Greek word · G5054
τελευτή
teleutē
death
End, completion, finish. Commonly used for the end of life, death (BDAG s.v. τελευτή).
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
τελευτή, -ῆς, ἡ
(τελέω), [in LXX chiefly for מוּת, מָוֶת ;]
1. a finishing.
2. an end: τ. βίου (Hdt., al.): also without βίου, the end of life, death (Hdt., Plat., al.): Matthew 2:15.†
(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 2:15
- Range of meaning
End, completion, finish. Commonly used for the end of life, death (BDAG s.v. τελευτή).
- Against the English
English versions say 'death', which is accurate. The underlying image is of an end being reached.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Common in Greek of every period for death. Its verb τελευτάω returns in 2:19 ('when Herod died'). In 2:20 the angel says 'those seeking the child's life are dead', which echoes Exod 4:19 LXX, where God tells Moses in Midian that 'all who sought your life are dead'.
Similar words
Where it appears
Matthew · 1
-
Matthew 2:15 τελευτῆς death
where he stayed until the death of Herod. This fulfilled what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”
Here: Literally 'end' or 'completion'. It was a standard polite word for death, and this is its only use in the New Testament. Herod's end decides when the son can come back.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.