Greek word · G1807

ἐξαιρέω

exaireō

to take out/select

Active: 'take out, tear out, remove'. Middle voice: 'take out for oneself, select; rescue, deliver' (Acts 7:10, 34; 12:11; Gal 1:4).

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

What it means

ἐξ-αιρέω -ῶ

[in LXX chiefly for נָצַל hi. ;]

to take out: with accusative, ὀφθαλμόν, Matthew 5:29 18:9; mid.

(a) to take out for oneself, choose: Acts 26:17 (Thayer, see word; Page, Ac., l.with, but see infr.);

(b) to deliver: Acts 7:10, 34" (LXX) Acts 12:11 Acts 23:27 Acts 26:17 (EV, but see supr.), Galatians 1:4.†

(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 Matthew 5:29

Range of meaning

Active: 'take out, tear out, remove'. Middle voice: 'take out for oneself, select; rescue, deliver' (Acts 7:10, 34; 12:11; Gal 1:4).

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'pluck out' sounds almost delicate today. BSB and NIV 'gouge out' and ESV 'tear out' better catch the violent, final act.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used in the Septuagint for removing things and for divine rescue (e.g. Exod 3:8, 'to deliver them'). Gouging out the right eye was a known act of humiliation and mutilation: Nahash threatens Jabesh-Gilead with it (1 Sam 11:2), and Zechariah pronounces a curse on the worthless shepherd's right eye (Zech 11:17).

From the study of Acts 7:10

Range of meaning

Active voice: to take out, tear out, remove (Matthew 5:29, 'pluck out' an eye). Middle voice: to take out for oneself, which gives two senses: (1) to choose or select, and (2) above all, to rescue or deliver someone from danger or from someone's power (BDAG).

Against the English

'Delivered' (KJV, WEB, YLT) and 'rescued' (BSB) are both accurate. 'Rescued' brings out the picture of pulling someone out of a bad place a little better.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in the Greek Old Testament for God rescuing his people. Exodus 3:8 has 'I have come down to rescue them (exelesthai) out of the hand of the Egyptians'. Stephen quotes this in Acts 7:34. Luke uses the word again for Peter's rescue from Herod (Acts 12:11) and Paul's (Acts 23:27; 26:17).

From the study of Acts 23:27

Range of meaning

In the active voice it means to take out or remove (Matt 5:29, "pluck out" an eye). In the middle voice it means to choose out for oneself, or more often to rescue or deliver someone from danger or from someone's power.

Against the English

Every major English version has "rescued", which is right. What English cannot show is that Luke uses this same verb for God's acts of deliverance.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint) it is common for God delivering his people (e.g. Exod 3:8, "I have come down to deliver them", quoted in Acts 7:34). In Acts: Joseph delivered from his troubles (7:10); Peter: "the Lord… rescued me from the hand of Herod" (12:11); and Jesus' promise to Paul: "rescuing you from the people and from the Gentiles" (26:17).

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

  1. Matthew 5:29 ἔξελε do pluck out

    If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

    Here: Aorist imperative, a command for one decisive act: 'tear it out.' A violent, final picture.

  2. Matthew 18:9 ἔξελε do gouge out

    And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

    Here: Aorist imperative, a single decisive act: 'take it out!' The verb is plain ('remove'). Used of an eye, it becomes violent, so 'tear out' or 'gouge out' is fair.

Acts · 5

  1. Acts 7:10 ἐξείλατο rescued

    and rescued him from all his troubles. He granted Joseph favor and wisdom in the sight of Pharaoh king of Egypt, who appointed him ruler over Egypt and all his household.

    Here: 'He pulled him out.' In the middle voice this verb is the normal word for rescuing someone from danger. It is a single completed act of God, and the same verb comes back for Moses and Israel in 7:34.

  2. Acts 7:34 ἐξελέσθαι to deliver

    I have indeed seen the oppression of My people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to deliver them. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’

    Here: An infinitive of purpose: "in order to rescue". The basic picture is pulling someone out of a grip. Acts uses the same verb for God rescuing Joseph (7:10), Peter (12:11) and Paul (26:17).

  3. Acts 12:11 ἐξείλατό delivered

    Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know for sure that the Lord has sent His angel and rescued me from Herod’s grasp and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”

    Here: 'Pulled me out' or 'rescued me'. The active form means to take something out (Matt 5:29, 'pluck out' an eye). The middle form used here is the normal Greek for rescuing someone from danger. It is the same verb Moses uses in Exodus 18:4: 'he rescued me from the hand of Pharaoh.'

  4. Acts 23:27 ἐξειλάμην I rescued

    This man was seized by the Jews, and they were about to kill him when I came with my troops to rescue him. For I had learned that he is a Roman citizen,

    Here: "I rescued" or "I pulled [him] out". The middle form of this verb means delivering someone from danger. It is the main verb of the sentence, so the rescue is what Lysias wants Felix to notice most.

  5. Acts 26:17 ἐξαιρούμενός delivering

    I will rescue you from your own people and from the Gentiles. I am sending you to them

    Here: A present participle in the middle voice, which here means Jesus does this for his own purposes: 'taking you out (for myself)'. It describes an ongoing protecting hand rather than a single future act. Most read it as 'rescuing'. A minority read it as 'choosing out'.

Galatians · 1

  1. Galatians 1:4 ἐξέληται He may deliver

    who gave Himself for our sins to rescue us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father,

    Here: 'Pull out, snatch out.' This is the language of rescue from a hostile power, used of God bringing Israel out of Egypt (Exodus 3:8 in the Greek Old Testament). It pictures liberation, not just a pardon.

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