What does ἀποκεφαλίζω (apokephalízō) mean in the Bible?
ἀποκεφαλίζω (apokephalízō): Violent severing of the head from body; used exclusively for John Baptist's execution in NT.
Greek · G607
ἀποκεφαλίζω
To decapitate
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ἀποκεφαλίζωG607
Pronunciationapokephalízō
What does ἀποκεφαλίζω (apokephalízō) mean in the Bible?
ἀποκεφαλίζω (apokephalízō): Violent severing of the head from body; used exclusively for John Baptist's execution in NT.
Full entry for ἀποκεφαλίζω (G607) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G607?
The BSB source-word alignment has 4 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include beheaded (3), [and] beheaded (1).
Where does ἀποκεφαλίζω (apokephalízō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 14:10. Its strongest book concentrations include Mark (2), Luke (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 Itbeheaded3×Matthew 14:10, Mark 6:16, Luke 9:9
[and] beheaded1×Mark 6:27
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 14:10ἀπεκεφάλισενtobeheadedVerb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularMark 6:16ἀπεκεφάλισαtobeheadedVerb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person SingularMark 6:27ἀπεκεφάλισενto[and] beheadedVerb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularLuke 9:9ἀπεκεφάλισαtobeheadedVerb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 14:10
Aligned rows4
Books represented3
Matthew1Mark2Luke1
Source forms
ἀπεκεφάλισα2xapekephalisaMark 6:16, Luke 9:9
ἀπεκεφάλισεν2xapekephalisenMatthew 14:10, Mark 6:27
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular2xMark 6:16, Luke 9:9
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular2xMatthew 14:10, Mark 6:27
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Violent severing of the head from body; used exclusively for John Baptist's execution in NT.
Strong'sG607
Lexical occurrences4 versesGreek text appearances4 timesWord forms1 form4 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
to decapitate
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
4 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 14:10Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἀπεκεφάλισεapekefalisen
I behead
Read verseMark 6:16Verb First Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἀπεκεφάλισαapekefalisa
I behead
Read verseMark 6:27Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἀπεκεφάλισενapekefalisen
I behead
Read verseLuke 9:9Verb First Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἀπεκεφάλισα·apekefalisa
I behead
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 groups1Aligned forms4TensesAoristVoicesActive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicativestates a fact or reality4×
Aorist ActiveMatt 14:10 · Mark 6:27 · Mark 6:16 · Luke 9:94×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 4 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist4
Voice
active4
Mood
indicative4
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)
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Witnesses
Mark 6:14–29ἀποκεφαλίζωapokephalízō
to behead
Showing 1 selected witness from 4 lexical occurrence verses.