Does the Greek word anēr mean man (adult male) or male (male of any age)?

Does the Greek word anēr mean man (adult male) or male (male of any age)?

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Bible verse

14 And increasingly believers in the Lord, large numbers of men (ἀνήρ, G435) and women, were being added to their number, (Acts 5:14, NASB20)

(Greek word study for anēr [ἀνήρ, G435])

The best Greek dictionaries define anēr (ἀνήρ – G435) as a man (an adult male human being).

New International Dictionary of New Testament Theology and Exegesis (NIDNTTE)

ἀνήρ G467 (aner), man, husband; άνδρίζομαι G437 (andrizomai), to behave in a manly way, be courageous.

Theological Dictionary of the New Testament (TDNT)

The word is common as the general designation of a man with adjectives and substantives denoting the function, e.g., ἀνὴρ μάντις, but also ἄνδρες λῃσταί.

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (BDAG)

ἀνήρ, ά,νδρός, ό (Hom.+, common in all the mngs. known to our lit. and LXX) man.

Strong’s Greek Dictionary

ἀνήρ anḗr, an’-ayr; a primary word (compare G444); a man (properly as an individual male):—fellow, husband, man, sir.

Others however seem to include males of any age (men and boys).

Bill Mounce Greek Dictionary

Gloss: man, male, husband; usually an adult male, but in some contexts the emphasis is on maturity rather than gender

Thayer’s Greek Lexicon

ἀνήρ, ἀνδρός, ὁ, a man, Latin vir. The meanings of this word in the N.
T. differ in no respect from classic usage; for it is employed

  1. with a reference to sex, and so to distinguish a man from a woman; either
  • a. as a male
  • b. as a husband
  1. with a reference to age, and to distinguish an adult man from a boy.
  2. universally, any male person, a man
  3. when persons of either sex are included, but named after the more important.

Which is an accurate definition of anēr (ἀνήρ, G435): man (adult male) or male (male of any age)?

1 Comment

  • Reply March 17, 2024

    Troy Day

    tell us Link Hudson @followers Philip Williams Peter Vandever

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