Word

ἀφίημι

aphíēmi · G863 · Greek · 143 occurrences

See all 143 in Search

Meanings

to let go away, to dismiss

To cause (or permit) a person or persons to leave a particular location

Examples
Matthew 13:36 Then He left the crowds and went into the house. And His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds of the field.”
to leave, to depart from

To move away from, with the implication of resulting separation

Examples
Matthew 18:12 “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost?
Matthew 22:22 And hearing this, they were amazed; and they left Him and went away.
Matthew 22:25 “Now there were seven brothers among us; and the first married and died, and having no children, he left his wife to his brother.
to leave, to leave behind

To let something be put behind in a place

Examples
Matthew 19:27 Then Peter responded and said to Him, “Behold, we have left everything and followed You; what then will there be for us?”
Matthew 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms on account of My name, will receive many times as much, and will inherit eternal life.
Matthew 23:38 “Behold, your house is being left to you desolate!
to let remain, to leave

To permit something to continue in a place

Examples
Matthew 18:12 “What do you think? If any man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains, and go and search for the one that is lost?
Matthew 24:2 But He responded and said to them, “Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”
Mark 13:2 And Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another, which will not be torn down.”
to divorce, to separate

To dissolve the marriage bond

Examples
1 Corinthians 7:11 (but if she does leave, she must remain unmarried, or else be reconciled to her husband), and that the husband is not to divorce his wife.
1 Corinthians 7:12 But to the rest I say, not the Lord, that if any brother has an unbelieving wife, and she consents to live with him, he must not divorce her.
1 Corinthians 7:13 And if any woman has an unbelieving husband, and he consents to live with her, she must not divorce her husband.
to pardon, to forgive, forgiveness

To remove the guilt resulting from wrongdoing

Examples
Matthew 12:31 “Therefore I say to you, every sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven people, but blasphemy against the Spirit shall not be forgiven.
Matthew 12:32 “And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.
Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to seven times?”
to cancel a debt, to forgive a debt

To release a person from the obligation of repaying what is owed

Examples
Matthew 18:27 “And the master of that slave felt compassion, and he released him and forgave him the debt.
Matthew 18:32 “Then summoning him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
to refuse to listen to, to reject

To no longer pay attention to previous beliefs

Examples
Matthew 23:23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cumin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the Law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
Mark 7:8 “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”
to give up, to stop, to quit

To stop doing something, with the implication of complete cessation

Examples
Matthew 27:49 But the rest of them said, “Let us see if Elijah comes to save Him.”
Romans 1:27 and likewise the men, too, abandoned natural relations with women and burned in their desire toward one another, males with males committing shameful acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
Hebrews 6:1 Therefore leaving the elementary teaching about the Christ, let us press on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God,
to cease, to stop, to leave

To cease, of a state

Examples
John 4:52 So he inquired of them the hour when he began to get better. Then they said to him, “Yesterday at the seventh hour the fever left him.”
to let, to allow, to leave it to

To leave it to someone to do something, with the implication of distancing oneself from the event

Examples
Matthew 13:30 ‘Allow both to grow together until the harvest; and at the time of the harvest I will say to the reapers, “First gather up the weeds and bind them in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn.”’”
Matthew 15:14 “Leave them alone; they are blind guides of blind people. And if a person who is blind guides another who is blind, both will fall into a pit.”
Matthew 19:14 But Jesus said, “Leave the children alone, and do not forbid them to come to Me; for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”
to produce, to make, to give

A marker of an agent relation with numerable events, with the implication of something which proceeds from an agent

Examples
Mark 15:37 But Jesus let out a loud cry, and died.
that is not what I mean, that is not the issue, that is not the point

(An idiom, possibly an adage, literally: let the dead bury their dead) The matter in question is not the real issue

Examples
Luke 9:60 But He said to him, “Allow the dead to bury their own dead; but as for you, go and proclaim everywhere the kingdom of God.”
to die

(An idiom, literally: to send away the spirit) Interpreted by some as implying voluntarily laying down one’s life, but such an inference is not justified by normal Greek usage)

Examples
Matthew 27:50 And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice, and gave up His spirit.

How it’s used In 10 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

143 occurrences in 30 groups

Not stated: he, she or it 27
Not stated in the clause 20
Not stated: you (more than one) 18
Not stated: you (one person) 18
ἁμαρτίαsin 10
Not stated (infinitive) 6
Other words · 16 groups that occur once or twice (19) 19

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

98 occurrences in 58 groups

αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 22
ἁμαρτίαsin 9
γυνήwoman, wife 4
οἰκίαhouse, home, dwelling 4
πατήρfather 4
τέκνονchild, offspring 4
Other words · 49 groups that occur once or twice (59) 59

To or for whomIndirect object

34 occurrences in 10 groups

αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 12
σύyou 9
ἐγώI, we 3
ἄνθρωποςman, person, people 3
Other words · 6 groups that occur once or twice (7) 7

Second objectAs in “call him Lord”

5 occurrences in 4 groups

μόνοςonly, alone 2
ἀμάρτυροςwithout witness 1
ὀρφανόςorphan 1
αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 1

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

13 occurrences in 14 groups

ἐπίon+ λίθοςstone 4
Other words · 13 groups that occur once or twice (13) 13

With adverbsAdverbs

35 occurrences in 11 groups

οὐnot 18
μήnot 9
Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (12) 12

Named alongside itApposition

1 occurrences in 2 groups

αἰώνage, forever 1
ἀπολαμβάνωto receive from 1

What it doesIt is the subject

2 occurrences in 2 groups

ἀγαπάωto love 1
λαμβάνωto receive, to take 1

What is done to itIt is the object

34 occurrences in 7 groups

λέγωto say 16
ἔπωto say 13
ἀποκρίνομαιto answer 3
δύναμαιcan 2
ἔχωto have 1
κρύπτωto hide 1

What it is said to bePredicate

3 occurrences in 2 groups

οὐδείςno one 2
μακάριοςblessed, happy 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.

Near synonyms 2 words

ἀπολύω apolýō · G630 · to let go away, to dismiss, to send: Both verbs overlap in dismissal, divorce, and forgiveness or pardon. ἀπολύω focuses more narrowly on releasing or sending away, while the target additionally covers ceasing, leaving, and other senses beyond this shared range.
χαρίζομαι charízomai · G5483 · to give, to grant, to bestow generously: Both terms can express forgiveness and debt cancellation, but ἀφίημι operates across a wider semantic field including sending away, leaving, and ceasing, while χαρίζομαι centers specifically on gracious bestowal and favor.

In the other Testament 2 words

סָלַח çâlach · H5545 · to forgive: Hebrew סָלַח (çâlach, H5545) specifically denotes divine forgiveness/pardon in covenantal contexts, whereas Greek ἀφίημι (aphíēmi, G863) encompasses a broader semantic range including 'release,' 'leave,' 'permit,' and 'forgive,' with the forgiveness sense being one specialized application of the core 'send forth/release' meaning—the two overlap precisely where ἀφίημι is used in its forgiveness sense to translate Hebrew's dedicated forgiveness terminology.
נָשָׂא nâsâʼ · H5375 · to become high, to be lifted up, to rise: Greek ἀφίημι (send forth, let go, forgive) serves as a translation equivalent for Hebrew נָשָׂא in contexts where both lexemes express the sense of 'release from obligation' or 'pardon,' particularly in passages concerning forgiveness of sin or debt (cf. LXX usage where ἀφίημι renders נָשָׂא in expressions like 'bearing/taking away iniquity').

Semantic domains 14 entries

To let, to allow, to leave it to13.140: Used of granting permission for something to happen, as of John permitting Jesus' baptism in Matthew 3:15.
To cease, to stop, to leave13.37: Used of bringing an action to an end, as of the crowds Jesus left behind to go into the house in Matthew 13:36.
To let go away, to dismiss15.43: Used of releasing someone to depart, as of the crowd dismissed before the boat sets out in Mark 4:36.
To leave, to depart from15.48: Used of physically departing from a place or person, as of the disciples leaving their nets and following Jesus in Matthew 4:20 and 4:22.
To die23.109: Used of the moment of death, as of Jesus giving up His spirit in Matthew 27:50 and letting out a loud cry before He died in Mark 15:37.
To refuse to listen to, to reject31.63: Used of dismissing someone as not worth heeding, as of Jesus telling the disciples to leave the Pharisees alone as blind guides in Matthew 15:14.
That is not what I mean, that is not the issue, that is not the point33.137: Used of setting a matter aside to focus on what truly matters, as of neglecting the commandment of God in favor of human tradition in Mark 7:8.
To divorce, to separate34.78: Used of ending a marriage, as of the instruction that a believing spouse must not divorce an unbelieving one in 1 Corinthians 7:12-13.
To pardon, to forgive, forgiveness40.8: Used of forgiving sin or wrongdoing, as in the repeated teaching on forgiveness in Matthew 6:14-15 and the paralytic told his sins are forgiven in Matthew 9:2.
To cancel a debt, to forgive a debt57.223: Used of releasing someone from a financial debt, as of the master who forgave his slave's debt in Matthew 18:27 and 18:32.
To give up, to stop, to quit68.43: Used of abandoning or giving up an action or pursuit, as of the devil leaving Jesus after every temptation in Matthew 4:11.
To leave, to leave behind85.45: Used of leaving something or someone in a place, as of the disciples leaving their boat and father in Matthew 4:22.
To let remain, to leave85.62: Used of leaving something in its existing state or position, as of not one stone being left upon another in Matthew 24:2.
To produce, to make, to give90.50: Used within a causative construction built on the verb's broad range of 'letting' or 'granting,' as of permitting something to be brought about.

Word family 2 words

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

ἀφίημιaphíēmi · G863ἄφεσις áphesis · G859 · to pardon, to forgive, forgiveness · 17×

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon present 2 person singular ἀφείς (from the form ἀφέω, Rev 2:20 for Rec. ἐᾷς) (3 person…

present 2 person singular ἀφείς (from the form ἀφέω, Rev 2:20 for Rec. ἐᾷς) (3 person plural ἀφίουσιν Rev 11:1 Tdf. editions 2, 7, from a form ἀφιέω; cf. Buttmann, 48 (42)); imperfect 3 person singular ἤφιε, with the augment before the preposition, Mk 1:34; Mk 11:16, from the form ἀφίω; whence also present 1 person plural ἀφίομεν Lk 11:4 L T Tr WH for ἀφίεμεν Rec. and 3 person ἀφίουσιν Rev 11:9 L T Tr WH; (see WH's Appendix, p. 167); future ἀφήσω; 1 aorist ἀφῆκά, 2 person singular ἀφῆκες Rev 2:4 T Tr WH (cf. κοπιάω); 2 aorist imperative ἄφες, ἄφετε, subjunctive 3 person singular ἀφῇ, 2 person plural ἀφῆτε (infinitive ἀφεῖναι (Mt 23:23 L T Tr WH; Lk 5:21 L text T Tr WH)), participle ἀφείς, ἀφέντες; passive, present ἀφίεμαι (yet 3 person plural ἀφιονται Jn 20:23 WH marginal reading etc.; cf. ἀφίω above); perfect 3 person plural ἀφέωνται (a Doric form (cf. Winer's Grammar, § 14, 3 a.; B 49 (42); Kühner, § 285, 4), Mt 9:2, Mt 9:5; Mk 2:5,(9) — in both these Gospels L (except in Mark marginal reading) T Tr WH have restored the present 3 person plural ἀφίενταί; Lk 5:20, Lk 5:23; Lk 7:47 (48); Jn 20:23 L text T Tr text WH text; 1 Jn 2:12); 1 aorist ἀφεθην; future ἀφεθήσομαι; cf. Winers Grammar, § 14, 3; Buttmann, 48 (42); (WHs Appendix, p. 167; Veitch, under the word ἵημι); (from ἀπό and ἵημι); (fr. Homer down); to send from (ἀπό) oneself;
1. to send away;
a. to bid go away or depart: τούς ὄχλους, Mt 13:36 (others refer this to 3 below); τήν γυναῖκα, of a husband putting away his wife, 1 Cor 7:11-13 (Herodotus 5, 39; and a substantive, ἄφεσις, Plutarch, Pomp c. 42, 6).
b. to send forth, yield up, emit: τό πνεῦμα, to expire, Mt 27:50 (τήν ψυχήν, Gen 35:18; Herodotus 4, 190 and often in other Greek writings (see πνεῦμα, 2)), φωνήν to utter a cry (emitterevocem, Livy 1, 58), Mk 15:37 (Gen 45:2 and often in Greek writings; (cf. Heinichen on Eusebius, h. e. 8, 14, 17)).
c. to let go, let alone, let be; α. to disregard: Mt 15:14. β. to leave, not to discuss now, a topic, used of tethers, writers, speakers, etc.: Heb 6:1 (Euripides, Andr. 392; Theophrastus, char. praef. § 3; for other examples from Greek writings see Bleek on Heb. vol. 2:2, p. 144f) (others take the word in Hebrews, the passage cited as expressive of the duty of the readers, rather than the purpose of the writer; and consequently refer the passage to 3 below). γ. to omit, neglect: Mt 23:23 (Lk 11:42 R G); Mk 7:8; Rom 1:27. δ. to let go, give up, a debt, by not demanding it (opposed to κρατεῖν, Jn 20:23), i. e. to remit, forgive: τό δάνειον, Mt 18:27; τήν ὀφειλήν, Mt 18:32; τά ὀφειλήματα, Mt 6:12; τά παραπτώματα, Mt 6:14; Mk 11:25f. (T Tr WH omit Mk 11:26); τάς ἁμαρτίας, τά ἁμαρτήματα, τάς ἀνομίας, Mt 9:2, Mt 9:5; Mt 12:31; Mk 2:5, Mk 2:7; Mk 3:28; Lk 5:20f, 23; Rom 4:7 (from Ps 31:1); 1 Jn 1:9; Jas 5:15 (Isa 22:14; Isa 33:24, etc.); ἡ ἐπίνοια τῆς καρδίας, Acts 8:22, (τήν αἰτίαν, Herodotus 6, 30; τά χρέα, Aelian v. h. 14, 24); absolutely, ἀφιέναι τίνι to forgive one: Mt 12:32; Mt 18:21, Mt 18:35; Mk 4:12; Lk 11:4; Lk 12:10; Lk 17:3; Lk 23:34 (L brackets WH reject the passage).
e. to give up, keep no longer: τήν πρώτην ἀγάπην, Rev 2:4.
2. to permit, allow, not to hinder;
a. followed by a present infinitive (Buttmann, 258 (222)): Mk 10:14; Lk 18:16 ἄφετε ἔρχεσθαι καί μή κωλύετε αὐτά, Mt 13:30; Mk 1:34; Jn 11:44; Jn 18:8. by the aorist infinitive: Mt 8:22; Mt 23:13 (14); Mk 5:37; Mk 7:12, Mk 7:27; Lk 8:51; Lk 9:60; Lk 12:39; Rev 11:9.
b. without an infinitive: Mt 3:15 (ἄφες ἄρτι permit it just now). with an accusative of the person or thing permitted: Mt 3:15 τότε ἀφίησιν αὐτόν, Mk 5:19; Mk 11:6; Mk 14:6; Lk 13:8; Jn 12:7 R G; ; Acts 5:38 (L T Tr WH; R G ἐάσατε); Rev 2:20 (Rec. ἐᾷς).
c. ἀφίημι τίνι τί, to give up a thing to one: Mt 5:40 (ἄφες αὐτῷ καί τό ἱμάτιον).
d. followed by ἵνα: Mk 11:16; Jn 12:7 L T Tr WH, a later construction, cf. Winers Grammar, § 44, 8; Buttmann, 238 (205).
e. followed by the simple hortative subjunctive: Mt 7:4; Lk 6:42 (ἄφες ἐκβάλω); Mt 27:49; Mk 15:36 (ἄφετε ἴδωμεν); Epictetus diss. 1, 9, 15 ἄφες δειξωμεν, 3, 12, 15 ἄφες ἴδω. Cf. Buttmann, 209f (181f); Winer's Grammar, 285 (268).
3. to leave, go away from one; to depart from anyone,
a. in order to go to another place: Mt 22:22; Mt 26:44; Mk 8:13 (Mt 16:4 καταλιπών); Mk 12:12; ; Jn 4:3; Jn 16:28.
b. to depart from one whom one wishes to quit: Mt 4:11; so of diseases departing, ἀφῆκεν τινα ὁ πυρετός, Mt 8:15; Mk 1:31; Lk 4:39; Jn 4:52.
c. to depart from one and leave him to himself, so that all mutual claims are abandoned: τόν πατέρα, Mt 4:22; Mk 1:20; Mt 18:12 (Lk 15:4 καταλείπει). Thus also ἀφιέναι τά ἑαυτοῦ to leave possessions, home, etc.: Mt 4:20; Mt 19:27, Mt 19:29; Mk 1:18; Mk 10:28; Lk 5:11; Lk 18:28f.
d. to desert one (wrongfully): Mt 26:56; Mk 14:50; Jn 10:12.
e. to go away leaving something behind: Mt 5:24; Jn 4:28.
f. to leave one by not taking him as a companion: opposed to παραλαμβάνειν, Mt 24:40f: Lk 17:34f.
g. to leave on dying, leave behind one: τέκνα, γυναῖκα, Mt 22:25; Mk 12:20, Mk 12:22 (Lk 20:31 καταλείπω). h. to leave so that what is left may remain, leave remaining: οὐ μή ἀφεθῇ ὧδε λίθος ἐπί λίθον (or λίθῳ), Mt 24:2; Mk 13:2; Lk 21:6. 1:ἀφιέναι followed by the accusative of a noun or pronoun with an accusative of the predicate (Buttmann, § 144, 18): Lk 10:30 (ἡμιθανῆ); Jn 14:18 (τινα ὀρθανον); Mt 23:38; Lk 13:35 (but Lachmann omits ἔρημος in both passages, WH text omits in Matthew, G T Tr WH omit in Luke; that being omitted, ἀφιέναι means to abandon, to leave destitute of God's help); Acts 14:17 (ἀμάρτυρον ἑαυτόν (L T Tr αὐτόν (WH αὑτόν which see))).

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain

Topical studies with this word 13 entries

State3 occurrences Happen30 occurrences Leave, Depart, Flee, Escape, Send27 occurrences Live, Die1 occurrence Change an Opinion Concerning Truth3 occurrences Interpret, Mean, Explain2 occurrences Marriage, Divorce3 occurrences Forgiveness45 occurrences Owe, Debt, Cancel2 occurrences Cease, Stop4 occurrences Put, Place15 occurrences Remain, Stay9 occurrences Agent of a Numerable Event1 occurrence

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