Bible Lexicons

ἀφ -ορμή , -ῆς , ἡ ,

[in LXX: Ezekiel 5:7 (H1995), Proverbs 9:9, 3 Maccabees 3:2*;]

prop., a starting point; in war, a base of operations; metaph., an occasion, incentive, opportunity (MM, s.v.): 2 Corinthians 11:12, Galatians 5:13; ἀφ . λαμβάνειν , Luke 11:24, WH, mg., Romans 7:8; Romans 7:11; ἀφ . διδόναι , 2 Corinthians 5:12, 1 Timothy 5:14.*

This Pauline word is well established in the vernacular with meanings varying from ";incitement"; or ";prompting"; (P Oxy II. 237vii. 21, A.D. 186, ἐκ μη [τ ]ρὸς ἀφορμῆς ) to the more ordinary ";occasion"; or ";opportunity."; Thus the edict of an Eparch of Egypt, P Oxy I. 34 iii. 12 ff. (A.D. 127) runs τοὺ [ς ] διὰ ἀπειθίαν κ [αὶ ] ὡς ἀφορμὴν ζητοῦντας ἁμαρτημάτω [ν ] τειμωρήσομαι (see under ἀπείθεια ). So in Caracalla’s edict (A.D. 215), P Giss I. 40ii. 11 ἵνα μ [ὴ ] π [αρ᾽ α ]ὐτοῖς ἢ δειλίας αἰτία ἢ παρὰ το [ῖ ]ς κα ̣κοήθεσιν ἐπηρ [ε ]ίας ἀφορμὴ ὑπολειφθῇ . The last clause recalls Romans 7:8, and other passages where ἀφορμή and ἁμαρτία are brought together. (Ζητεῖν ἀφορμήν is a Western reading in Luke 11:54 ). See also BGU II. 615.6 (ii/A.D.) ἀφορμὴν εύρών (l. εὑροῦσα )—a daughter ";finds an opportunity"; to write to her father, ib. 632.11 (ii/A.D.) καὶ ᾽γὼ διὰ πᾶσαν ἀφορμὴν ο [ὐ ]χ ὀκνῶ σοι γράψαι περὶ τῆ [ς ] σωτηρίας μου καὶ τῶν ἐμῶν , ";and on every opportunity I do not delay to write you regarding the health of myself and of mine,"; ib. III. 923.22 (i/ii A.D.) καλῶς οὖν ποιήσεις , ἐ ̣ὰν ̣ εὕρῃς ἀφορμὴ [ν ] δ ̣ι ̣α ̣γ ̣ρ ̣αψάμενος κτλ ., P Strass I. 22.20 f. (iii/A.D.) ἔχοντός τινος ἀφορμὴν κἂν βραχεῖαν δικαίαν κατοχῆς , ";if any one has a just occasion of possession for however brief a period,"; and from the inscriptions Priene 105.12 (c. B.C. 9) ὄ ]φελος ε ̣ὐτυχεστέρα [ς λάβοι ] ἀφορμάς , and .16 ἵνα ἀφορμὴ γένοιτο τῆς εἰς τὸν Σεβαστὸν τειμῆς . The more literal sense of the word is seen in the iv/A.D. letter P Amh II. 143.14 ff. μὴ θελήσῃς οὖν , κύριε , μῖνε (= μεῖναι ) ἐκτὸς ἡμῶν αὔριον διὰ τὴν ἀφορμὴν τοῦ ὕδατος εἵνα δυνηθῶμεν ποτίσαι τ [ὸ ]ν μέγαν κλῆρον , ";so please, sir, do not stay away from us to-morrow, because of the flow of water, so that we may be able to irrigate the large holding"; (Edd.). It is common in Vettius, esp. with πράξεως or πραγμάτων : thus p. 238.2 περὶ τὰς πράξεις καὶ βιωτικὰς ἀφορμάς . An apparently new verb ἀφορμάζεται is found in the late P Lond IV. 1360.7 (A.D. 710), in the sense of ";make excuses"; (Ed.). In MGr the noun means ";occasion, cause.";