Greek word · G1628

ἐκφεύγω

ekpheugō

to escape

To run out of, flee from, get away. It can mean a physical escape (Acts 16:27, prisoners escaping; Acts 19:16, men fleeing a house). It also means escaping a danger, a penalty or judgment (Rom 2:3, 'escape the judgment of God'; Heb 2:3; 12:25).

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἐκ-φεύγω

[in LXX for נוּס, etc. ;]

to flee away, escape: absol., Acts 16:27, 1 Thessalonians 5:3, Hebrews 2:3; before ἐκ, Acts 19:10; with accusative of person(s), Hebrews 12:25; with accusative of thing(s), Luke 21:36, Romans 2:3; τ. χεῖρας αὐτοῦ, 2 Corinthians 11:33.†

(AS)

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

In depth

From the study of Luke 21:36

Range of meaning

To run out of, flee from, get away. It can mean a physical escape (Acts 16:27, prisoners escaping; Acts 19:16, men fleeing a house). It also means escaping a danger, a penalty or judgment (Rom 2:3, 'escape the judgment of God'; Heb 2:3; 12:25).

Against the English

'Escape' is right. But among readers who know popular prophecy teaching it is often heard as 'be removed from the earth'. The Greek word does not specify the means of escape.

How it drifted

Since the 19th century, popular end-times teaching has often read 'escape' here as a reference to believers being taken up before the tribulation (the 'rapture'). The word itself only says 'get clear of'.

Used elsewhere in the period

1 Thessalonians 5:3 is a striking parallel. 'Sudden (aiphnidios) destruction will come upon them like labour pains … and they will not escape (ou mē ekphygōsin).' Luke 21:34 uses the same rare adjective, aiphnidios, for the day coming 'suddenly'. Both texts seem to draw on a shared early Christian teaching. Isaiah 24:17–18 in the Greek Old Testament is also behind the 'trap' image: 'terror, pit and snare (pagis) upon you who dwell on the earth', where whoever flees the terror falls into the pit.

From the study of Hebrews 12:25

Range of meaning

Flee out of, escape, get away from (danger, punishment, a pursuer).

Against the English

'Escape' is accurate. The prefix ἐκ- ('out of') makes it 'get clear away', but English does not need to mark this.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Heb 2:3 it is used in the letter's first warning: 'how shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?' In 2 Macc 6:26 Eleazar says he will not escape the hands of the Almighty, alive or dead. Also Luke 21:36; Rom 2:3; 1 Thess 5:3.

From the study of Hebrews 2:3

Range of meaning

To flee out of, get away, escape a danger, pursuer, penalty or judgment.

Against the English

"Escape" is accurate. The question is what is being escaped. Verse 2 supplies it: the "just recompense" (endikon misthapodosian) that every transgression received.

Used elsewhere in the period

Rom 2:3: "do you think you will escape the judgment of God?"; 1 Thess 5:3; Luke 21:36. Heb 12:25 restates this verse: "if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we." 2 Macc 6:26: the martyr Eleazar says, "whether I live or die I shall not escape the hands of the Almighty."

Where it appears

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 21:36 ἐκφυγεῖν to escape

    So keep watch at all times, and pray that you may have the strength to escape all that is about to happen and to stand before the Son of Man.”

    Here: To get clear of something that would otherwise catch you. This follows straight from the 'trap' image of vv.34–35. The verb is a single completed action: to escape once and for all.

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 16:27 ἐκπεφευγέναι to have escaped

    When the jailer woke up and saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself, presuming that the prisoners had escaped.

  2. Acts 19:16 ἐκφυγεῖν fleeing

    Then the man with the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. The attack was so violent that they ran out of the house naked and wounded.

Romans · 1

  1. Romans 2:3 ἐκφεύξῃ will escape

    So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment?

    Here: "You will get clean away from": the picture is of a fugitive slipping out of a court's reach. Future tense: it looks ahead to the coming day of judgment (2:5).

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 11:33 ἐξέφυγον I escaped

    But I was lowered in a basket through a window in the wall and escaped his grasp.

1 Thessalonians · 1

  1. 1 Thessalonians 5:3 ἐκφύγωσιν.¶ shall they escape.

    While people are saying, “Peace and security,” destruction will come upon them suddenly, like labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape.

    Here: “Get away from, flee out of.” Just as a woman in labor cannot step out of her contractions, they cannot step out of this day.

Hebrews · 2

  1. Hebrews 2:3 ἐκφευξόμεθα will escape

    how shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? This salvation was first announced by the Lord, was confirmed to us by those who heard Him,

    Here: Future tense: "will we get away?" What they would need to escape is the "just recompense" of verse 2, meaning God's judgment. The prefix ek- ("out of") gives the picture of getting clear of something closing in.

  2. Hebrews 12:25 ἐξέφυγον escaped

    See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if the people did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject Him who warns us from heaven?

    Here: They did not get away from God's judgment. That generation died in the wilderness (3:16–19). The verb echoes 2:3, 'how shall we escape?'

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