Greek word · G1544
ἐκβάλλω
ekballō
to expel
ἐκβάλλω: to throw out, drive out, expel, banish. It is used of driving out people, demons, or an unwanted person from a house or community. Adding ἔξω ("outside") reinforces the picture of putting someone out of a space they were in.
Appears 79 times in 73 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ἐκ-βάλλω
[in LXX chiefly for גָּרַשׁ pi., also for שָׁלַךְ hi., יָצָא hi., יָרַשׁ hi., etc. ;]
1. to drive, cast or send out, to expel: with accusative of thing(s), mid. (σῖτον), before εἰς, Acts 27:38; pass., Matthew 15:17; with accusative of person(s), Matthew 21:12, Mark 11:15, al.; δαιμόνια, Matthew 7:22, Mark 1:34, al.; id. before ἐκ, Mark 7:26; παρά, Mark 16:9; ἐν, Mark 3:22; (ἐν) τ. ὀνόματι, Matthew 7:22, Mark 9:38; λόγῳ, Matthew 8:16; before ἔξω, John 6:37; id. with genitive, Mark 12:8, al.; of expulsion from home, Galatians 4:30; from the Church, 3 John 1:10.
2. In LXX and NT (like Heb. יָצָא and Aram. הַנְפֵּק), to command or cause to depart: Matthew 9:38, Mark 1:12 (see Swete, in l.), ib. Mark 1:43 5:40, Luke 10:2, James 2:25; τ. κρίσιν εἰς νῖκος (to cause to proceed to its goal), Matthew 12:20 (LXX).
3. to reject (cl.): τ. ὄνομα ὑμῶς ὡς πονηρόν (cf. Deuteronomy 25:14), Luke 6:22; to leave out, Revelation 11:2.
4. to take, draw or pluck out;
(a) with violence: Matthew 7:5, Mark 9:47, Luke 6:42;
(b) to bring forth or out of: Matthew 12:35, Luke 10:35.
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
ἐκβάλλω: to throw out, drive out, expel, banish. It is used of driving out people, demons, or an unwanted person from a house or community. Adding ἔξω ("outside") reinforces the picture of putting someone out of a space they were in. οὐ μή with the aorist subjunctive is the most emphatic negation in Greek: "certainly not, by no means."
- Against the English
KJV/ESV/NASB "cast out" keep the expulsion image. BSB/NIV "drive away" and NLT "reject" can suggest turning someone away at the door rather than putting out someone already inside. KJV "in no wise" and NASB "certainly not" keep the force of οὐ μή best. YLT "cast without" is literal for ἔξω.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In John the same wording is used for expulsion from a community or domain. The healed blind man: "they threw him out (ἐξέβαλον αὐτὸν ἔξω)" of the synagogue setting (9:34–35). "Now the ruler of this world will be thrown out (ἐκβληθήσεται ἔξω)" (12:31). A dead branch "is thrown out" (ἐβλήθη ἔξω, 15:6). Compare also the traders driven from the temple (2:15).
From the study of Matthew 10:1
- Range of meaning
To throw out, expel, drive out; also to send out (often urgently), take out, bring forth.
- Against the English
"Drive out" (BSB, NIV) and "cast out" (KJV, ESV, WEB) both work. No English version can show the link with 9:38, where the same verb is usually translated "send out."
- Used elsewhere in the period
It is used for expelling people from a house or a city, and in the Gospels it is the usual verb for exorcism (Matthew 8:16, 31; 9:33; 12:24–28).
- Range of meaning
To throw out, drive out, expel. It is often forceful: casting out demons, throwing someone out of a place, sending workers out. It can also mean simply 'take out' or 'remove.'
- Against the English
KJV/YLT 'cast out' keeps the force. 'Take out' and 'remove' (BSB, WEB, ESV, NIV) are natural for the eye image but hide the fact that one verb is used for both eyes.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Matthew uses it for exorcism (8:16; 10:1, 8; 12:24–28) and, two paragraphs later, for those who say 'did we not cast out demons in your name?' (7:22). Verse 4 uses it for the hypocrite's offer: 'let me take out the speck.'
Where it appears
Matthew · 28
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Mark · 16
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Luke · 20
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John · 6
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Acts · 5
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Galatians · 1
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James · 1
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3 John · 1
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Revelation · 1
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Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.