ἐξαίρω

From the study of 1 Corinthians 5:13

Range of meaning

To lift up and carry off, remove, take away. In the LXX it often means to purge or eliminate. In Deuteronomy's formula it translates Hebrew bi'er, 'to burn away, consume, sweep out' (HALOT s.v. בער).

Against the English

BSB/NIV 'expel,' ESV 'purge,' KJV/WEB 'put away,' NASB 'remove.' 'Purge' best keeps Deuteronomy's sense of cleansing. 'Put away' is ambiguous to modern ears and in KJV English is also used for divorce. None of them shows the reader that this is a quotation, though BSB and NIV mark it with quotation marks.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek Deuteronomy 17:7; 19:19; 21:21; 22:21, 24; 24:7 (also 13:5; 17:12 with related wording): 'and you shall remove (exareis) the evil from among you.' In Deuteronomy the setting is the death penalty for idolatry, false witness, a rebellious son, sexual crimes and kidnapping. Deuteronomy 22:30 (Hebrew 23:1), forbidding a man to take his father's wife, comes right after the sexual-crime cases in 22:21–24.

From the study of 1 Maccabees 5:27

Range of meaning

Literally 'lift out, take away'. It can mean removing a thing, driving people out, or wiping them out and destroying them.

Against the English

KJV/Brenton/WEB 'destroy' is correct. The Greek picture is of removing a people completely from the land, not of damaging property.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Deuteronomy's repeated formula 'you shall purge (exareis) the evil from among you' (Deut 17:7; 19:19, etc.), which Paul quotes in 1 Cor 5:13. In 1 Maccabees it opens this chapter: the nations 'planned to wipe out (exairein) the race of Jacob who were among them' (5:2).

From the study of 1 Maccabees 5:9

Range of meaning

To lift up and out, remove, take away. From this come 'drive out, eliminate, wipe out.' In the Septuagint it renders verbs meaning to purge, root out or remove completely.

Against the English

'To destroy them' (KJV, WEB, Brenton) is fair. The Greek picture is more exactly 'to remove them' from the land: eradication, whether by killing or by expulsion.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Deuteronomy's refrain 'you shall purge (exareis) the evil from your midst' (e.g. Deut 17:7 LXX) the word means to remove completely. Paul quotes the same formula in 1 Cor 5:13. In 1 Maccabees the phrase 'to remove us / the race of Jacob' recurs as a description of what the enemies intend (3:52, 58; 5:2, 10).