ἀμαθής

ἀγράμματος agrámmatos · G62 · uneducated, unlearned

Greek adjective denoting someone who is unlettered or illiterate; very close in sense to ἀμαθής (ignorant/unlearned), both describing lack of formal education or learning.

ἰδιώτης idiṓtēs · G2399 · layman, ordinary person, amateur

Greek noun describing a layperson or someone unskilled/unlearned in a particular field; overlaps with ἀμαθής in describing lack of specialized knowledge or training, though ἰδιώτης is a noun while ἰδιώτης is an adjective.

ἀνόητος anóētos · G453 · foolish, stupid, without understanding

Greek adjective describing someone who lacks understanding or is foolish; related to ἀμαθής in denoting lack of knowledge, though ἀνόητος emphasizes deficiency in intellect or sense rather than lack of formal education.

σοφός sophós · G4680 · skillful, expert, prudent

Greek adjective describing someone who is wise or learned; the direct opposite of ἀμαθής (ignorant/unlearned), contrasting wisdom and education with ignorance and lack of learning.

ἐπιστήμων epistḗmōn · G1990 · intelligent, insightful, understanding

Greek adjective denoting someone who is knowledgeable or expert; the opposite of ἀμαθής, contrasting expertise and knowledge with ignorance.

בַּעַר baʻar · H1198 · dull, stupid, coarse

Hebrew adjective/noun denoting someone who is brutish or ignorant, lacking understanding; a direct semantic equivalent to ἀμαθής in contexts describing lack of learning or knowledge.

פְּתִי pᵉthîy · H6612 · simpleton

Hebrew adjective describing someone who is simple or lacks knowledge and judgment; closely parallel to the ignorant/unlearned sense of ἀμαθής, though פֶּתִי may emphasize naivety rather than pure lack of education.

Uneducated, unlearned, ignorant27.24

In 2 Peter 3:16, Peter says that Paul's letters contain things “which the untaught (amatheĩs) and unstable distort... to their own destruction,” naming those who lack proper instruction.

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.