Meaning
"to escape notice," is translated "they (wilfully) forget" in 2Pe 3:5, RV, lit., "this escapes them (i.e., their notice, wilfully on their part)," AV, "they willingly are ignorant of;" in 2Pe 3:8, RV, "forget not," lit., "let not this one thing escape you" (your notice), AV, "be not ignorant of." See HIDE, IGNORANT, UNAWARES.
"to forget, or neglect" (epi, "upon," used intensively, and No. 1), is said (a) negatively of God, indicating His remembrance of sparrows, Luk 12:6, and of the work and labor of love of His saints, Heb 6:10; (b) of the disciples regarding taking bread, Mat 16:5, Mar 8:14; (c) of Paul regarding "the things which are behind," Phi 3:13; (d) of believers, as to showing love to strangers, Heb 13:2, RV, and as to doing good and communicating, Heb 13:16; (e) of a person who, after looking at himself in a mirror, forgets what kind of person he is, Jam 1:24.
"to forget utterly" (ek, "out," intensive), is used in the Middle Voice in Heb 12:5, of "forgetting" an exhortation.
"forgetfulness" (from letho, "to forget," an old form of lanthano, see A, No. 1; cp. Eng. "lethal," "lethargy," and the mythical river "Lethe," which was supposed to cause forgetfulness of the past to those who drank of it), is used with lambano, "to take," in 2Pe 1:9, "having forgotten," lit., "having taken forgetfulness" (cp. 2Ti 1:5, lit., "having taken reminder"), a periphrastic expression for a single verb.
"forgetfulness" (akin to A, No. 2), is used in Jam 1:25, "a forgetful hearer," RV, "a hearer that forgetteth," lit., "a hearer of forgetfulness," i.e., a hearer characterized by "forgetfulness."
