What does ἀποσπάω (apospáō) mean in the Bible?
ἀποσπάω (apospáō): To forcibly separate or withdraw, often implying sudden or violent action in physical contexts.
Greek · G645
ἀποσπάω
To draw away
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ἀποσπάωG645
Pronunciationapospáō
What does ἀποσπάω (apospáō) mean in the Bible?
ἀποσπάω (apospáō): To forcibly separate or withdraw, often implying sudden or violent action in physical contexts.
Full entry for ἀποσπάω (G645) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G645?
The BSB source-word alignment has 4 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include drew (1), to draw away (1), we had torn ourselves away (1), withdrew (1).
Where does ἀποσπάω (apospáō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 26:51. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (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 Itdrew1×Matthew 26:51
to draw away1×Acts 20:30
we had torn ourselves away1×Acts 21:1
withdrew1×Luke 22:41
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 26:51ἀπέσπασενtodrewVerb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularLuke 22:41ἀπεσπάσθηtowithdrewVerb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person SingularActs 20:30ἀποσπᾶνtoto draw awayVerb - Present Infinitive ActiveActs 21:1ἀποσπασθένταςtowe had torn ourselves awayVerb - Aorist Participle Passive - Accusative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 26:51
Aligned rows4
Books represented3
Matthew1Luke1Acts2
Source forms
ἀπέσπασεν1xapespasenMatthew 26:51
ἀπεσπάσθη1xapespasthēLuke 22:41
ἀποσπᾶν1xapospanActs 20:30
ἀποσπασθέντας1xapospasthentasActs 21:1
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular1xMatthew 26:51
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Singular1xLuke 22:41
Verb - Aorist Participle Passive - Accusative Masculine Plural1xActs 21:1
Verb - Present Infinitive Active1xActs 20:30
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To forcibly separate or withdraw, often implying sudden or violent action in physical contexts.
Strong'sG645
Lexical occurrences5 versesGreek text appearances4 timesWord forms3 forms5 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
to draw away
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To forcibly separate or withdraw, often implying sudden or violent action in physical contexts.
to draw off or away, tear away (MM, see word): Act.20:30; μάχαιραν, draw a sword, Mat.26:51; pass., to be parted or withdrawn (Field, Notes, 134; but see Thayer, see word), Luk.22:41, Act.21:1.
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 26:51Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἀπέσπασεapespasen
I wrench away from, drag away, withdraw
Read verseLuke 22:41Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Passive Indicative
ἀπεσπάσθηapespasqh
I wrench away from, drag away, withdraw
Read verseActs 20:30Verb Present Active Infinitive
ἀποσπᾷνapospan
I wrench away from, drag away, withdraw
Read verseActs 21:1Verb Aorist Passive Participle Accusative Plural Masculine
ἀποσπασθένταςapospasqentav
I wrench away from, drag away, withdraw
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 groups3Aligned forms5TensesAorist, PresentVoicesActive, Passive, Middle
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicativestates a fact or reality3×
Aorist ActiveMatt 26:511×
Aorist PassiveLuke 22:411×
Aorist MiddleActs 21:61×
Infinitiveverbal noun — the action in abstract1×
Present ActiveActs 20:301×
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality1×
Aorist PassiveActs 21:11×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist4present1
Voice
active2passive2middle1
Mood
indicative3infinitive1participle1
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)
Word Origins
ἀποσπάω 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.