The Greek word alazon

Found just twice in the New Testament (Rom. 1:30; 2 Tim. 3:2), the Greek noun “alazon” described a “boaster.”

As discussed in this writer’s commentary on Romans 1:29-31, a “man guilty of this sin boasts of trade deals which exist only in his imagination, of connections with influential people which do not exist at all, of gifts to charities and public services which he never gave or rendered. He says about the house he lives in it is really too small for him, and that he must buy a bigger one. The braggart is out to impress others—and the world is still full of such people” (Barclay, Romans, p. 31).

In Rom. 1:30 Paul used this term to describe the past; in 2 Tim. 3:2, this same writer used this word to describe a future time.

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