The term "wittingly" refers to an action done with full awareness, intention, or knowledge. In the context of the Bible, it implies a deliberate or conscious decision, often with moral or ethical implications. The concept of acting wittingly is significant in understanding human responsibility and accountability before God.

Biblical Usage and Context

The word "wittingly" is not frequently used in the Bible, but the concept is present throughout Scripture. It is often associated with intentional sin or deliberate actions that reflect one's heart and mind. The idea is that individuals are accountable for actions they knowingly commit, as opposed to sins of ignorance.

Old Testament References

In the Old Testament, the concept of acting wittingly is often contrasted with unintentional sins. For example, in Leviticus 4, the law provides instructions for offerings to atone for unintentional sins, highlighting the difference between sins committed knowingly and those done in ignorance. Numbers 15:30-31 states, "But the person who sins defiantly, whether native or foreigner, blasphemes the LORD. That person shall be cut off from his people. He has despised the word of the LORD and broken His commandment; that person shall be completely cut off; his guilt shall remain on him." This passage underscores the severity of deliberate sin, emphasizing the conscious choice to defy God's commandments.

New Testament Insights

In the New Testament, the concept of wittingly committing sin is addressed in the context of willful disobedience and the rejection of truth. Hebrews 10:26-27 warns, "If we deliberately go on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no further sacrifice for sins remains, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume all adversaries." This passage highlights the grave consequences of knowingly rejecting the grace and truth offered through Christ.

Moral and Ethical Implications

From a moral and ethical standpoint, acting wittingly involves a conscious decision to either align with or oppose God's will. The Bible consistently calls believers to live with integrity and intentionality, making choices that reflect their faith and commitment to God's commandments. The call to live wittingly in righteousness is echoed in passages like James 4:17 , which states, "Therefore, whoever knows the right thing to do, yet fails to do it, is guilty of sin."

Theological Considerations

Theologically, the concept of wittingly acting in sin raises questions about free will, human responsibility, and divine justice. Scripture affirms that individuals are endowed with the ability to choose, and with that ability comes the responsibility to choose rightly. The deliberate choice to sin is seen as a rejection of God's authority and love, warranting divine judgment.

In summary, the concept of acting wittingly in the Bible underscores the importance of intentionality in one's actions and the moral responsibility that comes with knowledge and awareness. It serves as a reminder of the call to live in obedience to God, fully aware of the implications of one's choices.(adv.) Knowingly; with knowledge; by design.1847. daath -- knowledge
... cunning, ignorantly, knowledge, unawares wittingly. From yada'; knowledge -- cunning,
(ig-)norantly, know(-ledge), (un-)awares (wittingly). see HEBREW yada'. ...
/hebrew/1847.htm - 6k

7919. sakal -- to be prudent
... ly), (give) skill(-ful), have good success, teach, (have, make to) understand(-ing),
wisdom, (be, behave self, consider, make) wise(- ly), guide wittingly. ...
/hebrew/7919.htm - 5k

"And Where," He Says, "Is the Word that I Added...
... Book III. Chapter. 31. " 36. "And where," he says, "is the word that I added? "36.
"And where," he says, "is the word that I added, wittingly?so that I ...
/.../writings in connection with the donatist controversy /chapter 31 36 and.htm

Of Lies are Many Sorts, which Indeed All...
... Be it far from us, that the blasphemies of the ignorant we by wittingly blaspheming
should overcome: far from us, that the evils of deceitful men we by ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/against lying/section 4 of lies are.htm

Book I.
... in one plan with better. God, who art loved, wittingly or unwittingly,
by everything that is capable of loving. God, in whom are ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/two books of soliloquies/book i.htm

Of the Apostle's Meaning in 1 Cor. vii. 12-14.
... to marry even unbelievers. God forbid that he who thus interprets (the passage)
be wittingly ensnaring himself! But it is manifest ...
/.../tertullian/to his wife/chapter ii of the apostles meaning.htm

A Cloud of Witnesses.
... By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau; and Jacob, dying in a strange land, blessed
the sons of Joseph, distinguishing wittingly, and bestowing on each[289] his ...
/.../the expositors bible the epistle to the hebrews/chapter xiii a cloud of.htm

The Life of St. Patrick
... The king had supposed that St. Patrick had done it wittingly, for to move him
the sooner to patience and to the faith of God, but when St. ...
/.../wells/bible stories and religious classics/the life of st patrick.htm

That in the Time of this Work the Remembrance of the Holiest ...
... thee, and maketh thee inasmuch more unable to feel in experience the fruit of His
love, what trowest thou then that a remembrance wittingly and wilfully drawn ...
/.../anonymous/the cloud of unknowing/here beginneth the ninth chapter.htm

Because to Make Our Rapture Dependent Upon Anything in us is to ...
... theory with intentionally doing this, nay we are fully satisfied that most if not
all of them would shrink back in horror from wittingly committing such a sin. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/pink/the redeemers return/3 because to make our.htm

(Of those who have Intercourse with Excommunicated Persons, or ...
... with such in speech, or in eating or drinking, or in the salutation with the kiss,
nor let him greet such; because, whosoever wittingly holds intercourse with ...
//christianbookshelf.org/unknown/the decretals/ii of those who have.htm

Prologue
... life. And yet they are proud and wittingly and willingly disobedient to
God and the law and the Holy Church and every virtue. And ...
/.../john/the adornment of the spritual marriage/prologue 4.htm

Wittingly (1 Occurrence)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (adv.) Knowingly; with knowledge; by design.
Multi-Version Concordance Wittingly (1 Occurrence). Genesis ...
/w/wittingly.htm - 6k

Witty (1 Occurrence)
... "Wittingly" occurs in Genesis 48:14 (sakhal, "act intelligently"). Burton Scott
Easton. WITTY. See WIST, WITTY, WOT. Multi-Version Concordance ...
/w/witty.htm - 10k

Wit's (1 Occurrence)

/w/wit's.htm - 6k

Wist (13 Occurrences)
... "Wittingly" occurs in Genesis 48:14 (sakhal, "act intelligently"). Burton Scott
Easton. Multi-Version Concordance Wist (13 Occurrences). ...
/w/wist.htm - 14k

Wot (10 Occurrences)
... "Wittingly" occurs in Genesis 48:14 (sakhal, "act intelligently"). Burton Scott
Easton. WOT. See WIST; WITTY; WOT. Multi-Version Concordance Wot (10 Occurrences ...
/w/wot.htm - 13k

Ephraim (168 Occurrences)
... should be placed on the head of the elder of the two; but Jacob set Ephraim the
younger before his brother, "guiding his hands wittingly." Before Joseph's death ...
/e/ephraim.htm - 56k

Manas'seh (123 Occurrences)
... out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his
left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was ...
/m/manas'seh.htm - 35k

First-born (110 Occurrences)
... out his right hand, and laid it upon Ephraim's head, who was the younger, and his
left hand upon Manasseh's head, guiding his hands wittingly; for Manasseh was ...
/f/first-born.htm - 41k

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