ἀθετέω
athetéō · G114 · Greek · 16 occurrences
Meanings
-
to not rely on, to set aside, to reject
(A figurative extension of meaning of ἀθετέω ‘to set aside,’ not occurring in the NT) To believe that something or someone cannot be trusted or relied on and hence to reject
ExamplesMark 6:26 And although the king was very sorry, because of his oaths and his dinner guests, he was unwilling to refuse her.
Luke 10:16 “The one who listens to you listens to Me, and the one who rejects you rejects Me; but the one who rejects Me rejects the One who sent Me.”
John 12:48 “The one who rejects Me and does not accept My teachings has one who judges him: the word which I spoke. That will judge him on the last day.
-
to reject, to regard as invalid, annulment
To refuse to recognize the validity of something
ExamplesMark 7:9 He was also saying to them, “You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.
Luke 7:30 But the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God’s purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.
Galatians 2:21 “I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the Law, then Christ died needlessly.”
How it’s used In 6 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
16 occurrences in 10 groups
- Not stated (participle) 5
- ἀθετέωto reject, to set aside 3
- Other words · 8 groups that occur once or twice (10) 10
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
15 occurrences in 13 groups
- ἐγώI, we 3
- Other words · 12 groups that occur once or twice (12) 12
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- εἰςto+ ἑαυτοῦhimself, herself, itself 1
With adverbsAdverbs
4 occurrences in 4 groups
- καλῶςwell, rightly 1
- ὁμοίωςlikewise, in the same way 1
- ὅμωςalthough 1
- οὐnot 1
What it doesIt is the subject
4 occurrences in 2 groups
- ἀθετέωto reject, to set aside 3
- ἔχωto have 1
What is done to itIt is the object
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- γράφωto write 1
- θέλωto want, to wish, to desire 1
- λέγωto say 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
In the other Testament 2 words
- בָּגַד bâgad · H898 · to act unfaithfully, to be treacherous, to deal treacherously
- ἀθετέω (athetéō, G114) emphasizes the act of setting aside or rejecting what is authoritative or established (commands, covenants, divine law), while בָּגַד (bâgad, H898) emphasizes the relational betrayal aspect of acting treacherously or unfaithfully against a person or covenant partner.
- מָעַל mâʻal · H4603 · to commit a violation, to be unfaithful
- Greek ἀθετέω emphasizes the act of setting aside or nullifying an obligation/covenant/law, while Hebrew מָעַל specifically denotes treacherous violation or unfaithfulness, particularly in covenantal contexts; both share the semantic core of violating established commitments.
Semantic domains 2 entries
- To not rely on, to set aside, to reject31.100
- This verb denotes disregarding another's stated purpose, as in Luke 7:30's statement that the Pharisees and the lawyers rejected God's purpose for themselves, not having been baptized by John.
- To reject, to regard as invalid, annulment76.24
- The verb also denotes formally treating a command as invalid, as in Mark 7:9's rebuke, "You are experts at setting aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition."
Word family 49 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon (ῶ; future ἀθετήσω; 1 aorist ἠθέτησα; a word met with first (yet very often) in the Sept.…
a. properly, to render ἄθετον; do away with θετόν τί, i. e. something laid down, prescribed, established: διαθήκην, Gal 3:15 (1 Macc. 11:36; 2 Macc. 13:25, etc.); according to the context, 'to act toward anything as though it were annulled'; hence, to deprive a law of force by opinions or acts opposed to it, to transgress it, Mk 7:9; Heb 10:28 (Ezek 22:26); πίστιν, to break one's promise or engagement, 1 Tim 5:12; (Polybius 8, 2, 5; 11, 29, 3, others; Diodorus excerpt. (i. e.de virt. et vit.), p. 562, 67). Hence,
b. to thwart the efficacy of anything, nullify, make void?, frustrate: τήν βουλήν τοῦ Θεοῦ, Lk 7:30 (they rendered inefficacious the saving purpose of God); τήν συνέσω to render prudent plans of no effect, 1 Cor 1:19 (Isa 29:14 (where κρύψω, yet cf. Bos's note)).
c. to reject, refuse, slight; τήν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ, Gal 2:21 (others refer this to b.); of persons: Mk 6:26 (by breaking the promise given her); Lk 10:16; Jn 12:48; 1 Thess 4:8; Jude 1:8 (for which καταφρόνειν is used in the parallel passage 2 Pet 2:10). (For examples of the use of this word see Sophocles' Lexicon, under the word.)
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 2 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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