Greek word · G5053

τελευτάω

teleutaō

to decease

'To bring to an end, finish'; used without an object it means 'to come to one's end, die'. It is a standard, slightly elevated verb for dying.

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

τελευτάω, -ῶ

(τελευτή), [in LXX chiefly for מוּת ;]

1. trans., to complete, finish; esp. τ. τ. αἰῶνα, τ. βίον, to complete life, to die (Æsch., Hdt., al.).

2. Intrans., to come to an end, hence, to die (Hdt., al.): Matthew 2:19 9:18 22:25, Mark 9:48, Luke 7:2, John 11:39, Acts 2:29 7:15, Hebrews 11:22; Hebraistically, θανάτῳ τελευτάτω (מוּת, Exodus 21:17), Matthew 15:4, Mark 7:10" (LXX) .†

(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 Acts 2:29

Range of meaning

'To bring to an end, finish'; used without an object it means 'to come to one's end, die'. It is a standard, slightly elevated verb for dying.

Against the English

'Died' is accurate. The Greek carries a faint sense of a life completed, but the main point here is simply that David died.

Used elsewhere in the period

Frequent in the LXX for the deaths of the patriarchs, e.g. Gen 50:26 (Joseph). In 1 Kgs 2:10 David 'slept with his fathers and was buried in the city of David'. Paul makes the same argument in Acts 13:36: David 'fell asleep, was laid beside his fathers, and saw corruption'.

From the study of John 11:39

Range of meaning

To finish, come to an end; in the New Testament almost always to die, to come to the end of one's life.

Against the English

"The dead man" (BSB) and "him that was dead" (KJV) are accurate, but they lose the perfect tense's sense of a completed death that still holds: "the one who has died and stays dead."

Used elsewhere in the period

It is the ordinary word for death in the Septuagint (e.g. Genesis 50:26 of Joseph) and in Josephus. Its root (telos, "end") made it a slightly more formal word than ἀποθνῄσκω ("to die").

From the study of Matthew 2:19

Range of meaning

To bring to an end or finish. Used without an object, it means to reach one's end, that is, to die. It is a neutral, somewhat formal word for death, common in historians and inscriptions.

Against the English

English 'died' or 'was dead' is accurate. The KJV and WEB 'when Herod was dead' turn the event into a state. The Greek points to the moment of death as the trigger for what follows.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Old Testament often uses it for the deaths of kings and patriarchs, e.g. Gen 50:26 (Joseph 'died' in Egypt) and Exod 1:6. Josephus uses it repeatedly for Herod's own death (Antiquities 17.191). Matthew uses it again at 2:20? No: there he uses tethnēkasin, 'they have died', from another verb.

Similar words

Where it appears

Matthew · 4

  1. Matthew 2:19 Τελευτήσαντος When was dying

    After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt.

    Here: 'Having come to his end.' The verb comes from telos, 'end', and is the ordinary, restrained Greek way to report a death. The form stands outside the main sentence, so it reads like a time-stamp: 'Herod having died…'. Placed first, it marks the turning point. The man who killed Bethlehem's children (2:16–18) is now gone.

  2. Matthew 9:18 ἐτελεύτησεν· has died;

    While Jesus was saying these things, a synagogue leader came and knelt before Him. “My daughter has just died,” he said. “But come and place Your hand on her, and she will live.”

    Here: A plain, somewhat formal word for dying, literally 'to come to one's end'. In Matthew's account the girl is already dead when the father arrives.

  3. Matthew 15:4 τελευτάτω. should end.’

    For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’

    Here: "Let him die". This is a third-person command. The Greek Exodus has a plain future ("he shall die"). Matthew and Mark both put it as a command, stressing that the sentence is binding.

  4. Matthew 22:25 ἐτελεύτησεν, died,

    Now there were seven brothers among us. The first one married and died without having children. So he left his wife to his brother.

    Here: The ordinary verb for dying, built on telos, "end." In the mouths of men who denied resurrection, death is an end. Their own view of death is what the story is meant to defend.

Mark · 2

  1. Mark 7:10 τελευτάτω. should end.’

    For Moses said, ‘Honor your father and your mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’

    Here: 'Let him come to his end'. It is a third-person command. The Greek Old Testament has a future here ('he shall die'). Mark's command form makes it a sentence that must be carried out.

  2. Mark 9:48 τελευτᾷ dies

    where ‘their worm never dies, and the fire is never quenched.’

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 7:2 τελευτᾶν to die

    There a highly valued servant of a centurion was sick and about to die.

John · 1

  1. John 11:39 τετελευτηκότος having deceased

    “Take away the stone,” Jesus said. “Lord, by now he stinks,” said Martha, the sister of the dead man. “It has already been four days.”

    Here: A perfect participle, which in Greek describes a finished action whose result still stands: "the one who has died and remains dead." John labels Lazarus by his deadness at the very moment Jesus is about to reverse it.

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 2:29 ἐτελεύτησεν he died

    Brothers, I can tell you with confidence that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day.

    Here: Literally 'he came to the end', from the word for 'end' or 'completion'. It is an ordinary, dignified word for dying. The simple past tense states it as a completed historical fact.

  2. Acts 7:15 ἐτελεύτησεν died

    So Jacob went down to Egypt, where he and our fathers died.

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 11:22 τελευτῶν dying

    By faith Joseph, when his end was near, spoke about the exodus of the Israelites and gave instructions about his bones.

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