Greek word · G580

ἀποβολή

apobolē

deprivation

A throwing away or casting off, and so a loss. It can mean losing property, people or position. In Romans 11:15 it is used of Israel's 'rejection' or 'casting away.'

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀπο-βολή, -ῆς, ἡ

(ἀποβάλλω);

1. a throwing away, rejection: opposite to πρόσλημψις, Romans 11:15.

2. a losing, loss: Acts 27:22.†

(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 27:22

Range of meaning

A throwing away or casting off, and so a loss. It can mean losing property, people or position. In Romans 11:15 it is used of Israel's 'rejection' or 'casting away.'

Against the English

All the major versions say 'loss,' which is accurate. What English loses is the link to throwing things off.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used in Greek for losses of property, troops and similar things. In the NT it occurs only here and in Romans 11:15.

From the study of Romans 11:15

Range of meaning

From apoballō, 'throw off, throw away'. The noun covers (1) a throwing away or jettisoning, (2) loss, as of property or life, and (3) by extension rejection or repudiation. BDAG gives both 'rejection' and 'loss' and lists Rom 11:15 under 'rejection'.

Against the English

KJV 'casting away' keeps the physical picture of something thrown off. Modern versions (BSB, NIV, ESV, NASB, WEB) say 'rejection', which is clear but can sound final and personal, like a verdict of permanent disowning. The Latin Vulgate's amissio ('loss') takes the other sense.

How it drifted

In modern English 'rejection' usually means a final 'no' to a person. Paul has just said this is not what happened: 'God did not reject his people' (11:2), and Israel has 'not stumbled so as to fall' for good (11:11).

Used elsewhere in the period

Elsewhere in the NT only in Acts 27:22: 'there will be no loss (apobolē) of life among you'. In wider Greek it is used for losing goods or casting off property. It does not appear in the canonical LXX. Paul's near-synonym in 11:1–2 is a different verb, apōtheomai ('push away'), which he denies of God.

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 27:22 ἀποβολὴ loss

    But now I urge you to keep up your courage, because you will not experience any loss of life, but only of the ship.

    Here: Comes from 'to throw off.' On a ship that has already thrown cargo and gear overboard (27:18–19), the word fits: there will be a loss, but nobody will be the thing thrown away.

Romans · 1

  1. Romans 11:15 ἀποβολὴ rejection

    For if their rejection is the reconciliation of the world, what will their acceptance be but life from the dead?

    Here: Literally a 'throwing off'. Here, the present setting-aside of most of Israel. Context (vv. 1–2, 11) shows it is partial and temporary, not a final disowning.

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