What does ἀφανίζω (aphanízō) mean in the Bible?
ἀφανίζω (aphanízō): To destroy by making invisible or hidden; emphasis on removal from sight rather than annihilation.
Greek · G853
ἀφανίζω
To destroy
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ἀφανίζω G853
Pronunciation aphanízō
What does ἀφανίζω (aphanízō) mean in the Bible?
ἀφανίζω (aphanízō): To destroy by making invisible or hidden; emphasis on removal from sight rather than annihilation.
Full entry for ἀφανίζω (G853) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G853?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include destroy (1), do not destroy (1), perish (1), they disfigure (1), vanishes (1).
Where does ἀφανίζω (aphanízō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 6:16. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (3), Acts (1), James (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 destroy 1× Matthew 6:19
do not destroy 1× Matthew 6:20
perish 1× Acts 13:41
they disfigure 1× Matthew 6:16
vanishes 1× James 4:14
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 6:16 ἀφανίζουσιν to they disfigure Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Matthew 6:19 ἀφανίζει to destroy Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Matthew 6:20 ἀφανίζει to do not destroy Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Acts 13:41 ἀφανίσθητε to perish Verb - Aorist Imperative Passive - 2nd Person Plural James 4:14 ἀφανιζομένη to vanishes Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 6:16
Aligned rows 5
Books represented 3
Matthew 3 Acts 1 James 1
Source forms
ἀφανίζει 2x aphanizei Matthew 6:19, Matthew 6:20
ἀφανιζομένη 1x aphanizomenē James 4:14
ἀφανίζουσιν 1x aphanizousin Matthew 6:16
ἀφανίσθητε 1x aphanisthēte Acts 13:41
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2x Matthew 6:19, Matthew 6:20
Verb - Aorist Imperative Passive - 2nd Person Plural 1x Acts 13:41
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Matthew 6:16
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Feminine Singular 1x James 4:14
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To destroy by making invisible or hidden; emphasis on removal from sight rather than annihilation.
Strong's G853
Lexical occurrences 5 verses Greek text appearances 5 times Word forms 3 forms 5 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
to destroy
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To destroy by making invisible or hidden; emphasis on removal from sight rather than annihilation.
(ἀφανής), [in LXX for שָׁמֵם ni., שָׁמַד hi., etc. ;]
1to make unseen, hide from sight (Xen., a1.).
2Later (MM, see word)
ato destroy: Mat.6:19-20;
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 6:16 Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Indicative
ἀφανίζουσι afanizousin
I cause to disappear, I hide, remove, disfigure
Read verse Matthew 6:19 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἀφανίζει, afanizei
I cause to disappear, I hide, remove, disfigure
Read verse Matthew 6:20 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἀφανίζει, afanizei
I cause to disappear, I hide, remove, disfigure
Read verse Acts 13:41 Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Passive Imperative
ἀφανίσθητε· afanisqhte
I cause to disappear, I hide, remove, disfigure
Read verse James 4:14 Verb Present Passive Participle Nominative Singular Feminine
ἀφανιζομένη. afanizomenh
I cause to disappear, I hide, remove, disfigure
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 3 Aligned forms 5 Tenses Present, Aorist Voices Active, 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 3×
Present Active Matt 6:19 · Matt 6:20 · Matt 6:16 3×
Imperative command or strong request 1×
Aorist Passive Acts 13:41 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 1×
Present Passive Jas 4:14 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 4 aorist 1
Voice
active 3 passive 2
Mood
indicative 3 imperative 1 participle 1
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
ἀφανίζω is built from this root:
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