56. agnósia
Lexical Summary
agnósia: Ignorance, lack of knowledge

Original Word: ἀγνωσία
Part of Speech: Noun, Feminine
Transliteration: agnósia
Pronunciation: ag-no-see'-ah
Phonetic Spelling: (ag-no-see'-ah)
KJV: ignorance, not the knowledge
NASB: ignorance, no knowledge
Word Origin: [from G1 (α - Alpha) (as negative particle) and G1108 (γνῶσις - knowledge)]

1. ignorance
2. (properly) the state of ignorance

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
ignorance.

From a (as negative particle) and gnosis; ignorance (properly, the state) -- ignorance, not the knowledge.

see GREEK a

see GREEK gnosis

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from alpha (as a neg. prefix) and the same as ginóskó
Definition
ignorance
NASB Translation
ignorance (1), no knowledge (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 56: ἀγνωσία

ἀγνωσία, (ας, (γνῶσις), want of knowledge, ignorance: 1 Peter 2:15; 1 Corinthians 15:34 (Wis. 13:1).

Topical Lexicon
Overview

Strong’s Greek 56 portrays a condition of spiritual darkness in which a person lacks the true knowledge of God. Scripture consistently treats this absence of understanding as a moral failure that must be confronted by the light of divine revelation. Rather than describing an innocent limitation, the word exposes hearts that have turned from God’s truth and therefore need repentance and renewal.

Occurrences in the New Testament

1 Corinthians 15:34 and 1 Peter 2:15 are the only two places in which the term appears, yet those contexts anchor an entire biblical theology of ignorance.

Context in 1 Corinthians 15:34

The Corinthian congregation flirted with denial of the bodily resurrection. Paul commands them, “Sober up as you should, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God. I say this to your shame”. Their doctrinal error is traced to a practical estrangement from God. For Paul, ignorance functions as both diagnosis and rebuke: wrong belief and wrong living spring from the same root. Resurrection truth is set forth as the remedy because it re-centers believers on the power and holiness of God in Christ, motivating repentance from sinful habits and careless worship.

Context in 1 Peter 2:15

Peter writes, “For it is God’s will that by doing good you should silence the ignorance of foolish men”. Here the church faces slander from outsiders who misunderstand Christian allegiance to Christ as social subversion. The apostle neither excuses nor entertains that ignorance; instead, he calls believers to a winsome, visibly righteous life that exposes the groundlessness of hostile accusations. Obedient conduct functions apologetically, turning ignorance into an occasion for witness.

Old Testament Foundations

Hosea 4:6 declares, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge,” linking covenant unfaithfulness with ignorance. Proverbs 1:7 teaches that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, showing that true understanding is relational before it is intellectual. These motifs frame New Testament usage: ignorance is never neutral but always measured against revelation already given.

Hebraic and Greco-Roman Background

In the wider Greek world, intellectual “knowledge” (gnōsis) was prized, yet often detached from moral obligation. By contrast, biblical thought demands that knowing God transform character. When Paul and Peter employ the term, they confront both pagan speculation and any tendency within the church to divorce doctrine from obedience. Their choice of vocabulary therefore turns a culturally respected concept on its head, insisting that enlightenment begins, not ends, with submission to the Creator.

Theological Significance

1. Moral Accountability: Ignorance does not absolve guilt; it exposes it (Romans 1:18-23).
2. Revelation’s Necessity: Only the gospel can dispel darkness (2 Corinthians 4:4-6).
3. Sanctification: Growing in “the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 3:18) is the ongoing antidote.
4. Mission: The church is charged to proclaim Christ where darkness persists (Acts 26:17-18), recognizing that ignorance left unchallenged culminates in eternal loss.

Pastoral and Ministry Applications

• Catechize believers in core doctrines, especially the resurrection and lordship of Christ.
• Model credible holiness so that unbelievers observe “good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us” (1 Peter 2:12).
• Engage culture with patience, understanding that ignorance may be stubborn yet can be overcome through consistent gospel witness.
• Intercede for spiritual illumination, following Paul’s example in Ephesians 1:17-18.

Relation to Christ’s Teaching and Apostolic Mission

Jesus’ prayer on the cross, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34), identifies ignorance as a factor in sin while still requiring forgiveness. The apostles carry that perspective into mission: Acts 17:30 proclaims that God “now commands all people everywhere to repent” even though He previously “overlooked the times of ignorance.” Thus, the word serves the larger biblical narrative in which God’s redemptive initiative confronts and cures human blindness.

Conclusion

Strong’s Greek 56 signals more than a simple lack of information; it marks estrangement from God that invites judgment yet can be healed through the revelation of Jesus Christ. Whether correcting doctrinal error within the church or answering slander from without, the New Testament answers ignorance with truth proclaimed, lived, and embodied by a people who “walk in the light, as He is in the light” (1 John 1:7).

Forms and Transliterations
αγνωσία αγνωσιαν αγνωσίαν ἀγνωσίαν agnosian agnosían agnōsian agnōsían
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Englishman's Concordance
1 Corinthians 15:34 N-AFS
GRK: μὴ ἁμαρτάνετε ἀγνωσίαν γὰρ θεοῦ
NAS: have no knowledge of God.
KJV: have not the knowledge of God:
INT: not sin ignorance indeed of God

1 Peter 2:15 N-AFS
GRK: ἀφρόνων ἀνθρώπων ἀγνωσίαν
NAS: you may silence the ignorance of foolish
KJV: ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish
INT: of senseless men ignorance

Strong's Greek 56
2 Occurrences


ἀγνωσίαν — 2 Occ.

55
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