ἀπόκειμαι

From the study of Hebrews 9:27

Range of meaning

The basic meaning is 'to be put away, stored up, laid aside' (BDAG sense 1). From that comes 'to be reserved for, to be in store for, to await' someone (sense 2), usually with the person named in the dative case ('for someone'). It can describe a reward or a hope kept safe, or a fate that is certain to arrive.

Against the English

KJV, BSB, WEB, ESV and NASB say 'appointed'. NIV and NLT say 'destined'. YLT says 'laid up', which is the most literal. 'Appointed' and 'destined' make it sound like a decree or a scheduled date. The Greek image is quieter and more physical: death is what has been set aside for humans and is waiting for them.

How it drifted

The Latin Vulgate's 'statutum est' ('it has been established/decreed') pushed the sense toward an official decree. English versions from Tyndale onward used 'appointed'. Today 'appointed' calls up an appointment, a set time on a calendar, and that feeds the popular idea that 'your death date is fixed'. The verse does not make that claim.

Used elsewhere in the period

New Testament: the mina 'laid away' in a cloth (Luke 19:20); 'the hope laid up for you in heaven' (Col 1:5); 'there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness' (2 Tim 4:8). Greek Old Testament: Gen 49:10 'until the things laid up for him come'. Close to Hebrews 9:27 is 4 Maccabees 8:11, where the tyrant tells the brothers that nothing awaits them but death under torture if they refuse. BDAG also notes that Greek grave inscriptions use this verb for death as the common lot of humans. The idea itself is old Jewish wisdom: 'the decree from of old is: you shall surely die' (Sirach 14:17).

From the study of 2 Timothy 4:8

Range of meaning

To be put away, stored, kept in reserve. By extension, to be appointed or destined for someone.

Against the English

'Laid up' (KJV, BSB) and 'stored up' (WEB) are accurate. The present tense matters: the prize already exists and is set aside now.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke 19:20: a mina 'kept laid away' in a cloth. Col 1:5: the hope 'laid up for you in the heavens'. Heb 9:27: 'it is appointed (apokeitai) for humans to die once'. In everyday Greek it was used for goods put in storage.

From the study of Colossians 1:5

Range of meaning

"To lie away, be put aside, be stored up" for later use. It can also mean "to be reserved for, be in store for" someone, whether a reward or a fate. Grammatically it works as the passive of ἀποτίθημι, "to put away." The root κεῖμαι means "to lie," so the verb describes a state rather than a process.

Against the English

"Laid up" (KJV, WEB, YLT) and "stored up" (BSB, NIV) are both accurate. "Laid up" now sounds like someone sick in bed. "Stored up" can sound like something still accumulating. The Greek pictures a finished deposit lying safe in storage.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke 19:20: the mina "kept laid away" in a cloth. 2 Tim 4:8: "there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness." Heb 9:27: "it is appointed (reserved) for people to die once." 2 Maccabees 12:45: a splendid reward "laid up" for those who die in godliness. Genesis 49:10 in the Septuagint: "until the things laid up for him come." Papyri use the verb for goods or documents in storage (Moulton-Milligan).