Meaning Of Nothos
Although this Greek word occurs only once in the New Testament, its definition is still
very important to our discussion of the Sixth Commandment. We have discussed its
occurrence in Hebrews 12:8, and stated that in some Latin manuscripts, it was translated
with the word adulterinus. So knowing what nothos means is important to
understanding what the adult- family of words mean in Latin. We have also cited
evidence where the Greek verb moicheusas is shown to be synonymous with notheusas,
a verbal form of nothos. So knowing the true definition of nothos is
important to understanding the true definition of both the Greek and Latin words commonly
translated adultery. Thus, we shall examine this word in greater detail.12
Nothos is defined by LSJ as "bastard, baseborn, cross-bred." The
verbal form notheuo is defined as "adulterate." G.W.H. Lampe, in his A
Patristic Greek Lexicon, defines the word nothos as, "bastard,
adulterated, cross-bred." So we see very quickly that any honest lexicon will serve
to show the meaning of this word, especially when we realize that the common definition of
the English word bastard, until recently, was, as the Oxford English Dictionary
states, "a person of mixed breed."
We also recall that we have already stated that all of the lexical authorities state
that the word nothos is the opposite of the Greek word gnesios, which is
defined by LSJ and by Lampe as: "belonging to the race." This word is derived
from genos, which means race. Donnegan's Lexicon defines the adjective gnesios
as: "peculiar to a race, of pure race," and his primary definition of gnesiotes
is: "purity of descent," while his primary definition of gnesios is:
"purely descended." Thus, since nothos is the opposite of this family of
words, it must mean mongrel or of mongrel descent.
The Greek word nothos was originally defined by the Latin word nothus in
early Greek- Latin dictionaries, and this Latin word was of course used in its place in
Latin translations or commentaries of Greek texts, including in the Vulgate. The Latin
word nothus is defined by the Lewis and Short Latin Dictionary as "of a mixed
breed, mongrel." This same definition is also supplied by Leverett's Latin
Dictionary. Thomas Holyoke's A Large Dictionary, as we have stated previously, says
that this Greek word nothos and the Latin word nothus are synonymous with
the Hebrew word mamzir and the Greek word moichikos, both of which we
discussed above and both of which mean mongrel. Like the Hebrew word mamzir,
we can turn to the German Luther Bible for an example of where the Greek word nothos
has been translated accurately. In the original Luther Bible, the word nothos in
Hebrews 12:8 was translated with the German word "Bastarde," which according to
the English-Deutsches, Deutsch-Englisches W�rterbuch (1956) corresponds to the
English word "mongrel" (cf. A Compendious German And English Dictionary).
Like the English word "bastard" which before recent times clearly meant mongrel,
this German word also has been watered-down to a certain extent recently, but it must be
remembered that the Luther
Bible was translated well-over 400 years ago, and consultation with older German
dictionaries clearly shows that the original understanding of the word was that of mongrel.
Recent editors of the Luther Bible, however, do not seem to have been content in
letting the degeneration of the German language serve as their tool for watering down
Germany's most popular translation of the Bible. In fact, a comparison between the
original Luther Bible and the Luther Bible being sold today shows many drastic
differences, one of which concerns the verse under consideration. In Hebrews 12:8, while
the original Luther Bible reads Bastarde or mongrels, the newer version
reads Ausgesto�ene or outcasts. This modern translation is, of course,
totally ridiculous and finds support in no Greek-German or Greek-English lexicons. The
only purpose that such a translation serves is to rid the German Bible of the racial
consciousness that existed in it before World War II. There are many more examples, one
being the first verse in the New Testament, Matthew 1:1. In the Anointed Standard
Translation of the New Testament, this verse reads:
"The book of the race of Jesus Anointed, son of David, son of Abraham."
In the original Luther Bible, the word race was rendered with the German word Geburt,
which means birth or racial origin, but in the new Luther Bible, the word Geschichte
is used, meaning story or tale. Another striking example, and one that the
Jews and other antichrists were concerned that the German people took too literally during
World War II, is Luke 19:27, which reads in the Anointed Standard Translation:
"But these enemies of mine, those not desiring me to reign over them, bring
here, and execute them before me."
In the new Luther Bible, the Greek verb translated execute above is rendered
with the German words machen nieder which means make them bend down, but in
the old Luther Bible, the German Bible being circulated in 1933, the German word erw�rgen
was used, which means to strangle. Many more similar examples could be given,
but it will suffice to say that the Luther Bible being read today in Germany is not the
same Bible that was being read before World War II in Germany, and that Bible translated nothos
correctly in Hebrews 12:8. This is the only New Testament occurrence of the word.
However, in the Greek Septuagint, the word nothos occurs in Wisdom 4:3, which
reads in an accurate translation:
"But the multiplying race of the ungodly will not be of great number nor gain
power through mongrels propagating, nor will that race be allowed to advance nor
accomplish a secure foundation."
Here we see very clearly the racial nature of the word nothos. This verse is
important for those who attempt to define the word nothos as someone born out of
wedlock, for the verse clearly shows that nothos was a racial designation.
The most important non-Biblical usage of nothos is in Philo's The Special Laws,
III:46 in the translation of F.H. Colson:
"Actually so great is the provisions made in the law to ensure that men should
admit [allow] no unlawful matings, that it ordains that even cattle are not to be crossed
with others of a different species [race]. No Jewish [Judean] shepherd will allow a
he-goat to mount a ewe or a ram a she-goat, or a bull a mare, or if he does he will be
punished as an offender against the decree of nature, who is careful to preserve the
primary species [race] without adulteration [mongrelization]."
Here, Colson has translated nothos as adulteration. As in other passages
from Philo, it is important to remember that he is commenting on the Pentateuch, and we
notice that the definition of "unlawful matings" is cross-breeding or
mongrelization. Also importantly, we see very clearly that the specific Biblical
definition of nothos is cross-breeding or mongrelization.
12 A complete study of these words occurs in my book The
Truth Unveiled. Much of the material presented hereafter is not
contained in that work, therefore the reader is encouraged to consult The Truth
Unveiled also.
