What does καταστρέφω (katastréphō) mean in the Bible?
καταστρέφω (katastréphō): Destruction through physical overturning; often describes violent disruption of places or systems, not merely gentle repositioning.
Greek · G2690
καταστρέφω
To overturn
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καταστρέφω G2690
Pronunciation katastréphō
What does καταστρέφω (katastréphō) mean in the Bible?
καταστρέφω (katastréphō): Destruction through physical overturning; often describes violent disruption of places or systems, not merely gentle repositioning.
Full entry for καταστρέφω (G2690) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2690?
The BSB source-word alignment has 2 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include He overturned (2).
Where does καταστρέφω (katastréphō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 21:12. Its strongest book concentrations include Mark (1), Matthew (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It He overturned 2× Matthew 21:12, Mark 11:15
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 21:12
Aligned rows 2
Books represented 2
Matthew 1 Mark 1
Source forms
κατέστρεψεν 2x katestrepsen Matthew 21:12, Mark 11:15
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2x Matthew 21:12, Mark 11:15
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Destruction through physical overturning; often describes violent disruption of places or systems, not merely gentle repositioning.
Strong's G2690
Lexical occurrences 2 verses Greek text appearances 2 times Word forms 1 form 2 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Proverbs 12:7 Source Gloss
to overturn
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Destruction through physical overturning; often describes violent disruption of places or systems, not merely gentle repositioning.
1to turn down, turn over; as, the soil.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
2 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 21:12 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
κατέστρεψε, katestreyen
I overturn, overthrow
Read verse Mark 11:15 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
κατέστρεψε· katestreyen
I overturn, overthrow
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.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 1 Aligned forms 2 Tenses Aorist Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 2×
Aorist Active Matt 21:12 · Mark 11:15 2×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 2 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 2
Voice
active 2
Mood
indicative 2
NT Occurrences
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)
Sampled Scripture Occurrences
Representative Scripture witnesses for this entry: passage, original form, and sense in context.
Biblical Witnesses
Complete destruction or ruin of the wicked person's house or estate
The wicked are cast down or ruined by their own wickedness at death
The righteous one actively brings down or ruins the house of the wicked
A man who takes bribes destroys or ruins the stability of the land
Word Origins
καταστρέφω is built from these roots:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain