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good (טוב, tÌ£oÌ„bh, טוּב, tÌ£uÌ„bh, יטב, yaÌ„tÌ£abh; ἀγαθοÌÏ‚, agathoÌs, ἀγαθοÌν, agathoÌn, καλοÌÏ‚, kaloÌs, καλοÌν, kaloÌn): In English “good†is used in various senses, most of which are represented in the Bible.
(1) In the Old Testament the commonest word is tÌ£oÌ„bh, occurring very frequently and translated in a great variety of ways. Of the different shades of meaning, which frequently run into each other, the following may be distinguished: (a) Possessing desirable qualities, beneficial, agreeable, e.g. “good for food†(); “We will do thee good†(); Who will show us any good?†(); “good tidings of good†(). (b) Moral excellence, piety: “to know good and evil†(); “that which is right and good†(; ); “good and bad†(, the Revised Version (British and American) “evilâ€); “Depart from evil and do good†(); “a good man†(); compare ; , etc. (c) Kind, benevolent: “The men were very good unto us†(); “Give thanks unto Yahweh; for he is good†(); “the good Yahweh†(); “God is good to Israel†(); “Yahweh is good to all†(), etc. (d) Serviceable, adequate, sufficient: “saw the light that it was good†(; so , etc.); “not good that the man should be alone†(); in the frequent phrase, “if it seem good†(; , etc.), sometimes rendered, “if it please†(, ; , etc.). (e) Not small or deficient (full, complete): “a good old age†(Gen 15, 15; ); “a good dowry†(); “good ears,†“years,†“kine†(, , ); “good understanding†(); “good trees†- “land†(, ), etc. (f) Not blemished, fair, honorable: “tender and good†(); “good kids†(); “good report†(; compare ; ); and the renderings “fair†(, etc.), “beautiful†(), “pleasant†(), etc. (g) Pleasure-giving, happy: “glad of heart†(; ); sometimes in the King James Version and the Revised Version (British and American) translated “merry†(; ; ; , the Revised Version (British and American) “cheerfulâ€), etc.
Changes that may be noted in the Revised Version (British and American) are such as, “good†for “ready†(); “I have no good beyond thee†for “My goodness extendeth not to thee†(); “goodly†for “good†(); “good†for “goodness†(); “good†for “well†().
TÌ£uÌ„bh means something good, e.g. “the good of the land†(, ; ; , the Revised Version (British and American) “prosperityâ€).
Yāṭabh, “to do good,†occurs several times, as, I will surely do thee good†(); “to do good†(); “Make your ways and your doings good,†the Revised Version (British and American) “amend†(; , etc.).
Numerous other Hebrew words are rendered “good†in various verbal connections and otherwise, as “to bring good tidings†(; , etc.); “take good heed†(; ; ); “make good†(), etc.; “good will†(racoÌ„n, ; ); “what good?†the Revised Version (British and American) “what advantages?†(kishroÌ„n, ); “good for nothing,†the Revised Version (British and American) “profitable†(caÌ„leÌ„ahÌ£, ), etc. In , “as seemed good to the potter,†the word is yaÌ„hsaÌ„r, which means literally, “right.â€
(2) In the New Testament the words most frequently translated “good†are agathos and kalosÌŒ. The former, agathos, denotes good as a quality, physical or moral. Thus, “He maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good†(); “good gifts†(); “Good Master (the Revised Version (British and American) “Teacherâ€) ... Why callest thou me good? none is good save one†( f; f; compare ); “they that have done good†(). Sometimes it is equivalent to “kind†(thus the Revised Version (British and American)); to agathon is “that which is good†(; ; ; ), etc.; “that which is honest,†the Revised Version (British and American) “honorable†(); “meet†(; ); “worthy,†the Revised Version (British and American) “honorable†(); agathon is “a good thing,†as “good things to them that ask him†(); Can any good thing come out of Nazareth?†(), etc.; agathoergeÌoÌ„ (), and agathopoieÌoÌ„ (; ), etc., “to do good.â€
Kalos is properly, “beautiful,†“pleasing,†“useful,†“noble,†“worthy†in a moral sense, e.g. “that they may see your good works†(); “She hath wrought a good work on me†(; Mk 14, 6); “the good shepherd†(, ); “Many good works have I showed you†(); “good and acceptable before God†(; the Revised Version (British and American) omits “goodâ€); “the good fight†(); “good works†(); “the good word of God†(). But it is often practically equivalent to agathos, e.g. “good fruit†(); “good ground†(); “good seed†(); but the idea of useful may underlie such expressions; to kalon is properly “that which is beautiful.†It occurs in , ; , “Hold fast that which is good.†In Rom 7 it seems to be used interchangeably with to agathonÌŒ. In , “the good man†(ho agathos) is distinguished from “a righteous man†(dıÌkaios): “For the good man some one would even dare to die†(compare ; ; ); kalō̇s, “well,†“pleasantly,†is translated “good†(; ); kalodidaÌskalos (), “teachers of good things,†the Revised Version (British and American) “of that which is good.â€
“Good†occurs in the rendering of many other Greek words and phrases, as eudokıÌa, “good pleasure†(); “good will†(; ); sumpheÌroÌ„, “to bear together,†“not good to marry†(), the Revised Version (British and American) “expedientâ€; philaÌgathos, “a lover of good†(); chreÌ„stologıÌa, “good words†(, the Revised Version (British and American) “smooth speech,†etc.).
The following changes in the Revised Version (British and American) may be noted. In for “men of good will†(eudokia) the Revised Version (British and American) reads “in whom he is well pleased,†margin “good pleasure among men, Greek men of good pleasure.†The meaning is “men to whom God is drawing nigh in goodwill or acceptanceâ€; compare , “the acceptable year of the Lordâ€; , “Preach the good tidings of the kingdom of God.†In ; ; ; and (American Standard Revised Version) “the gospel†is changed into “good tidings.†In f; , , ; , good is substituted for “betterâ€; on the last passage in notes “Many authorities read 'better'â€; in “good ... rather†for “betterâ€; “good†is substituted in ; and for “gladâ€; in for “honestâ€; in for “a good thing.†In , all the good pleasure of his goodness†becomes “every desire of goodness†(m “Gr good pleasure of goodnessâ€); in , “good†(koÌsmios) becomes “orderly.†There are many other instances of like changes. See GOODNESS; GOOD, CHIEF.