Greek word · G4014

περιαιρέω

periaireō

to take away

To take away from around, strip off, remove; to take away completely. It is used of removing a garment, a veil, a ring or an anchor, and figuratively of taking away hope or guilt.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

περι-αιρέω, -ῶ

[in LXX chiefly for סוּר hi. ;]

to take away that which surrounds, take away, take off (τείχη, Hdt., Thuc.; χιτῶνα, Plat.; δακτύλιον, Genesis 41:42, cf. σφρηγῖδα, Hdt., ii, 151) : τ. κάλυΜΜα, pass., 2 Corinthians 3:16; as nautical term (RV, cast off), ἀγκύρας, Acts 27:40; absol., to cast loose: Acts 28:13. Metaphorical, to take away entirely: ἐλπίς, pass., Acts 27:20; ἁμαρτίας, Hebrews 10:11.†

(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 Hebrews 10:11

Range of meaning

To take away from around, strip off, remove; to take away completely. It is used of removing a garment, a veil, a ring or an anchor, and figuratively of taking away hope or guilt.

Against the English

'Take away' (all major English versions) is accurate. Some of the word's physical picture of stripping something off is lost, but English has no better short equivalent.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek Old Testament: Gen 41:42 (Pharaoh takes off his ring); Exod 34:34 (Moses removes the veil); the removal of fat from sacrificial animals in Leviticus 3–4; and of God removing Israel's guilt, e.g. Zeph 3:15 ('the Lord has taken away your iniquities'). New Testament: Acts 27:20 (all hope 'was taken away'), 2 Cor 3:16 (the veil 'is removed'). In Hebrews 10:4 a near-synonym is used: ἀφαιρεῖν, 'to take away'.

From the study of 2 Corinthians 3:16

Range of meaning

To take off something that surrounds or encloses: strip off clothing or a covering, cast off anchors (Acts 27:40), take away completely, as when 'all hope was taken away' (Acts 27:20) or sins are 'taken away' (Heb 10:11).

Against the English

'Is taken away' (BSB, NIV, WEB) and 'is removed' (ESV) read the verb as passive. Read as middle it means 'he takes it off', the sense in Exodus. The KJV's future 'shall be taken away' adds a time reference the Greek present lacks.

Used elsewhere in the period

Exodus 34:34 in the Greek Old Testament reads περιῃρεῖτο τὸ κάλυμμα, 'he would take off the veil': imperfect middle, with Moses as the subject. Paul keeps the verb and the object and changes the tense to present.

Where it appears

Acts · 3

  1. Acts 27:20 περιῃρεῖτο was abandoned

    When neither sun nor stars appeared for many days and the great storm continued to batter us, we abandoned all hope of being saved.

  2. Acts 27:40 περιελόντες having cut away

    Cutting away the anchors, they left them in the sea as they loosened the ropes that held the rudders. Then they hoisted the foresail to the wind and made for the beach.

  3. Acts 28:13 περιελόντες having taken off

    From there we weighed anchor and came to Rhegium. After one day, a south wind came up, and on the second day we arrived at Puteoli.

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 3:16 περιαιρεῖται is taken away

    But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away.

    Here: Present tense, so it states a regular truth: it is taken off. The form can be read two ways. As passive it means 'is removed', possibly by God. As middle it means 'he takes it off himself', which is exactly what Moses did in Exodus 34:34.

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 10:11 περιελεῖν to take away

    Day after day every priest stands to minister and to offer again and again the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins.

    Here: Aorist infinitive: 'to remove (decisively)'. In Greek it is used for taking off a ring, removing a veil, or stripping something away from around something. Here it means getting rid of sins altogether, not managing them again and again.

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