ἀποστρέφω
apostréphō · G654 · Greek · 9 occurrences
Meanings
-
to cause to turn away from, to cause to change one’s belief, to mislead
To cause someone to turn away from a previous belief
ExamplesLuke 23:14 and he said to them, “You brought this Man to me on the ground that He is inciting the people to revolt; and behold, after examining Him before you, I have found no basis at all in the case of this Man for the charges which you are bringing against Him.
Acts 3:26 “God raised up His Servant for you first, and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”
-
to lead astray, to pervert, to mislead
To cause someone to depart from correct behavior and thus engage in serious wrongdoing
ExamplesLuke 23:14 and he said to them, “You brought this Man to me on the ground that He is inciting the people to revolt; and behold, after examining Him before you, I have found no basis at all in the case of this Man for the charges which you are bringing against Him.
-
to return, to put back
To cause something to be in a place where it was formerly
ExamplesMatthew 26:52 Then Jesus said to him, “Put your sword back into its place; for all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword.
-
to change, to turn into, to remove from
To cause something to turn into or to become something else or to become removed from something or someone
ExamplesRomans 11:26 and so all Israel will be saved; just as it is written: “THE DELIVERER WILL COME FROM ZION, HE WILL REMOVE UNGODLINESS FROM JACOB.”
-
to stop, to cease, to reject
(A figurative extension of meaning of ἀποστρέφω ‘to cause to turn back from,’ not occurring in the NT) To cease doing something, with the implication of rejection
ExamplesMatthew 5:42 “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
Acts 3:26 “God raised up His Servant for you first, and sent Him to bless you by turning every one of you from your wicked ways.”
Titus 1:14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.
-
to turn away from, to reject
To no longer continue to believe as one has and hence to turn away from or to reject a previous set of beliefs
ExamplesTitus 1:14 not paying attention to Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away from the truth.
-
to fall away, to forsake, to turn away
To abandon a former relationship or association, or to dissociate (a type of reversal of beginning to associate)
Examples2 Timothy 1:15 You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.
Hebrews 12:25 See to it that you do not refuse Him who is speaking. For if those did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape who turn away from Him who warns us from heaven.
-
to refuse to help
To refuse to provide help to someone
ExamplesMatthew 5:42 “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.
2 Timothy 1:15 You are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes.
How it’s used In 8 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
9 occurrences in 6 groups
- Not stated (participle) 4
- ἈσίαAsia 1
- Not stated: you (one person) 1
- Not stated: they 1
- Not stated: he, she or it 1
- Not stated (infinitive) 1
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
9 occurrences in 9 groups
- Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (9) 9
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
4 occurrences in 4 groups
- εἰςto+ τόποςplace 1
- ἀπόfrom+ ἀλήθειαtruth 1
- ἀπόfrom+ ἸακώβJacob 1
- ἀπόfrom+ πονηρίαwickedness 1
With adverbsAdverbs
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- μήnot 1
Named alongside itApposition
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- ἐγώI, we 1
What is done to itIt is the object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- λέγωto say 1
Second object ofSecond object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- προσφέρωto offer, to bring to 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- ἐνin 2
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 3 words
- שׁוּב shûwb · H7725 · to turn around, to turn (someone) around
- Hebrew שׁוּב (shûwb, H7725) is the primary semantic equivalent of Greek ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō, G654), both denoting the core concept of turning away, turning back, or reversing direction in literal and figurative senses; the Hebrew root is substantially broader in its idioms and derived meanings (as reflected in its extensive gloss), while the Greek term is more specifically focused on the turning-away/back action itself, but at the core semantic level they map directly as translation equivalents across the LXX corpus.
- סָבַב çâbab · H5437 · to turn, to swing, to turn around
- ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō, G654) denotes turning away/back with directional emphasis (often moral/relational apostasy), while סָבַב (çâbab, H5437) emphasizes circular motion or surrounding action, with turning-back as one application of its broader 'go around/revolve' semantic range.
- סוּג çûwg · H5472 · to step back, to retreat, to cause to step back
- Hebrew סוּג (çûwg, H5472) and Greek ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō, G654) both denote the action of turning away or back, whether in literal spatial movement or figurative apostasy/withdrawal, establishing them as genuine cross-linguistic translation equivalents across the LXX corpus.
Semantic domains 8 entries
- To change, to turn into, to remove from13.63
- In Romans 11:26, Paul quotes the promise, “the deliverer will come from Zion, He will remove (apostrépsei) ungodliness from Jacob,” describing a condition being taken away and changed.
- To turn away from, to reject31.62
- In 2 Timothy 1:15, Paul writes with sorrow, “you are aware of the fact that all who are in Asia turned away from (apestráphēsán) me, among whom are Phygelus and Hermogenes,” describing former allies personally abandoning him.
- To cause to turn away from, to cause to change one’s belief, to mislead31.70
- In 2 Timothy 4:4, Paul warns that people “will turn (apostrépsousin) their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths,” describing a shift away from sound belief toward falsehood.
- To fall away, to forsake, to turn away34.26
- In Titus 1:14, Paul warns against “Jewish myths and commandments of men who turn away (apostrephoménōn) from the truth,” describing people forsaking the true teaching they once held.
- To refuse to help35.18
- In Matthew 5:42, Jesus instructs, “do not turn away (apostraphẽis) from him who wants to borrow from you,” describing a refusal to lend or assist someone in need.
- To stop, to cease, to reject68.44
- In Acts 3:26, Peter tells the crowd that God “raised up His Servant for you first, and sent Him to bless you by turning (apostréphein) every one of you from your wicked ways,” describing people being brought to abandon an ongoing evil practice.
- To return, to put back85.52
- In Matthew 26:52, after Peter drew his sword at Jesus' arrest, Jesus tells him, “put your sword back (apóstrepson) into its place; for all those who take up the sword will perish by the sword,” describing an object being physically returned to where it belongs.
- To lead astray, to pervert, to mislead88.264
- In Luke 23:14, Pilate tells the accusers, “you brought this Man to me on the ground that He is inciting (apostréphonta) the people to revolt,” describing the accusation that Jesus was corrupting the people's conduct and loyalty.
Word family 29 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon future ἀποστρέψω; 1 aorist ἀπέστρεψα; 2 aorist passive ἀπεστράφην; (present middle…
1. to turn away: τινα or τί ἀπό τίνος, 2 Tim 4:4 (τήν ἀκοήν ἀπό τῆς ἀληθείας); to remove anything from anyone, Rom 11:26 (Isa 59:20); ἀποστρέφειν τινα simply, to turn him away from allegiance to anyone, tempt to defection (A. V. pervert), Lk 23:14.
2. to turn back, return, bring back: Mt 26:52 (put back thy sword into its sheath); Mt 27:3, of Judas bringing back the shekels, where T Tr WH ἔστρεψε (cf. Test. xii. Patr. test. Jos. § 17). (In the same sense for הֵשִׁיב, Gen 14:16; Gen 28:15; Gen 43:11 (), (), etc.; Baruch 1:8 Baruch 2:34, etc.)
3. intransitive, to turn oneself away, turn back, return: ἀπό τῶν πονηριῶν, Acts 3:26, cf. Acts 3:19 (ἀπό ἁμαρτίας, Sir. 8:5 Sir. 17:21 (26 Tdf.); to return from a place, Gen 18:33; Gen 18:1 Macc. 11:54, etc.; (see Kneucker on Baruch 1:13); Xenophon, Hell. 3, 4, 12); cf. Meyer on Acts, the passage cited; (others, (with A. V.) take it actively here: in turning away every one of you, etc.).
4. Middle, with 2 aorist passive, to turn oneself away from, with an accusative of the object (cf. (Jelf, § 548 obs. 1; Krüger, § 47, 23, 1); Buttmann, 192 (166)); to reject, refuse: τινα, Mt 5:42; Heb 12:25; τήν ἀλήθειαν, Tit 1:14; in the sense of deserting, τινα, 2 Tim 1:15.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 7 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
New American Standard Bible Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation, La Habra, Calif. All rights reserved. For Permission to Quote Information visit http://www.lockman.org.