To die off (literally or figuratively)
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through theConnect page. Screenshots are helpful.
apothnesko means to die, undergo death, be dying, or come to the end of earthly life. The New Testament uses it for ordinary mortality, the death people face under judgment, the death of Christ for sinners, Christ's once-for-all death to sin, and the believer's reoriented life because Christ died and was raised.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀποθνήσκω (G599) · Open the biblical lexicon
apothnesko means to die, undergo death, be dying, or come to the end of earthly life. The New Testament uses it for ordinary mortality, the death people face under judgment, the death of Christ for sinners, Christ's once-for-all death to sin, and the believer's reoriented life because Christ died and was raised.
The BSB source-word alignment has 111 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include died (36), die (13), to die (10), dies (7), He died (3).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 8:32. Its strongest book concentrations include John (28), Romans (23), Luke (10), Mark (8).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Apothnesko means to die, undergo death, be dying, or come to the end of earthly life. The New Testament uses it for ordinary mortality, the death people face under judgment, the death of Christ for sinners, Christ's once-for-all death to sin, and the believer's reoriented life because Christ died and was raised. The verb is central to the gospel because Scripture does not merely say Jesus taught, suffered, or inspired.
It says Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. The word also keeps human hope sober: people are appointed to die once and face judgment, yet Jesus is the resurrection and the life, and His death creates life for those who believe.
The selected witnesses move from Jesus' promise of life through death, to Christ dying for sinners, to His once-for-all death to sin, to the apostolic gospel, to transformed living, and to death before judgment.
Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies.
Jesus tells Martha that whoever believes in Him will live even though he dies. The verb names real death under the promise of resurrection life in Christ.
But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
God proves His love in that Christ died for sinners. The verb carries substitutionary and saving love in Paul's gospel argument.
The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.
Christ's death is described as death to sin once for all, while His life is lived to God. The verb supports union-with-Christ sanctification.
For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,
Paul passes on as first importance that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. The verb is at the center of the apostolic gospel.
And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died for them and was raised again.
Christ died for all so those who live no longer live for themselves but for Him. His death creates a new direction for life.
Just as man is appointed to die once, and after that to face judgment,
Human beings are appointed to die once and then face judgment. The verb names the sober boundary that Christ's priestly work addresses in the surrounding context.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. Death as severance—natural, violent, or spiritual—often involving sacrifice or separation from life/sin.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 111 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I am dying, am about to die
Read verseI am dying, am about to die
Read verseI am dying, am about to die
Read verseI am dying, am about to die
Read verseI am dying, am about to die
Read verseI am dying, am about to die
Read verseI am dying, am about to die
Read verseI am dying, am about to die
Read verseI am dying, am about to die
Read verseI am dying, am about to die
Read verseI am dying, am about to die
Read verseI am dying, am about to die
Read verseI am dying, am about to die
Read verseI am dying, am about to die
Read verseI am dying, am about to die
Read verseI am dying, am about to die
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this verb appears across 108 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Representative Scripture witnesses for this entry: passage, original form, and sense in context.
Central to substitutionary logic.
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Apothnesko brings readers to the boundary humans cannot cross by strength, sincerity, or wisdom. Hebrews says people are appointed to die once and then face judgment. John 11 lets that sober reality stand while Jesus declares Himself the resurrection and the life. Paul then places the verb at the heart of the gospel: Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and God proves His love for sinners in that death.
Romans 6 adds that Christ died to sin once for all, so believers united to Him no longer relate to sin as master. Second Corinthians 5 presses the pastoral result: because He died for all, those who live no longer live for themselves. The verb therefore holds mortality, judgment, substitution, union, and new life together under Christ's cross and resurrection.
1Cor.15.3
Apothnesko is a common death verb, so its theological force depends on subject and context. When Christ is the subject, the verb can carry saving, substitutionary, and once-for-all significance. When humans are the subject, it may describe mortality, judgment, or the believer's participation in Christ's death.
From Genesis onward, death stands in relation to sin, judgment, and human frailty, while God promises life beyond what humans can secure. The New Testament announces that Christ entered death for sins and rose, making resurrection hope and transformed life possible.