What does ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō) mean in the Bible?
ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō): To reject or refuse allegiance; turning away from what one previously followed or accepted.
Greek · G654
ἀποστρέφω
To turn away or back (literally or figuratively)
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ἀποστρέφω G654
Pronunciation apostréphō
What does ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō) mean in the Bible?
ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō): To reject or refuse allegiance; turning away from what one previously followed or accepted.
Full entry for ἀποστρέφω (G654) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G654?
The BSB source-word alignment has 9 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include do not turn away from (1), has deserted (1), He will remove (1), if we reject (1), Put (1).
Where does ἀποστρέφω (apostréphō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 5:42. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Timothy (2), Matthew (2), Acts (1), Hebrews (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 do not turn away from 1× Matthew 5:42
has deserted 1× 2 Timothy 1:15
He will remove 1× Romans 11:26
if we reject 1× Hebrews 12:25
Put 1× Matthew 26:52
they will turn 1× 2 Timothy 4:4
turning 1× Acts 3:26
was inciting 1× Luke 23:14
who have rejected 1× Titus 1:14
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 5:42 ἀποστραφῇς to do not turn away from Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Passive - 2nd Person Singular Matthew 26:52 Ἀπόστρεψον to Put Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular Luke 23:14 ἀποστρέφοντα to was inciting Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Singular Acts 3:26 ἀποστρέφειν to turning Verb - Present Infinitive Active Romans 11:26 ἀποστρέψει to He will remove Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2 Timothy 1:15 ἀπεστράφησάν to has deserted Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural 2 Timothy 4:4 ἀποστρέψουσιν to they will turn Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Titus 1:14 ἀποστρεφομένων to who have rejected Verb - Present Participle Passive - Genitive Masculine Plural Hebrews 12:25 ἀποστρεφόμενοι to if we reject Verb - Present Participle Passive - Nominative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 5:42
Aligned rows 9
Books represented 7
Matthew 2 Luke 1 Acts 1 Romans 1 2 Timothy 2 Titus 1 Hebrews 1
Source forms
ἀπεστράφησάν 1x apestraphēsan 2 Timothy 1:15
ἀποστραφῇς 1x apostraphēs Matthew 5:42
ἀποστρέφειν 1x apostrephein Acts 3:26
ἀποστρεφόμενοι 1x apostrephomenoi Hebrews 12:25
ἀποστρεφομένων 1x apostrephomenōn Titus 1:14
ἀποστρέφοντα 1x apostrephonta Luke 23:14
ἀποστρέψει 1x apostrepsei Romans 11:26
Ἀπόστρεψον 1x Apostrepson Matthew 26:52
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular 1x Matthew 26:52
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural 1x 2 Timothy 1:15
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Passive - 2nd Person Singular 1x Matthew 5:42
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x 2 Timothy 4:4
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Romans 11:26
Verb - Present Infinitive Active 1x Acts 3:26
Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Masculine Singular 1x Luke 23:14
Verb - Present Participle Passive - Genitive Masculine Plural 1x Titus 1:14
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To reject or refuse allegiance; turning away from what one previously followed or accepted.
Strong's G654
Lexical occurrences 9 verses Greek text appearances 10 times Word forms 5 forms 9 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link 2 Timothy 1:15-18 Source Gloss
to turn away or back (literally or figuratively)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
10 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 5:42 Verb Second Person Singular Second Aorist Passive Subjunctive
ἀποστραφῇς. apostrafhv
I turn away, restore, reject
Read verse Matthew 26:52 Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Active Imperative
Ἀπόστρεψόν apostreyon
I turn away, restore, reject
Read verse Matthew 27:3 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἀπέστρεψε apestreyen
I turn away, restore, reject
Read verse Luke 23:14 Verb Present Active Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
ἀποστρέφοντα apostrefonta
I turn away, restore, reject
Read verse Acts 3:26 Verb Present Active Infinitive
ἀποστρέφειν apostrefein
I turn away, restore, reject
Read verse Romans 11:26 Verb Third Person Singular Future Active Indicative
ἀποστρέψει apostreyei
I turn away, restore, reject
Read verse 2 Timothy 1:15 Verb Third Person Plural Second Aorist Passive Indicative
ἀπεστράφησάν apestrafhsan
I turn away, restore, reject
Read verse 2 Timothy 4:4 Verb Third Person Plural Future Active Indicative
ἀποστρέψουσιν, apostreyousin
I turn away, restore, reject
Read verse Titus 1:14 Verb Present Middle Participle Genitive Plural Masculine
ἀποστρεφομένων apostrefomenwn
I turn away, restore, reject
Read verse Hebrews 12:25 Verb Present Middle Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀποστρεφόμενοι· apostrefomenoi
I turn away, restore, reject
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 9 Tenses Aorist, Present, Future Voices Passive, Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 1×
Aorist Passive Matt 5:42 1×
Imperative command or strong request 1×
Aorist Active Matt 26:52 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 3×
Present Passive Titus 1:14 · Heb 12:25 2×
Present Active Luke 23:14 1×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Present Active Acts 3:26 1×
Indicative states a fact or reality 3×
Future Active Rom 11:26 · 2 Tim 4:4 2×
Aorist Passive 2 Tim 1:15 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 9 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 4 aorist 3 future 2
Voice
active 5 passive 4
Mood
indicative 3 participle 3 infinitive 1 subjunctive 1 imperative 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 5:42 ἀποστραφῇς aorist passive subjunctive subjunctive Matthew 26:52 Ἀπόστρεψον aorist active imperative imperative Luke 23:14 ἀποστρέφοντα present active participle participle Acts 3:26 ἀποστρέφειν present active infinitive infinitive Romans 11:26 ἀποστρέψει future active indicative prospective 2 Timothy 1:15 ἀπεστράφησάν aorist passive indicative completed 2 Timothy 4:4 ἀποστρέψουσιν future active indicative prospective Titus 1:14 ἀποστρεφομένων present passive participle participle Hebrews 12:25 ἀποστρεφόμενοι present passive participle participle
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.
New Testament Witnesses
to turn away, withdraw, or distance oneself
Showing 1 selected witness from 9 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἀποστρέφω is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
The term highlights the painful reality that some distance themselves from faithful servants when the cost of association becomes high. 2 Timothy 1:15-18
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