ἐλεύθερος

ἐλεύθερος — eleútheros

ἐλεύθερος, ἐλευθέρα, ἐλεύθερον (ἘΛΑΥΘΩ equivalent to ἔρχομαι (so Curtius, p. 497, after Etym. Magn. 329, 43; Suidas col. 1202 a., Gaisf. edition; but others besides, cf. Vanicek, p. 61); hence, properly, one who can go whither he pleases) (from Homer down), the Sept. for חָפְשִׁי, free;

1. freeborn; in a civil sense, one who is not a slave: Joh 8:33; 1Co 7:22; 1Co 12:13; Gal 3:28; Eph 6:8; Col 3:11; Rev 6:15; Rev 13:16; Rev 19:18; feminine, Galatians 4:22f, 30f. (opposed to ἡ παιδίσκη); of one who ceases to be a slave, freed, manumitted: γίνεσθαι ἐλεύθερον, 1Co 7:21.

2. free, exempt, unrestrained, not bound by an obligation: 1Co 9:1; ἐκ πάντων (see ἐκ, I. 6 at the end), 1Co 9:19; ἀπό τίνος, free from i. e. no longer under obligation to, so that one may now do what was formerly forbidden by the person or thing to which he was bound, Rom 7:3 (cf. Winers Grammar, 196f (185); Buttmann, 157f (138), 269 (231)); followed by an infinitive (Winers Grammar, 319 (299); Buttmann, 260 (224)), ἐλευθέρα ἐστιν... γαμηθῆναι she is free to be married, has liberty to marry, 1Co 7:39; exempt from paying tribute or tax, Mat 17:26.

3. in an ethical sense: free from the yoke of the Mosaic law, Gal 4:26; 1Pe 2:16; from the bondage of sin, Joh 8:36; left to one's own will and pleasure, with the dative of respect, τῇ δικαιοσύνη, so far as relates to righteousness, as respects righteousness, Rom 6:20 (Winers Grammar, § 31, 1 k.; Buttmann, § 133, 12).