Spare (5339) (pheidomai) means to treat leniently, to forbear, to spare. To avoid or refrain from doing something. To save someone from trouble, loss or discomfort (2Co 1:21, 1Co 7:28, With a negative = Acts 20:29, Ro 8:32) To prevent trouble from happening to someone (e.g., see Lxx uses - Ge 19:16 where "put him outside the city" is translated with pheidomai = "the Lord spared him"!, Ge 20:6).
In the Septuagint (LXX) translation of the following OT passages pheidomai is repeatedly used to translate the phrase "shall not show pity" - Dt 7:16, 13:8, 19:13, 21, 25:12 (cp 1Sa 15:3). From these uses we see that pheidomai clearly is a tangible demonstration of showing pity.
Pheidomai - 10x - Acts 20:29; Ro 8:32; 11:21; 1Co 7:28; 2Cor 1:23; 12:6; 13:2; 2Pet 2:4, 5. NAS = refrain, 1; spare, 8; sparing, 1.
Pheidomai - 76x in the non-apocryphal Septuagint (LXX) - 9.16" class="scriptRef">16" class="scriptRef">Ge 19:16; 20:6; 22:12, 16; 45:20; Ex 2:6; Deut 7:16; 13.8" class="scriptRef">13:8; 19:13, 21" class="scriptRef">21; 25:12; 33:3; 1 Sam 15:3; 10" class="scriptRef">24:10; 2 Sam 12:4, 6; 18:5, 16; 21:7; 2 Kgs 5:20; 2 Chr 36:15, 17" class="scriptRef">17; Neh 13:22; Es 4:17; Job 6:10; 7:11; 16:5, 13; 20:13; 27:22; 30:10; 33:18; 42:3; Ps 19:13; 72:13; 78:50; Pr 6:34; 10:19; 13:24; 16:17; 17:27; 21:14; 24:11; Eccl 2:25; Isa 13:18; 14:6; 54:2; 58:1; 63:9; Jer 13:14; 14:10; 15:5; 17:17; 21:7; 50:14; 51:3; Lam 2:2, 17, 21; 3:43; Ezek 5:11; 7:4, 9; 8:18; 9:5, 10; 16:5; 20:17; 24:21; 36:21; Joel 2:17f; 3:16; Jonah 4:10f; Hab 1:17; Zech 11:6
Paul says for example that "I would like to spare you a great deal of trouble, by offering good advice about marriage" (paraphrase of 1Cor 7:28) Paul is saying that since marriage can involve conflicts, demands, difficulties, and adjustments that singleness does not, since marriage presses two fallen people into intimate life and this leads to inevitable “trouble.” The troubles of singleness may be exceeded by the conflicts of marriage. He wants to spare those who are single this "trouble".
Paul in making addressing the question "would God do less for His children than He did for His enemies?" records that
"He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all (the greatest exhibition of the love of God toward us), how will He not also with Him freely give (to bestow out of grace) us all things?" (see note Romans 8:32)
The Septuagint or LXX uses pheidomai in a parallel OT passage where God has asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac and who was willing to obey. The Lord declared to Abraham
"Do not stretch out your hand against the lad, and do nothing to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld (Lxx = pheidomai) your son, your only son, from Me.” (Ge 22:12) and later says
"By Myself I have sworn, declares the Lord, because you have done this thing, and have not withheld (Lxx = pheidomai) your son, your only son." (Ge 22:16)
Addressing the Gentiles in his letter to the Romans Paul teaches that
"if God did not spare (pheidomai) the natural branches, neither will He spare (pheidomai) you." (see note Romans 11:21)
The Gentiles should not expect to be spared if they sin against the truth of the gospel.
The ancient world describes the world before the Noachian flood. Clearly God did not refrain from judging and punishing them with the flood and death. This should serve as a warning and not some myth to be scoffed at as if it never happened!
(744) (archaios from arche = beginning) means old, expressing that which was from the beginning in contrast to palaiós (3820), old, as having existed a long period of time. Archaíos reaches back to a beginning, whenever that beginning may have been.
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