Greek word · G359

ἀνάλυσις

analysis

departure

Literally "a loosing-up" or "undoing." The related verb ἀναλύω was used for untying a ship from its moorings and setting sail, breaking camp, returning home, leaving a banquet, and dissolving or melting.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀνά-λυσις, -εως, ἡ

(ἀναλύω),

a loosing, e.g. of a vessel from its moorings, hence, departure: from life, 2 Timothy 4:6.†

(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 2 Timothy 4:6

Range of meaning

Literally "a loosing-up" or "undoing." The related verb ἀναλύω was used for untying a ship from its moorings and setting sail, breaking camp, returning home, leaving a banquet, and dissolving or melting. From these senses comes a mild word for death: "departure." The noun appears only here in the New Testament.

Against the English

"Departure" (KJV, BSB, ESV, NASB) is accurate and carries the leaving image. YLT's "release" brings out the idea of loosing, but a modern reader could take it as release from prison, which Paul does not expect (4:6–8, 18). NLT's "my death" is clear but loses the image.

Used elsewhere in the period

Paul uses the verb in Phil 1:23: "my desire is to depart (ἀναλῦσαι) and be with Christ." In the Septuagint the verb means "return" (Tobit 2:9; Wisdom 2:1, "no one has been known to return from Hades"), and in Sirach 3:15 it describes frost melting away. Writing in Rome about AD 95–96, 1 Clement 44:5 uses the noun for elders who have died: they "had a fruitful and complete departure (ἀνάλυσιν)." The Latin Vulgate renders it resolutio, "loosing."

Where it appears

2 Timothy · 1

  1. 2 Timothy 4:6 ἀναλύσεώς departure

    For I am already being poured out like a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand.

    Here: Literally "a loosing-up." The related verb was used for a ship casting off its ropes, soldiers striking camp, or guests leaving a feast. Here it is a gentle word for death, pictured as setting out rather than being destroyed.

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