ajeno = strange in dictionary, but why?
In reading the NVI version of the Bible, in Ephesians 2:12, the adjective "ajenos" is used. I didn't know this word, so I clicked into the dictionary here and I get the definitions as given below. The first and primary definition is "strange", yet there is not one example given that means "strange" to me. In every usage example I can find, it usually means "without" or "lacking" or something similar. Why would the primary definition be given as "strange"? If you look up "strange" in the English dictionary, there is no mention of "ajeno". In the context of Ephesians 2:12, it means "without", so I'm just wondering, why is the meaning given as "strange" in the dictionary? Thank you.
ajeno, -a adjective 1. of others (de otro)
* jugar en campo ajeno, -a -> to play away from home
(no relacionado)
- es un problema ajeno, -a a la sociedad de hoy -> it's a problem that no longer exists in today's society
- esto es ajeno, -a a nuestro departamento -> our department doesn't deal with that
- por causas ajenas a nuestra voluntad -> for reasons beyond our control
(no enterado, indiferente)
- era ajena a lo que estaba ocurriendo -> she had no knowledge of what was happening
Copyright © 2006 Chambers Harrap Publishers Limited
ajeno [ah-hay-no, nah] adjective 1. Another’s. 2. Foreign, strange. 3. Abhorrent, contrary to, remote. 4. Ignorant. 5. Improper. (Metaphorical)
* Ajeno de verdad -> void of truth
* Estar ajeno de sí -> to be unselfish, without self-love
* Estar ajeno de una cosa -> not to have heard a rumor
6 Answers
In the context of Ephesians 2:12, it means "without"
No, in Ephesians 2:12, it means strangers or foreigners.
Ephesians 2:12 (NIV)
remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world.
.
Efesios 2:12 (NVI)
recuerden que en ese entonces ustedes estaban separados de Cristo, excluidos de la ciudadanía de Israel y ajenos a los pactos de la promesa, sin esperanza y sin Dios en el mundo.
It has a passel of meanings, but they are all related...strange(r), remote, far off, alien, foreign(er).
He comes from a strange land = He comes from a remote or far-off land
He is an alien = He is a foreigner = He is a stranger to these parts
Jack,
Well I was wrong to imply that ajeno is a noun (I thought it could be a noun or an adjective in Spanish, but it is apparently only an adjective). 
However, it can be translated as a noun into English.
ajeno a algo => foreign/alien/strange to something => a foreigner/stranger to something
In my mind, to be without the covenant and to be a foreigner to the covenant are nearly equal concepts, aren't they? However, that doesn't mean that ajeno = without. And it also doesn't mean foreigner, either (I was wrong). It means foreign, far-off, remote or whatever. It's an adjective -- not a noun (foreigner) and not a preposition (without).
Even though ajeno doesn't mean either without or foreigner, I would consider without the covenant and foreigners to the covenant to both be valid translations of ajenos a los pactos de la promesa.
Also, what English version of the Bible are you reading? Several of them are using foreigners or strangers to the covenant. I haven't found one yet that uses "without the covenant." (But, there are several versions, and I didn't check them all.) Ajeno can also mean to not have knowledge of something, which is a sense some versions bring out (like the Amplified Bible).
Cheers.
Jack did you see this too?
ajeno, na.
(Del lat. ali?nus, de al?us, otro).
adj. Perteneciente a otra persona.
adj. De otra clase o condición.
adj. Distante, lejano, libre de algo. Ajeno de cuidados
adj. Impropio, extraño, no correspondiente. Ajeno a su voluntad
adj. Que no tiene conocimiento de algo, o no está prevenido de lo que ha de suceder.
Real Academia Española © Todos los derechos reservados
Ajeno relation with strange:
4...no correspondiente: not corresponding ( then , is stranger )
Webdunce wrote:
Well I was wrong to imply that ajeno is a noun (I thought it could be a noun or an adjective in Spanish, but it is apparently only an adjective). red face
However, it can be translated as a noun into English.
ajeno a algo => foreign/alien/strange to something => a foreigner/stranger to something
In my mind, to be without the covenant and to be a foreigner to the covenant are nearly equal concepts, aren't they? However, that doesn't mean that ajeno = without. And it also doesn't mean foreigner, either (I was wrong). It means foreign, far-off, remote or whatever. It's an adjective -- not a noun (foreigner) and not a preposition (without).
Even though ajeno doesn't mean either without or foreigner, I would consider without the covenant and foreigners to the covenant to both be valid translations of ajenos a los pactos de la promesa.
I have to agree. I think that these terms mean about the same thing.
Also, what English version of the Bible are you reading? Several of them are using foreigners or strangers to the covenant. I haven't found one yet that uses "without the covenant." (But, there are several versions, and I didn't check them all.) Ajeno can also mean to not have knowledge of something, which is a sense some versions bring out (like the Amplified Bible).
This example was from the NVI, but I read several different versions. The thing is, just because it says something in English doesn't mean that it's going to say the same thing in Spanish. I've been particularly distressed by Hebrew idoms being translated into literal English and then sometimes translated into a Spanish idiom. However, that's for another day. Back to the point though, I've never heard of a person being referred to as an "ajeno", I've only heard "extrañero", so when I look up "ajeno" in the dictionary, I'm further confused because the primary definition is strange, yet not one of the examples use it as meaning strange. I'm still not understanding how strange even fits into the definition.
Cheers.
Thanks very much. I appreciate your thoughts.
All I can give you is the example I know:
Amor ajeno = love with a mistress, someone outside your relationship, a stranger of sorts.
