{"id": "card_n_e1a68aa77be3", "kind": "note", "title": "Easton: Anathema", "body": "Anything laid up or suspended; hence anything laid up in a temple or set apart as sacred. In this sense the form of the word is anath(ee)ma, once in plural used in the Greek New Testament, in Luke 21:5, where it is rendered “gifts.” In the LXX. the form anathema is generally used as the rendering of the Hebrew word herem, derived from a verb which means (1) to consecrate or devote; and (2) to exterminate. Any object so devoted to the Lord could not be redeemed (Num. 18:14; Lev. 27:28, 29); and hence the idea of exterminating connected with the word. The Hebrew verb (haram) is frequently used of the extermination of idolatrous nations. It had a wide range of application. The anathema_ or _herem was a person or thing irrevocably devoted to God (Lev. 27:21, 28); and “none devoted shall be ransomed. He shall surely be put to death” (27:29). The word therefore carried the idea of devoted to destruction (Num. 21:2, 3; Josh. 6:17); and hence generally it meant a thing accursed. In Deut. 7:26 an idol is called a herem = anathema, a thing accursed. In the New Testament this word always implies execration. In some cases an individual denounces an anathema on himself unless certain conditions are fulfilled (Acts 23:12, 14, 21). “To call Jesus accursed” [anathema] (1 Cor. 12:3) is to pronounce him execrated or accursed. If any one preached another gospel, the apostle says, “let him be accursed” (Gal. 1:8, 9); i.e., let his conduct in so doing be accounted accursed. In Rom. 9:3, the expression “accursed” (anathema) from Christ, i.e., excluded from fellowship or alliance with Christ, has occasioned much difficulty. The apostle here does not speak of his wish as a possible thing. It is simply a vehement expression of feeling, showing how strong was his desire for the salvation of his people. The anathema in 1 Cor. 16:22 denotes simply that they who love not the Lord are rightly objects of loathing and execration to all holy beings; they are guilty of a crime that merits the severest condemnation; they are exposed to the just sentence of “everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord.”", "source": {"label": "Matthew Easton, Illustrated Bible Dictionary (1897)", "url": "/encyclopedia.html?ref=Anathema", "ref": "Anathema", "authority_tier": "external_aligned"}, "shelf": "dictionary", "box": "easton_concept_a_d", "bands": ["easton", "bible_dictionary", "concept"], "connections": [{"to_card_id": "card_n_ee545b228696", "relationship": "cites", "via_connection_card_id": "card_c_37d1f80c93fa"}], "author": "engine", "created_at": "2026-05-19T13:08:58.326824+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-05-19T19:50:29.313473+00:00", "visibility": "public", "lifecycle_stage": "public", "volatility": "permanent", "metrics": {"paperclips_count": 0, "helpful_count": 0, "not_helpful_count": 0, "cite_count": 2, "walks_through_count": 0, "flagged_count": 0}, "source_hash": "b6a3fef306e0826af1d57fd2d47a61742c28b94c0f2ca4eed1b89f5aa66fa836", "witnesses": [{"class": "manuscript_tradition", "label": "Original 1897 publication — Thomas Nelson, London", "ref": "Easton-1897"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "Project Gutenberg — Easton's Bible Dictionary", "url": "https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/45696", "ref": "PG-45696"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "Internet Archive — multiple scans", "url": "https://archive.org/details/eastonsillustra00east", "ref": "IA-Easton"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "CCEL — Easton's Bible Dictionary", "url": "https://www.ccel.org/e/easton/ebd/", "ref": "CCEL-Easton"}, {"class": "republication", "label": "Blue Letter Bible — searchable Easton's", "url": "https://www.blueletterbible.org/study/easton/", "ref": "BLB-Easton"}], "witness_status": "passed", "witness_status_reason": "5 witnesses across 2 independence classes: ['manuscript_tradition', 'republication']", "surface": "secular"}