Greek word · G115

ἀθέτησις

athetēsis

nullification

The act of cancelling or making void something that had legal force, such as a law, treaty, will, contract, debt or decree.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 24, 2026

What it means

ἀθέτησις, -εως, ἡ

(ἀθετέω), [in LXX, usually of unfaithful, rebellious action: 1 Samuel 24:12 (פֶּשַׁע), Jeremiah 12:1 (בֶּגֶד), Daniel 9:7 (מַעַל), 2Ma.14:28 * ;]

a disannulling, setting aside: Hebrews 7:18 9:26 (for similar usage in π., see Deiss., BS, 228 f.; MM, VGT, see word).†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: The act of cancelling or making void something that had legal force, such as a law, treaty, will, contract, debt or decree. It comes from the verb ἀθετέω, "to set aside, reject, treat as invalid," built from a- ("not") and tithēmi ("to set, establish"): literally to "un-establish." In everyday Greek the verb could also mean breaking faith or rejecting a person.
Against the English: KJV and YLT "disannulling" and WEB "annulling" keep the legal sense. BSB and NIV "set aside," and NASB "a setting aside," are accurate but softer, and can sound like putting something on a shelf for later. The Greek describes an official cancellation.
Used elsewhere in the period: Greek legal papyri from the Roman period use ἀθέτησις, often paired with ἀκύρωσις ("invalidation"), for formally cancelling a document or a debt. Deissmann and Moulton–Milligan documented this, and it is why the word sounded like the courtroom or the record office to first-century ears. In the New Testament the noun appears only in Hebrews: here, and in 9:26, where Christ appeared "for the cancelling (εἰς ἀθέτησιν) of sin." The verb appears in Gal 3:15 (no one annuls a ratified covenant), Mark 7:9 ("you nullify the commandment of God") and Heb 10:28 (one who "set aside the law of Moses"). In the Greek Old Testament the verb often means breaking faith or rebelling.

Range of meaning: 'Setting aside, annulment, cancellation.' It comes from ἀθετέω, 'to set aside, declare void'. In legal language it means cancelling a document or obligation so that it no longer has force.
Against the English: KJV, ESV and WEB have 'put away sin'. BSB and NIV have 'do away with'. NLT has 'remove'. All are fair. 'Put away' can sound like simply removing something from sight, while the Greek is the language of legal cancellation.
Used elsewhere in the period: Its only other New Testament use is Heb 7:18: 'a setting aside of the former commandment'. Papyri use ἀθέτησις and the verb in formulas for annulling contracts and documents (Deissmann, Bible Studies; Moulton–Milligan).

Hebrews · 2

Hebrews 7:18 Ἀθέτησις A putting away

So the former commandment is set aside because it was weak and useless

Here: A legal word for officially cancelling a document, decree or debt so that it no longer has force. It comes first in the sentence for emphasis: what is happening is a formal annulment.
Hebrews 9:26 ἀθέτησιν [the] putting away

Otherwise, Christ would have had to suffer repeatedly since the foundation of the world. But now He has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of Himself.

Here: A legal word for cancelling something so that it no longer has force. Sin is treated as if it were a standing claim that is struck off the record.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.