What does ῥύομαι (rhýomai) mean in the Bible?
Ῥύομαι means to rescue, deliver, or draw someone out of danger or dominion. Jesus teaches disciples to ask the Father for deliverance from evil or the evil one.
Greek · G4506
ῥύομαι
To rescue
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ῥύομαι G4506
Pronunciation rhýomai
What does ῥύομαι (rhýomai) mean in the Bible?
Ῥύομαι means to rescue, deliver, or draw someone out of danger or dominion. Jesus teaches disciples to ask the Father for deliverance from evil or the evil one.
Reader summary
Full entry for ῥύομαι (G4506) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4506?
The BSB source-word alignment has 17 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Deliverer (2), will rescue (2), [if] He rescued (1), deliver (1), deliverance (1).
Where does ῥύομαι (rhýomai) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 6:13. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Corinthians (3), 2 Timothy (3), Romans (3), 2 Peter (2).
What This Word Actually Means
Ῥύομαι means to rescue, deliver, or draw someone out of danger or dominion. Jesus teaches disciples to ask the Father for deliverance from evil or the evil one. Zechariah celebrates rescue from hostile hands so God's people may serve Him without fear in holiness and righteousness. Romans 7 cries for rescue from the body of death and immediately thanks God through Jesus Christ.
Paul remembers actual deliverance from deadly peril in 2 Corinthians while placing future hope in the God who will deliver again. Colossians declares the decisive transfer from the dominion of darkness into the kingdom of God's beloved Son. The verb centers a rescuer and a threat; it does not promise exemption from every suffering or identify the same danger in every passage.
How the Bible Uses It
Ῥύομαι names rescue from danger, hostile power, death, and the dominion of darkness. God delivers through Christ for holy service and persevering hope.
- Matt.6.13
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’
The prayer asks the Father for protection and rescue within daily dependence, temptation, forgiveness, and kingdom allegiance.
- Luke.1.74
Deliverance from hostile hands, that we may serve Him without fear,
Covenant deliverance from enemies has the purpose of fearless service in holiness before God.
- Rom.7.24
What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death?
The cry for rescue reaches its answer in God through Jesus Christ and leads into the Spirit's liberating work in Romans 8.
- 2Cor.1.10
He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and He will deliver us. In Him we have placed our hope that He will yet again deliver us,
Paul interprets past rescue from mortal danger as grounds for future hope while continuing to depend on the churches' prayers.
- Col.1.13
He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of His beloved Son,
Rescue from darkness is a completed transfer into the Son's kingdom, joined to redemption and forgiveness.
Book contextCanonical parallelPassage context
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 Deliverer 2× Romans 11:26, 1 Thessalonians 1:10
will rescue 2× Romans 7:24, 2 Timothy 4:18
[if] He rescued 1× 2 Peter 2:7
deliver 1× Matthew 6:13
deliverance 1× Luke 1:74
has delivered 1× 2 Corinthians 1:10
has rescued 1× Colossians 1:13
He will deliver [us] 1× 2 Corinthians 1:10
He will yet again deliver [us] 1× 2 Corinthians 1:10
I may be delivered 1× Romans 15:31
I was delivered 1× 2 Timothy 4:17
Let [God] deliver 1× Matthew 27:43
rescued 1× 2 Timothy 3:11
to rescue 1× 2 Peter 2:9
we may be delivered 1× 2 Thessalonians 3:2
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 6:13 ῥῦσαι to deliver Verb - Aorist Imperative Middle - 2nd Person Singular Matthew 27:43 ῥυσάσθω to Let [God] deliver Verb - Aorist Imperative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Luke 1:74 ῥυσθέντας to deliverance Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Accusative Masculine Plural Romans 7:24 ῥύσεται to will rescue Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Romans 11:26 Ῥυόμενος to Deliverer Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular Romans 15:31 ῥυσθῶ to I may be delivered Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Passive - 1st Person Singular 2 Corinthians 1:10 ἐρρύσατο to has delivered Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular 2 Corinthians 1:10 ῥύσεται to He will deliver [us] Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular 2 Corinthians 1:10 ῥύσεται to He will yet again deliver [us] Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Colossians 1:13 ἐρρύσατο to has rescued Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 6:13
Aligned rows 17
Books represented 9
Matthew 2 Luke 1 Romans 3 2 Corinthians 3 Colossians 1 1 Thessalonians 1 2 Thessalonians 1 2 Timothy 3 2 Peter 2
Source forms
ἐρρύσατο 4x errysato 2 Corinthians 1:10, Colossians 1:13, 2 Timothy 3:11, 2 Peter 2:7
ῥύσεται 3x rhysetai Romans 7:24, 2 Corinthians 1:10
ἐρρύσθην 1x errysthēn 2 Timothy 4:17
ῥύεσθαι 1x rhyesthai 2 Peter 2:9
ῥυόμενον 1x rhyomenon 1 Thessalonians 1:10
Ῥυόμενος 1x Rhyomenos Romans 11:26
ῥῦσαι 1x rhysai Matthew 6:13
ῥυσάσθω 1x rhysasthō Matthew 27:43
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular 4x 2 Corinthians 1:10, Colossians 1:13, 2 Timothy 3:11, 2 Peter 2:7
Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular 4x Romans 7:24, 2 Corinthians 1:10, 2 Timothy 4:18
Verb - Aorist Imperative Middle - 2nd Person Singular 1x Matthew 6:13
Verb - Aorist Imperative Middle - 3rd Person Singular 1x Matthew 27:43
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 1st Person Singular 1x 2 Timothy 4:17
Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Accusative Masculine Plural 1x Luke 1:74
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Passive - 1st Person Plural 1x 2 Thessalonians 3:2
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Passive - 1st Person Singular 1x Romans 15:31
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Do not promise the timing or form of temporal rescue where the passage promises God's final keeping instead.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that believers who suffer or die were not delivered; the New Testament's rescue hope includes resurrection.
- Do not reduce rescue to changed circumstances while ignoring transfer into Christ's kingdom and holy service.
Evidence Summary
MessiahRedemption
Greek word. Rescue through forceful extraction or removal, emphasizing deliverance from danger or evil power.
Strong's G4506
Lexical occurrences 17 verses Greek text appearances 18 times 16 shown below Word forms 5 forms 17 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link 2 Timothy 4:16-18 Source Gloss
to rescue
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 18 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 6:13 Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Middle Deponent Imperative
ῥῦσαι rusai
I rescue
Read verse Matthew 27:43 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle Deponent Imperative
ῥυσάσθω rusasqw
I rescue
Read verse Luke 1:74 Verb Aorist Passive Participle Accusative Plural Masculine
ῥυσθέντας, rusqentav
I rescue
Read verse Luke 11:4 Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Middle Deponent Imperative
ῥῦσαι rusai
I rescue
Read verse Romans 7:24 Verb Third Person Singular Future Middle Deponent Indicative
ῥύσεται rusetai
I rescue
Read verse Romans 11:26 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
ῥυόμενος, ruomenov
I rescue
Read verse Romans 15:31 Verb First Person Singular Aorist Passive Subjunctive
ῥυσθῶ rusqw
I rescue
Read verse 2 Corinthians 1:10 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ἐρρύσατο errusato
I rescue
Read verse 2 Corinthians 1:10 Verb Third Person Singular Present Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ῥύεται, ruetai
I rescue
Read verse 2 Corinthians 1:10 Verb Third Person Singular Future Middle Deponent Indicative
ῥύσεται· rusetai
I rescue
Read verse Colossians 1:13 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ἐρρύσατο errusato
I rescue
Read verse 1 Thessalonians 1:10 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
ῥυόμενον ruomenon
I rescue
Read verse 2 Thessalonians 3:2 Verb First Person Plural Aorist Passive Subjunctive
ῥυσθῶμεν rusqwmen
I rescue
Read verse 2 Timothy 3:11 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ἐρρύσατο errusato
I rescue
Read verse 2 Timothy 4:17 Verb First Person Singular Aorist Passive Indicative
ἐρρύσθην errusqhn
I rescue
Read verse 2 Timothy 4:18 Verb Third Person Singular Future Middle Deponent Indicative
ῥύσεταί rusetai
I rescue
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 5 Aligned forms 17 Tenses Future, Aorist, Present Voices Middle, Passive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 9×
Future Middle Rom 7:24 · 2 Cor 1:10 · 2 Tim 4:18 4×
Aorist Middle 2 Cor 1:10 · Col 1:13 · 2 Tim 3:11 · 2 Pet 2:7 4×
Aorist Passive 2 Tim 4:17 1×
Imperative command or strong request 2×
Aorist Middle Matt 6:13 · Matt 27:43 2×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 3×
Present Middle Rom 11:26 · 1 Thess 1:10 2×
Aorist Passive Luke 1:74 1×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 2×
Aorist Passive Rom 15:31 · 2 Thess 3:2 2×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Present Middle 2 Pet 2:9 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 17 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 10 future 4 present 3
Voice
middle 13 passive 4
Mood
indicative 9 participle 3 subjunctive 2 imperative 2 infinitive 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 6:13 ῥῦσαι aorist middle imperative imperative Matthew 27:43 ῥυσάσθω aorist middle imperative imperative Luke 1:74 ῥυσθέντας aorist passive participle participle Romans 7:24 ῥύσεται future middle indicative prospective Romans 11:26 ῥυόμενος present middle participle participle Romans 15:31 ῥυσθῶ aorist passive subjunctive subjunctive 2 Corinthians 1:10 ἐρρύσατο aorist middle indicative completed 2 Corinthians 1:10 ῥύσεται future middle indicative prospective 2 Corinthians 1:10 ῥύσεται future middle indicative prospective Colossians 1:13 ἐρρύσατο aorist middle indicative completed 1 Thessalonians 1:10 ῥυόμενον present middle participle participle 2 Thessalonians 3:2 ῥυσθῶμεν aorist passive subjunctive subjunctive 2 Timothy 3:11 ἐρρύσατο aorist middle indicative completed 2 Timothy 4:17 ἐρρύσθην aorist passive indicative completed 2 Timothy 4:18 ῥύσεταί future middle indicative prospective 2 Peter 2:7 ἐρρύσατο aorist middle indicative completed 2 Peter 2:9 ῥύεσθαι present middle infinitive infinitive
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)
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
to rescue, deliver, or save from danger
To rescue, deliver.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 17 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ῥύομαι is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Points to the saving action of Christ as the answer to human bondage. 2 Timothy 4:16-18
Paul expresses confidence in God's ability to deliver His servants from evil. Romans 7:14-25
Canonical Themes
Messiah Redemption
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.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Biblical rescue is concrete and comprehensive without becoming a guarantee of immediate ease. Jesus teaches believers to pray because evil is real and they remain dependent on the Father. Zechariah sees rescue leading to holy service, not self-protective comfort. Paul survives deadly danger and still expects future peril, yet past deliverance deepens hope and prayer.
Romans 7 and Colossians 1 identify still deeper bondage: death, sin, and the dominion of darkness require God's action through Christ. Rescue therefore has both already and not-yet dimensions. Believers have been transferred into the Son's kingdom, continue to seek protection, may experience temporal deliverance, and await resurrection from death itself. Teachers should avoid blaming sufferers for a lack of faith when danger remains.
Christian confidence rests in the Deliverer whose final salvation cannot fail.
Anchor passage
Matt.6.13
Doctrinal connections
- Exodus 14:10-31, the Lord rescuing Israel from hostile power
- Psalm 34:4-19, the Lord delivering the afflicted
- Matthew 6:9-13, prayer for rescue from evil
- Romans 7:21-8:11, rescue through Christ and life in the Spirit
- 2 Corinthians 1:8-11, deadly peril, deliverance, hope, and prayer
- Colossians 1:9-14, transfer from darkness into the Son's kingdom
Ῥύομαι is a middle-form verb meaning rescue or deliver from danger. The preposition ἐκ often identifies the power or peril from which deliverance occurs. The subject is typically the active rescuer even when English emphasizes the rescued person.
From Old to New Testament
The Lord rescues Israel from Egypt, His servants from enemies, and the afflicted who cry to Him. Jesus accomplishes the deeper exodus from sin and darkness and will finally rescue His people through resurrection and His coming kingdom.
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