ἀφίστημι
aphístēmi · G868 · Greek · 14 occurrences
Meanings
-
to incite to revolt, to cause to rebel
To cause people to rebel against or to reject authority
ExamplesActs 5:37 “After this man, Judas of Galilee appeared in the days of the census and drew away some people after him; he also perished, and all those who followed him were scattered.
-
to go away, to depart, to leave
To move away from, with emphasis upon separation and possible lack of concern for what has been left
ExamplesLuke 2:37 and then as a widow to the age of eighty-four. She did not leave the temple grounds, serving night and day with fasts and prayers.
Luke 4:13 And so when the devil had finished every temptation, he left Him until an opportune time.
Luke 13:27 And yet He will say, ‘I do not know where you are from; LEAVE ME, ALL YOU EVILDOERS.’
-
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)
ExamplesLuke 8:13 “Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root; they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation they fall away.
1 Timothy 4:1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons,
Hebrews 3:12 Take care, brothers and sisters, that there will not be in any one of you an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God.
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to shun, to avoid, to keep away from, to have nothing to do with
Purposely to avoid association with someone
ExamplesActs 5:38 “And so in the present case, I say to you, stay away from these men and leave them alone, for if the source of this plan or movement is men, it will be overthrown;
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
14 occurrences in 10 groups
- Not stated in the clause 3
- Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (11) 11
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- ἱερόνtemple 1
- λαόςpeople 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
13 occurrences in 10 groups
- ἀπόfrom+ αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 5
- Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (11) 11
With adverbsAdverbs
3 occurrences in 2 groups
- εὐθέωςimmediately, right away, then 2
- οὐnot 1
What is done to itIt is the object
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- εἴδωto know 1
- λέγωto say 1
- παρακαλέωto plead for, to appeal to, to encourage 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- ἐνin 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 6 words
- סוּר çûwr · H5493 · to make a turn, to cause to make a turn
- סוּר (çûwr, H5493) סוּר emphasizes the physical motion of turning aside or departing from a path or position, while ἀφίστημι (aphístēmi, G868) ἀφίστημι focuses on the relational or positional separation itself, often implying withdrawal, desertion, or revolt from an authority or commitment.
- מָעַל mâʻal · H4603 · to commit a violation, to be unfaithful
- Hebrew מָעַל emphasizes covenant faithfulness betrayal (treachery against relationship), while Greek ἀφίστημι focuses on physical/relational withdrawal or instigating departure; LXX alignment reflects מָעַל's rebellion aspect as apostasy (standing-away-from) rather than mere rule-breaking.
- מָרַד mârad · H4775 · to rebel
- Hebrew מָרַד denotes rebellion or revolt against authority (typically political or covenantal); Greek ἀφίστημι in its active sense means to cause someone to revolt or desert, and in its reflexive sense to withdraw or apostatize—both capture the core semantic domain of departure from allegiance.
- נָקַע nâqaʻ · H5361 · to become disgusted
- Greek ἀφίστημι (to remove, instigate revolt, desist, desert) serves as the standard Septuagintal rendering of Hebrew נָקַע (be alienated), capturing the shared semantic core of separation or withdrawal from a prior state of connection or allegiance.
- סוּג çûwg · H5472 · to step back, to retreat, to cause to step back
- Hebrew סוּג (çûwg, H5472) emphasizes backward motion or turning away (backsliding), while Greek ἀφίστημι (aphístēmi, G868) emphasizes standing away from or departing (apostasy, desertion); both capture withdrawal or defection from an original position.
- רָחַק râchaq · H7368 · to be far, to go far, to stay far
- Greek ἀφίστημι emphasizes active withdrawal or revolt/apostasy in relational/covenantal contexts, while Hebrew רָחַק focuses on physical or metaphorical distance/separation without the revolt connotation.
Semantic domains 4 entries
- To go away, to depart, to leave15.51
- Used of physically leaving a place, as of Anna who did not leave the temple grounds in Luke 2:37 and the devil who departed from Jesus in Luke 4:13.
- To fall away, to forsake, to turn away34.26
- Used of abandoning faith or commitment, as of those who believe for a while but fall away in time of temptation in Luke 8:13.
- To shun, to avoid, to keep away from, to have nothing to do with34.41
- Used of deliberately keeping away from someone, as of the evildoers commanded to depart in Luke 13:27.
- To incite to revolt, to cause to rebel39.41
- Used of stirring up a following in rebellion, as of Judas of Galilee who drew away some people after him in Acts 5:37.
Word family 58 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon : 1 aorist ἀπέστησα; 2 aorist ἀπέστην; middle, present ἀφισταμαι, imperative ἀφίστασο (1…
1. transitively, in present, imperfect, future, 1 aorist active, to make stand off, cause to withdraw, to remove; tropically, to excite to revolt: Acts 5:37 (ἀπέστησε λαόν... ὀπίσω αὐτοῦ drew away after him; τινα ἀπό τίνος, Deut 7:4, and in Greek writings from Herodotus 1, 76 down).
2. intransitively, in perfect, pluperfect, 2 aorist active, to stand off, stand aloof, in various senses (as in Greek writings) according to the context: ἀπό with the genitive of person to go away, depart, from anyone, Lk 13:27 (from Ps 6:9; cf. Mt 7:23 ἀποχωρεῖτε ἀπ' ἐμοῦ); Acts 12:10; Acts 19:9; to desert, withdraw from, one, Acts 15:38; to cease to vex one, Lk 4:13; Acts 5:38; Acts 22:29; 2 Cor 12:8; to fall away, become faithless, ἀπό Θεοῦ, Heb 3:12; to shun, flee from, ἀπό τῆς ἀδικίας, 2 Tim 2:19. Middle, to withdraw oneself from: absolutely, to fall away, Lk 8:13; (τῆς πίστεως, 1 Tim 4:1, cf. Winers Grammar, 427, 428 (398)); to keep oneself away from, absent oneself from, Lk 2:37 (οὐκ ἀφίστατο ἀπό (T Tr WH omit ἀπό) τοῦ ἱεροῦ, she was in the temple every day); from anyone's society or fellowship, 1 Tim 6:5 Rec.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 4 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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