ἀπελαύνω

ἐκβάλλω ekbállō · G1544 · to throw out, to jettison (from a boat), to send away

ἐκβάλλω is the most common Greek verb for casting out or expelling, used of driving out demons, people, or objects. While it can be more forceful or violent in tone, it shares the core sense of forcible removal with ἀπελαύνω and could substitute in contexts of dismissal or expulsion.

ἀπολύω apolýō · G630 · to let go away, to dismiss, to send

ἀπολύω means to release or send away, often used of dismissing crowds, releasing prisoners, or divorcing a spouse. It shares the dismissal sense with ἀπελαύνω, though ἀπολύω can be more neutral or even benevolent, whereas ἀπελαύνω typically implies forcible driving away.

προσκαλέομαι proskaléomai · G4341 · to call, to call to, to call to a task

προσκαλέομαι means to summon or call someone to oneself, the opposite action of driving away or dismissing. Where ἀπελαύνω sends someone away forcibly, προσκαλέομαι brings them near by invitation or command.

δέχομαι déchomai · G1209 · to receive, receiving, to accept

δέχομαι means to receive or welcome someone, the conceptual opposite of dismissing or driving away. Where ἀπελαύνω expels, δέχομαι accepts and receives.

גָּרַשׁ gârash · H1644 · to toss about, to toss up, to cast up

גָּרַשׁ is the standard Hebrew verb for driving out or expelling, used of driving people from a place (e.g., Gen 3:24, Adam from the garden; Ex 34:11, nations from Canaan). It serves as a natural translation equivalent for ἀπελαύνω in contexts of forcible dismissal or expulsion.

נָדַח nâdach · H5080 · to be raised, to wield

נָדַח denotes driving away or banishing, often with connotations of scattering or dispersing (e.g., Deut 30:1, 4; Jer 8:3). It overlaps semantically with ἀπελαύνω in the sense of forcing someone to leave or sending away.

To drive away, to force to leave15.56

In Acts 18:16, when the Jews brought Paul before Gallio's judgment seat, “he drove (apḗlasen) them away from the judgment seat,” describing a forcible removal of a group from a location.

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

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.