Greek word · G645
ἀποσπάω
apospaō
to draw away
To draw or drag away, pull off, detach, tear loose. Used of drawing a sword (Matt 26:51), of withdrawing oneself (Luke 22:41), and of being torn away from people (Acts 21:1). It always involves separating something from where it was attached.
Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ἀπο-σπάω, -ῶ
[in LXX for נָתַק: ni., hi., etc. ;]
to draw off or away, tear away (MM, see word): Acts 20:30; μάχαιραν, draw a sword, Matthew 26:51; pass., to be parted or withdrawn (Field, Notes, 134; but see Thayer, see word), Luke 22:41, Acts 21:1.†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
To draw or drag away, pull off, detach, tear loose. Used of drawing a sword (Matt 26:51), of withdrawing oneself (Luke 22:41), and of being torn away from people (Acts 21:1). It always involves separating something from where it was attached.
- Against the English
Most versions have 'draw away', which is accurate but soft. NLT's 'draw a following' keeps the result but loses the image of pulling people off from the existing flock.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Classical Greek uses it of tearing away or detaching, for example pulling people from their homes or allies. In Acts 21:1, the very next verse after this speech ends, Luke says Paul's company 'tore ourselves away (apospasthentas) from them', from these same elders, after tearful farewells.
- Range of meaning
Active: to draw or pull off or away. A sword is drawn from its sheath (Matt 26:51), and followers are drawn away from a leader (Acts 20:30). Passive: to be pulled away or separated from someone, and so to part from or withdraw. In ordinary Greek the passive often just means 'to part from' someone, but the root picture of pulling remains.
- Against the English
Most modern versions say 'withdrew', which is accurate but neutral. KJV, WEB and YLT keep the passive ('was withdrawn'), which is awkward in English but faithful to the form. The Latin Vulgate's 'avulsus est' ('was torn away') takes the strong sense. No common English version brings out the possible feeling of a wrenching parting.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Luke uses the verb three times. In Acts 20:30 false teachers 'draw away' disciples. In Acts 21:1 Paul and his companions set sail 'when we had torn ourselves away' (apospasthentas ap' autōn) from the weeping Ephesian elders, after they had knelt and prayed together (Acts 20:36). That is the same grammar: passive, followed by 'from them'. Classical and later Greek writers use the passive for being separated from family or companions (LSJ, BDAG).
Where it appears
Matthew · 1
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Matthew 26:51 ἀπέσπασεν drew
At this, one of Jesus’ companions drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, cutting off his ear.
Here: 'Pulled out' or 'drew' the blade from its sheath or belt. The verb's root idea is pulling something away from where it is held. This is the main verb of the first half of the sentence.
Luke · 1
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Luke 22:41 ἀπεσπάσθη withdrew
And He withdrew about a stone’s throw beyond them, where He knelt down and prayed,
Here: Literally 'was drawn away' or 'was pulled away'. The form is passive, and the verb's basic picture is pulling something off or away. It can simply mean 'withdrew', but Luke uses the same form in Acts 21:1 for friends who had to tear themselves away from each other, so some hear a hint of painful separation.
Acts · 2
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Acts 20:30 ἀποσπᾶν to draw away
Even from your own number, men will rise up and distort the truth to draw away disciples after them.
Here: A physical verb: to pull or wrench something loose from where it belongs, as when a sword is drawn from its sheath (Matt 26:51). The disciples are being pried away from the flock.
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Acts 21:1 ἀποσπασθέντας having drawn away
After we had torn ourselves away from them, we sailed directly to Cos, and the next day on to Rhodes, and from there to Patara.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.