“1 Timothy 6:10 — the three Greek words the popular version drops”

Companion entry — focused on the Greek

This entry is a deep-dive into the three specific Greek words that change the popular version money is the root of all evil. For the broader treatment — the verse in context, the surrounding 1 Timothy passage, the historical reception of the saying — see our entry on money is the root of all evil. This entry focuses specifically on the three Greek distinctions the compression loses.

The Greek of 1 Timothy 6:10

Riza gar pantōn tōn kakōn estin hē philarguria, hēs tines oregomenoi apeplanēthēsan apo tēs pisteōs kai heautous periepeiran odynais pollais.

Word-by-word, the opening clause: Riza (a root) gar (for) pantōn tōn kakōn (of all the evils) estin (is) hē philarguria (the love-of-silver).

Word-for-word English: For a root of all the evils is the love-of-silver.

Three things in the Greek that the popular English compression drops.

Distinction 1 — Philarguria: love of money, not money

The Greek subject of the sentence is hē philarguria (φιλαργυρία) — the love of silver, the love of money. The word is a compound:

• philos (φίλος) — loving, fond of, attached to
• argyros (ἄργυρος) — silver

In the ancient world argyros (silver) was the standard word for money — money was minted silver coinage. The compound philarguria names the love of money, avarice, greed for wealth — a disposition, an orientation, a desire — not money itself.

BDAG s.v. philarguria: love of money, avarice. The word names what we would call greed in modern English usage.

The popular saying money is the root of all evil names money itself as the source. The Greek names a specific disposition toward money. The shift is fundamental. Money is neutral; the disposition toward money is what Paul addresses. The compression changes the subject of the sentence from a disposition to an object.

Distinction 2 — Riza: a root, not the root

The Greek noun is riza (ῥίζα) — a root. The noun is feminine, singular, and anarthrous — without the definite article. In Greek grammar an anarthrous noun in this position is read most naturally as indefinite. The verse says philarguria is a root of all kinds of evil — not the only root, not the unique root, but one source among possible others.

This matters because the root would make philarguria the single, exclusive source of all evil. A root makes it one significant source among many. The verse identifies a major source of moral failure; it does not claim that all evil traces back to this one source.

The KJV’s the root of all evil uses the in English where the Greek has no article — partly because English idiom sometimes inserts the before abstract nouns where Greek omits it. The BSB, NIV, NRSV, and ESV all render the verse with a root to capture the Greek more closely.

Distinction 3 — Pantōn kakōn: all kinds of evil, not all evil that exists

The phrase pantōn tōn kakōn — of all the evils — is the genitive plural with the definite article. The English all kinds of evil (BSB, NIV) reflects the idiomatic Greek sense: the phrase refers to every kind of evil, evils of every sort, rather than to the entirety of all evil that exists.

The Greek pas (πᾶς, all/every) with the definite article in plural can mean either the totality of or every kind of depending on context. With abstract or moral categories — as here — the every kind of reading is usually preferred by Greek scholars and modern translators. Paul is saying that the love of money is a source of every kind of evil — meaning a source that produces evils of many varieties — not that it is the sole cause of all evil that exists in the world.

The KJV’s the root of all evil could be read either way in English. All evil that exists is the more sweeping reading; evils of every kind is the more idiomatic reading. Modern translations almost universally use all kinds of evil or every kind of evil to disambiguate.

What all three distinctions add up to

Reading the three distinctions together:

• Money is the root of all evil — money causes every evil that exists
• The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil — a particular orientation toward money produces many varieties of evil

The two are not the same claim. The first is a sweeping condemnation of money as a medium. The second is a focused warning about a specific disposition that, when present, produces a wide range of damaging consequences. The verse is consistent with the rest of the chapter (1 Timothy 6:6-19), which warns against the desire to get rich (verse 9, bouletheōsi ploutein), against putting hope in wealth (verse 17), and which instructs Timothy to teach the wealthy to be generous and to do good (verses 17-18). The chapter is not anti-money; it is anti-philarguria.

The wider Pauline pattern

Paul’s pastoral concern about money in 1 Timothy is consistent with his other writings. He thanks the Philippians for their financial support (Philippians 4:14-19). He receives money for the Jerusalem collection (Romans 15:25-27, 2 Corinthians 8-9). He works himself as a tentmaker to avoid being a financial burden (1 Thessalonians 2:9, Acts 18:3). Paul’s relationship to money is practical and engaged — not the renunciation the popular version of 1 Timothy 6:10 might imply.

What the popular money is the root of all evil loses, in compressing the Greek, is precisely the disposition-focused, nuance-rich pastoral instruction Paul is actually giving. The verse warns against a specific spiritual disposition (philarguria) in clear terms; the popular version turns it into a general condemnation of money that the chapter itself does not support.