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Greek · G615 · unreviewed

ἀποκτείνω

To kill outright; figuratively, to destroy

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ἀποκτείνω G615
Pronunciation apokteínō

What does ἀποκτείνω (apokteínō) mean in the Bible?

ἀποκτείνω (apokteínō) is a Greek word meaning "to kill outright; figuratively, to destroy". ἀπο-κτείνω (also in late forms -κτέννω, Mat.

Full entry for ἀποκτείνω (G615) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

to kill outright; figuratively, to destroy
Extended definition

To kill with finality; perfective aspect emphasizes complete destruction rather than mere wounding or attempt.

(also in late forms -κτέννω, Mat.10:28, a1., LTTr., -κτεννύω, Mrk.12:5, WH), [in LXX for הָרַג, מוּת ;] to kill: Mat.14:5, al.; before instr. ἐν (which see), Eph.2:16, Rev.2:23, al. Metaphorical: Rom.7:11; τ. ἔχθραν, Eph.2:16; τὸ γράμμα ἀποκτείνει 2Co.3:6 (on the perfective force of this verb, see M, Pr., 114)

Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Grammatical Forms

How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.

Tenses
Aorist Future Present
Voices
Active Passive
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 23×
Aorist Active Matt 10:28 · Matt 14:5 · Mark 3:4 · Mark 6:19 · Luke 12:5 · Luke 13:31 · John 5:18 · John 7:1 · John 7:19 · John 7:20 · John 7:25 · John 8:37 · John 8:40 · John 18:31 · Acts 21:31 · Rev 6:8 16×
Aorist Passive Matt 16:21 · Mark 8:31 · Luke 9:22 · Rev 11:5 · Rev 13:10 6×
Present Passive Rev 6:11 1×
Indicative states a fact or reality 29×
Aorist Active Matt 21:35 · Matt 21:39 · Matt 22:6 · Mark 12:5 · Mark 12:8 · Luke 11:47 · Luke 11:48 · Luke 20:15 · Acts 7:52 · Rom 11:3 · Luke 13:4 · Rom 7:11 · Acts 3:15 13×
Future Active Matt 17:23 · Matt 24:9 · Mark 9:31 · Mark 10:34 · Luke 11:49 · Luke 18:33 · John 8:22 · Rev 11:7 · Matt 23:34 · Rev 2:23 10×
Aorist Passive Rev 9:18 · Rev 9:20 · Rev 11:13 · Rev 19:21 · Rev 2:13 5×
Present Active 2 Cor 3:6 1×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 13×
Aorist Active Matt 26:4 · Mark 14:1 · John 11:53 · John 12:10 · Acts 23:12 · Acts 27:42 · Rev 9:5 · Rev 9:15 · Matt 21:38 · Mark 12:7 · Luke 20:14 · Acts 23:14 12×
Aorist Passive Rev 13:15 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 9×
Present Active Matt 10:28 · Luke 12:4 · Matt 23:37 · Luke 13:34 · Mark 12:5 5×
Aorist Active John 16:2 · Eph 2:16 · 1 Thess 2:15 3×
Aorist Passive Mark 9:31 1×
74 total occurrences across all forms in the biblical text Morphology: MorphGNT SBLGNT — CC BY-SA 3.0
Discourse Aspect

How this verb appears across 71 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).

Aspect
completed 17 ongoing 1 prospective 8 subjunctive 13 infinitive 23 participle 9
Tense
aorist 56 future 8 present 7
Voice
active 57 passive 14
Mood
indicative 26 infinitive 23 subjunctive 13 participle 9
NT Occurrences
Matthew 10:28 ἀποκτεννόντων present active participle participle Matthew 10:28 ἀποκτεῖναι aorist active infinitive infinitive Matthew 14:5 ἀποκτεῖναι aorist active infinitive infinitive Matthew 16:21 ἀποκτανθῆναι aorist passive infinitive infinitive Matthew 17:23 ἀποκτενοῦσιν future active indicative prospective Matthew 21:35 ἀπέκτειναν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 21:38 ἀποκτείνωμεν aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 21:39 ἀπέκτειναν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 23:37 ἀποκτείνουσα present active participle participle Matthew 24:9 ἀποκτενοῦσιν future active indicative prospective Matthew 26:4 ἀποκτείνωσιν aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Mark 3:4 ἀποκτεῖναι aorist active infinitive infinitive Mark 6:19 ἀποκτεῖναι aorist active infinitive infinitive Mark 8:31 ἀποκτανθῆναι aorist passive infinitive infinitive Mark 9:31 ἀποκτενοῦσιν future active indicative prospective Mark 9:31 ἀποκτανθεὶς aorist passive participle participle Mark 10:34 ἀποκτενοῦσιν future active indicative prospective Mark 12:5 ἀπέκτειναν aorist active indicative completed Mark 12:5 ἀποκτέννοντες present active participle participle Mark 12:7 ἀποκτείνωμεν aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Mark 12:8 ἀπέκτειναν aorist active indicative completed Mark 14:1 ἀποκτείνωσιν aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Luke 9:22 ἀποκτανθῆναι aorist passive infinitive infinitive Luke 11:47 ἀπέκτειναν aorist active indicative completed Luke 11:48 ἀπέκτειναν aorist active indicative completed Luke 12:4 ἀποκτεινόντων present active participle participle Luke 12:5 ἀποκτεῖναι aorist active infinitive infinitive Luke 13:31 ἀποκτεῖναι aorist active infinitive infinitive Luke 13:34 ἀποκτείνουσα present active participle participle Luke 13:4 ἀπέκτεινεν aorist active indicative completed Luke 18:33 ἀποκτενοῦσιν future active indicative prospective Luke 20:14 ἀποκτείνωμεν aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Luke 20:15 ἀπέκτειναν aorist active indicative completed John 5:18 ἀποκτεῖναι aorist active infinitive infinitive John 7:1 ἀποκτεῖναι aorist active infinitive infinitive John 7:19 ἀποκτεῖναι aorist active infinitive infinitive John 7:20 ἀποκτεῖναι aorist active infinitive infinitive John 7:25 ἀποκτεῖναι aorist active infinitive infinitive John 8:22 ἀποκτενεῖ future active indicative prospective John 8:37 ἀποκτεῖναι aorist active infinitive infinitive +31 more 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)

Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

Witnesses
Luke 9:21–22 ἀποκτανθῆναι apokteínō
To be killed
Appears In

Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.

θέλω · ἀποκτείνω G2309, G615
he wants to kill you
πατήρ · ἀποκτείνω G3962, G615
your fathers killed
ἀποκτείνω · προφήτης G615, G4396
the one killing the prophets
ἀποκτείνω · σῶμα G615, G4983
those who kill the body
Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

Acts 21 — Paul Goes to Jerusalem and Is Seized in the Temple Acts 23 — The Lord Stands Near Paul and Preserves His Witness John 11 — The Resurrection and the Life, the Raising of Lazarus, and the Plot to Kill Jesus John 16 — The Spirit’s Convicting Witness, the Disciples’ Sorrow Turned to Joy, and Christ’s Victory over the World John 18 — The Arrested King: Betrayal, Sovereign Surrender, Denial, Trial, and the Kingdom Not of This World Mark 12 — The Rejected Son, the Greatest Commandment, the Lord of David, and the Widow’s Offering Mark 14 — The Son of Man Handed Over: Anointing, Supper, Gethsemane, Betrayal, Trial, and Denial Mark 8 — Seeing Jesus Clearly: Bread, Blindness, Confession, Cross, and Discipleship Mark 9 — Glory, Unbelief, Suffering, Humility, and Radical Discipleship Matthew 16 — The Confession of the Christ, the Church Christ Builds, and the Cross-Shaped Way of Discipleship Matthew 17 — The Glory of the Son, the Coming of Elijah, the Failure of Little Faith, and the Son’s Humble Freedom Matthew 21 — The King Enters Jerusalem, Judges Fruitless Religion, and Exposes Rejected-Son Leadership Matthew 22 — The Wedding Banquet, the King’s Invitation, and the Messiah Who Is David’s Lord Romans 7 — Released from the Law, Exposed by the Law, and Crying Out for Deliverance

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

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

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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