🔼The name Philetus: Summary
- Meaning
- Beloved
- Etymology
- From the verb φιλεω (phileo), to love.
🔼The name Philetus in the Bible
The name Philetus occurs only once in the Bible, namely in 2 Timothy 2:17, where he is mentioned as one of two men who opposed Paul, specifically by saying that "the resurrection has already taken place" (2:18). The other so preaching scoundrel is called Hymenaeus, whom Paul also mentions in 1 Timothy 1:20, along with one Alexander.
The reader may intuitively surmise that Philetus, Hymenaeus and Alexander were individuals and wandering sages, but this is obviously not the case. Like Paul, these men most probably personified or spearheaded full-fledged movements or schools of thought.
🔼Etymology of the name Philetus
The name Philetus comes from the verb φιλεω (phileo), meaning to love or appreciate:
φιλος φιλεω
The verb φιλεω (phileo) means to love, and the adjective φιλος (philos) means beloved or friend. To be more exact: these words describe a deliberately pursued synchronicity mostly between specific persons. This pursued synchronicity has not so much to do with feelings but with a state of alignment, co-existence, or even symbiosis.
The noun φιλημα (philema) may mean kiss or hug or any such expression of affection.
🔼Philetus meaning
For a meaning of the name Philetus, Spiros Zodhiates (The Complete Wordstudy Dictionary) reads Beloved. NOBSE Study Bible Name List has Worthy Of Love.