8, 11 Luk.3:8 15:7 24:47, Act.26:20, 2Co.7:9-10; βάπτισμα (which see) μετανοίας, Mrk.1:4, Luk.3:3, Act.13:24 19:4; ἡ εἰς θεὸν Act.20:21; μ. ἀπὸ νεκρῶν ἔργων, Heb.6:1; εἰς μ. καλεῖν, Luk.5:32; id. ἄγειν, Rom.2:4; ἀνακαινίζειν, Heb.6:6; εἰς μ. χωρῆσαι, 2Pe.3:9; μ. δοῦναι, Act.5:31 11:18, 2Ti.2:25.
Why This Word Matters
God’s kindness aims at repentance, highlighting the proper response to grace. 2 Timothy 2:20-26
Defines the required response to the kingdom’s arrival. Acts 11:1-18
Defines the necessary preparation for receiving the Messiah. Acts 20:17-24
Defines the required response to the gospel. Acts 5:27-42
Represents the necessary heart-turn preceding salvation. Luke 24:36–49
Defines the purpose of Christ’s call. Luke 3:1–6
Identified as God’s granted pathway to life for both Jew and Gentile.
Defines the turning required in response to the gospel.
Repentance is granted by Christ and essential for receiving forgiveness.
The ultimate goal of correction is restoration through repentance and renewed knowledge of the truth.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Canonical Themes
Biblical Occurrences
Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.
New Testament Witnesses
Appears In
Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.
Word Pictures (Robertson)
A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.
A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain