John of Damascus — on Ps 83:3 (ORTHODOX FAITH 3:14)

“Moreover, one must know that the word gnōmē, or opinion, is used in many ways and with many meanings. Thus, it sometimes means "advice" as when the divine apostle says, "Now, concerning virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord; but I give counsel." Sometimes it implies "design," as when the prophet David says, "They have taken a malicious counsel against your people." Sometimes it means "judgment," as when Daniel says: "Why so cruel a sentence has gone forth." And sometimes it is used in the sense of "faith," or "notion," or of "intent"—to put it simply, the word has twenty-eight different meanings.”