Lexical Summary plastos: fabricated, false Original Word: πλαστός Strong's Exhaustive Concordance feigned. From plasso; moulded, i.e. (by implication) artificial or (figuratively) fictitious (false) -- feigned. see GREEK plasso HELPS Word-studies 4112 plastós – (from 4111 /plássō, "to mold by using clay, wax, etc.," which is the root of the English term, "plastic") – properly, shaped according to a mold (predesign); (figuratively) "made-up," fabricated, i.e. unrealistic ("forged" from something artificial); contrived. 4112 /plastós ("plastic, fabricated"), used only in 2 Pet 2:3, refers to "words molded at will to suit their vain imaginations" (M. Vincent). That is, "fabricated words from 4111 (plássō), 'to mould,' as in clay or wax. The idea is, therefore, of words moulded at will to suit their vain imaginations" (WS, 329). These are spun by a "pretender" (i.e. someone not authentic). [In the papyri, plastos means, "forged " (P Oxy II. 237.viii.14, NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom plassó Definition formed, molded NASB Translation false (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 4112: πλαστόςπλαστός, πλαστη, πλαστον (πλάσσω); 1. properly, moulded, formed, as from clay, wax, stone (Hesiod, Plato, Aristotle, Plutarch, others). 2. tropically, feigned: 2 Peter 2:3 ((Herodotus 1, 68), Euripides, Xenophon, Lucian, others). The adjective πλάστος appears only once in the New Testament—2 Peter 2:3—where the apostle warns that “in their greed, these false teachers will exploit you with fabricated stories; their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping” (Berean Standard Bible). The word describes narratives that are molded or engineered for the purpose of deception, contrasting sharply with the apostolic eyewitness testimony affirmed in 2 Peter 1:16. Thematic Significance 1. Deception versus Revelation: πλάστος underscores the moral divide between truth revealed by God and inventions produced by human cunning. It is the antithesis of 2 Peter 1:21, where prophecy is said to come “not by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Historical Background Peter’s epistle was likely composed near the end of his life, amid rising threats from itinerant teachers blending elements of Greek sophistry and early Gnostic speculation. Such figures promised spiritual liberty while denying future judgment (2 Peter 3:3-4). Their “fabricated stories” may have included myths that downplayed moral restraint or reinterpreted the parousia. Within a generation, similar heresies were confronted by Jude (Jude 4-13) and later by Irenaeus in Against Heresies. Implications for Ministry • Doctrinal Discernment: Church leaders must distinguish between apostolic doctrine and cleverly packaged alternatives. Training in Scripture and historical theology equips believers to recognize πλάστος narratives. Applicational Reflections Believers today encounter modern equivalents of πλάστος tales—prosperity gospels, revisionist moralities, and speculative eschatologies. Peter’s lone but potent usage of the term summons the church to uphold the “faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3), trusting that the unadulterated word of God “abides forever” (1 Peter 1:25) while every forged alternative ultimately collapses under the weight of divine truth. |
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