Guilty (liable to, subject to , deserving of) (1777) (enochos from enécho = to hold in, i.e., to ensnare, to be entangled - Gal 5:1) literally means held fast in (in the grasp, held in, contained in) and is an adjective describing one "in danger of," "liable to judgment and punishment in a legal forensic sense" (Mt 5:21), or "deserving (worthy) of (and subject to punishment)" (describing the crowd's antipathy toward Jesus = Mt 26:66, Mk 14:64). To be held fast, bound, obliged. Mt 5:21 - Shall be liable to the court - Literally "Shall be in danger of judgment" Enochos means being guilty of having done wrong and thus deserving some particular penalty. It describes deeds that were open to judicial indictment (cf. Mt 5:21, 22; 26:66; Mk 3:29; 14:64; Jas 2:10). Enochos is primarily a legal term - liable to a charge or action at law or in court. Enochos conveys a spiritual It also has a spiritual sense in 1Co. 11:27, where those who partake of the Lord’s Supper in an unworthy way are deemed “guilty” of despising the body and blood of the Lord. In Heb 2:15 the idea of enochos is to be subject to (placed under the authority or control of) bondage (cp root word enecho = to ensnare). Balz - enochos has the basic meaning held in something, in the ?fig.? sense subjected, exposed, subject to. It is most often used forensically: guilty, liable. (Exegetical dictionary of the New Testament) Webster on guilty - justly chargeable with or responsible for a usually grave breach of conduct or a crime; deserving reproach or punishment. Guilty implies responsibility for or consciousness of crime, sin, or, at the least, grave error or misdoing. In Numbers 35:31 enochos describes "a murderer who is guilty of death (Lxx = enochos)." In Genesis 26:11 "Abimelech charged all the people, saying, "He who touches this man or his wife shall surely be put to death (Lxx = thanatos [death] + enochos = "liable to death")." B H Carroll notes that "in danger of expresses a mere liability which may be averted, while guilty of expresses a positive, settled transaction." (Interpretation of the English Bible) Vine - enochos is literally "held in, contained in" (en, "in," echo, "to have, hold"), hence, "bound under obligation to, liable to (liable to a charge or action at law), subject to," is used in the sense of being in "danger" of the penal effect of a misdeed, i.e., in a forensic sense, signifying the connection of a person with (a) his crime, "guilty of an eternal sin," Mk 3:29; (b) the trial or tribunal, as a result of which sentence is passed, Mt 5:21,22 , "the judgment," "the council;" enochos here has the obsolete sense of control (J. Hastings); (c) the penalty itself, Mt 5:22, "the hell of fire," and, with the translation "worthy" ("guilty"), of the punishment determined to be inflicted on Christ, Mt 26:66; Mk 14:64 , "death;" (d) the person or thing against whom or which the offense is committed, 1Cor 11:27 , "guilty," the crime being against "the body and blood of the Lord;" Jas 2:10 , "guilty" of an offense against all the Law, because of a breach of one commandment. Apart from the forensic sense, this adjective is used of the thing by which one is bound, "subject to" (held in, bound by) bondage, in Heb 2:15 . (Danger, Dangerous - Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words) Thayer on enochos - one who is held in anything, so that he cannot escape; bound, under obligation, subject to, liable: with the genitive of the thing by which one is bound (douleias - Heb 2:15). Enochos is used of one who is held by, possessed with, love and zeal for anything. As in Greek writings, chiefly in a forensic sense, denoting the connection of a person either with his crime, or with the penalty or trial, or with that against whom or which he has offended; so a. absolutely guilty, worthy of punishment: Lev 20:9,11,13,16,27. Friberg - enochos is literally held fast in, caught in; (1) of spiritual bondage subject to, held in, under the control of (Heb 2.15); (2) as a legal technical term, with the genitive denoting the guilt or punishment guilty of (Mk 3.29); liable to, answerable to (Mt 5.22); deserving of (Mt 5.22; 26.66); (3) with the genitive denoting what one has transgressed against guilty of doing wrong against (1Cor 11.27); of law guilty of violating or disobeying (James 2.10). (Analytical Lexicon) BDAG - (1). pertaining to being held in or constrained = subject to (Heb 2:15). (2) Pertaining to being required to give an account for something held against one = liable, answerable, guilty. Abbott-Smith - 1. held in, bound by: c. gen. (cl. c. dat.), δουλε?ας, He 2:15. 2. In law-phrases; (a) liable to a charge or action (cl. c. dat., of crime): c. dat., of the tribunal (MM, Exp., xiii), Mt 5:21, 22; seq. εiς (Field, Notes, 4 f.), ib. 22; (b) c. gen., of the punishment (Ge 26:11): θαν?του, Mt 26:66, Mk 14:64; (c) c. gen. (cl. c. dat., rarely c. prep.; MM, Exp., xiii), of the crime (2 Mac 13:6): Mk 3:29; (d) c. gen., of the thing injured, guilty (absol., in cl.): 1 Co 11:27, Ja 2:10 (cf. Is 54:17; DB, ii, 268a). (A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament) NIDNTT - Greek literature has the adjective enochos, derived from enecho (Pindar), meaning to hold fast; pass., to be held fast, be subject to (Plato, Xenophon, Isocrates). It is frequently used as a technical legal term: a person is made liable, or subject to a certain penalty under the law. The forum (law court, laws, men or gods) before which he is guilty or liable is usually referred to in the dative. The Septuagint has enochos 21 times in the same sense as secular Greek. The term is used in the LXX chiefly to refer to a person who is condemned to → death because of an action incurring blood-guilt. Enochos - 10x in 8v - The NAS renders it as deserving(2), guilty(6), liable to(1), subject to(1). Matthew 5:21 "You have heard that the ancients were told, 'YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT MURDER ' and 'Whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court.' 22 "But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. NIDNTT comments - Here, in a threefold progression, the respective courts before which a lawbreaker is arraigned are referred to in the dative: krisis, local court; synedrion, supreme national court; gehenna, → hell (the place of punishment is named at once in the accusative instead of the supreme judge). The lesser or greater degree of guilt is reflected in the nature of the court and the severity of the punishment involved. Matthew 26:66 what do you think?" They answered, "He deserves death!" A T Robertson - Held in the bonds of death (enochos = en + echo) as actually guilty with the genitive (thanatou). The dative expresses liability as in Mt 5:21 (tei krisei) and as eis and the accusative (Mt. 5:22). They took the vote though it was at night and they no longer had the power of death since the Romans took it away from them. Death was the penalty of blasphemy (Lev. 24:15). But they enjoyed taking it as their answer to his unanswerable speeches in the temple that dreadful Tuesday a few days before. It was unanimous save that Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus did not agree. They were probably absent and not even invited as being under suspicion for being secret disciples of Christ. (Word Pictures in the New Testament) Mark 3:29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin "-- Ralph Earle on enochos in this passage - It is more than "in danger of." The one who "blasphemes against the Holy Spirit"—that is, attributes to Satan the gracious work of the Holy Spirit (see vv. 22, 30)—is already "caught" (the force of the adjective) and found guilty. (Word Meanings in the New Testament) Mark 14:64 "You have heard the blasphemy; how does it seem to you?" And they all condemned Him to be deserving of death. 1 Corinthians 11:27 Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner, shall be guilty of the body and the blood of the Lord. Comment: Paul declares that "if any individual, at any time, would eat of the bread and drink of the cup of the Lord without being conscious that these elements represent the body and the blood of the Lord Jesus Who was crucified for his sins, he implicates himself as an offender." (Zodhiates) W E Vine: The word enochos, “guilty,” means liable to the penal effect of (a deed); here it marks the guilt as being in respect of the body and blood of the Lord, that is, of being involved in the guilt of His death. This shows the solemnity of unduly regarding the privilege of partaking of the Lord’s Supper, inasmuch as we thereby mar the character of that which gives proof of the absolute holiness of God. (Collected writings of W. E. Vine) Garland: To eat the Lord’s Supper in a manner that violates its purpose to proclaim the Lord’s death makes one “liable” (enochos) for the death of the Lord. “Liable” is a judicial term (cf. Mark 14:64; 2 Macc. 13:6), which means that the Corinthians are answerable to God, the final judge, for this abuse. They become “responsible for his body and his blood” (Engberg-Pedersen 1993: 119–20)—that is, they are chargeable for his death. Paul’s logic is this: The Lord’s Supper proclaims the Lord’s death. Those whose behavior at the Lord’s Supper does not conform to what that death entails effectively shift sides. They leave the Lord’s side and align themselves with the rulers of this present age who crucified the Lord (1 Cor. 2:8; cf. Heb. 6:5). This explains how they make themselves so vulnerable to God’s judgment. (1 Corinthians. Baker exegetical commentary on the New Testament) Steve Lewis - Enochos means "subject to or liable to something, especially liable to a penalty or a punishment." By coming to the Lord's Supper in the way that the Corinthians were doing it, they were actually incurring punishment from the Lord for failing to give due weight to this serious occasion of remembrance. They were making no distinction between the Lord's Supper and a common supper or festival. (1 Corinthians Commentary) Hebrews 2:15 and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives. Comment: The only passage in the NT in which ?νοχος appears with neither connotations of judicial language nor a ?fig.? meaning is Heb 2:15; there ?νοχος is, to be sure, in a context in which it has a negative meaning (“held in slavery”); the slavery springs from the fear of death. Jesus has broken the power of death, whose lord is the devil, for he was like mankind and went through suffering and death. Through the sacrificial death of Jesus the high priest, the power of Satan and of death is conclusively defeated and mankind is redeemed. (Exegetical dictionary of the New Testament) James 2:10 For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty (accountable) of all. Zodhiates - (Enochos in this context means) Bound by sin or guilt, guilty of sin and consequently obliged to punishment on that account (James 2:10). NIDNTT - Every single sin, however insignificant it may appear to be, makes the doer “totally guilty”, and therefore liable to → judgment. A T Robertson - There is Talmudic parallel: “If a man do all, but omit one, he is guilty for all and each.” This is a pertinent principle also for those who try to save themselves. But James is urging obedience to all God’s laws. Doerksen - “Guilty” (enochos) means “in the power of.” The sinner is brought under the controlling power of the whole law. The verb “has become” is in the perfect tense, denoting a continuing situation or state; he stands guilty. That does not mean that the individual has broken every law, or that some violations are not as serious as others, but it does mean that the one who breaks the law, any part of the law, is before the law condemned. (James . Chicago, IL: Moody Press) Enochos - 16v in the Septuagint - Ge 26:11; Ex 22:3; 34:7; Lev 20:9, 11-13, 16, 27; Nu 14:18; 35:27, 31; Dt 19:10; Josh 2:19; Job 15:5; Isa 54:17 Enochos is used several times to translate the phrase "bloodguiltiness" (Ex 22:3, Lev 20:9, 11-13, 16, 27). Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary -This word appears from the time of Aristotle (Fourth Century B.C.) and means “held in, bound by, connected with.” During that same time period Plato used this word as a legal term meaning “liable to, subject to.” The Septuagint makes special use of enochos to translate several Hebrew constructions of dam (blood). Usually dam is translated in the Septuagint by haima (blood) which can also mean “bloody deed, murder, blood line, blood relationship.” It is this nuance of “blood guilt,” i.e., guilt in relationship, that connects dam with enochos, intensifying both the cause and state of “guilt” (Ex 22:3; Lev 20:9; Nu 35:27). A person is responsible to something and that responsibility has been transgressed, thus the person is enochos of the consequences. (See Kedar-Kopfstein, “dam,” Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, 3:236ff.)