Greek word · G650
ἀποστερέω
apostereō
to defraud
To rob, defraud, or deprive someone of what belongs to them. To withhold what is owed, especially money held in trust or wages. In passive forms, to be cheated of something.
Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ἀπο-στερέω, -ῶ
(στερέω, to rob), [in LXX: Exodus 21:10 (גָּרַע), Deuteronomy 24:14 (עָשַׁק), Malachi 3:5, Sirach 4:1 29:6-7 31:21-22 * ;]
to defraud, deprive of, despoil (in cl. chiefly of the misappropriation of trust funds, Field, Notes, 33; cf. MM, see word): absol., Mark 10:19, 1 Corinthians 6:8; with accusative of person(s), 1 Corinthians 7:5. Mid., endure deprivation: 1 Corinthians 6:7 (WM, § 38, 3; but see Bl., § 54, 5; M, Pr., 162); pass., ἀπεστερημένοι, bereft of: 1 Timothy 6:5.†
(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 rob, defraud, or deprive someone of what belongs to them. To withhold what is owed, especially money held in trust or wages. In passive forms, to be cheated of something.
- Against the English
KJV/WEB/ESV: "kept back by fraud" (strong, accurate). BSB: "withheld" and NASB: "withheld by you" (accurate, but softer: "withheld" can sound like a delay or an administrative choice rather than theft). NIV: "failed to pay" (makes it sound more passive).
- Used elsewhere in the period
Mal 3:5 LXX uses this verb for defrauding the hired worker's wage. Sirach 4:1: "do not defraud the poor of his living." Jesus adds "do not defraud" (mē aposterēsēs) to the commandments he lists for the rich man (Mark 10:19), very likely with withheld wages in mind. Paul uses it for cheating a fellow believer (1 Cor 6:7–8). The variant reading aphystereō ("keep back, delay") is a rare word, and scribes probably replaced it with this more familiar one.
From the study of 1 Corinthians 6:7
- Range of meaning
To rob, deprive, take away what belongs to someone; to withhold what is owed (especially wages); to defraud. The focus is on depriving someone of their due, not necessarily on trickery.
- Against the English
KJV/WEB 'defrauded', BSB 'cheated'. 'Defraud' in modern English suggests deception schemes. The Greek is broader: being stripped of or denied what is rightfully yours.
- How it drifted
The modern legal sense of 'fraud' (deliberate deception for gain) is narrower than the Greek, which covers any depriving of what is due.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Mark 10:19 adds 'do not defraud' to the commandments. In the Septuagint, Malachi 3:5 uses it for those who withhold the hired worker's wages, and Sirach 4:1 says 'do not deprive the poor of their living'. Paul uses the same verb in 1 Cor 7:5 for spouses 'depriving' each other. James 5:4 uses a related form for wages held back.
From the study of 1 Timothy 6:5
- Range of meaning
To rob, defraud, deprive someone of what is theirs; also to withhold what is owed. It is used of withholding wages (LXX Mal 3:5; Sir 4:1; James 5:4 in some manuscripts), of fraud (Mark 10:19, "do not defraud"; 1 Cor 6:7–8), and of spouses depriving each other (1 Cor 7:5).
- Against the English
"Destitute of" (KJV, WEB, YLT) and "devoid of" (BSB) describe a lack, as though the truth were simply absent. They lose the sense of loss and theft. ESV's "deprived of the truth" keeps the passive idea better.
- How it drifted
"Destitute" once carried more of the sense of being bereft or forsaken. Today it mainly means "very poor," which accidentally fits the money theme but not the robbery picture.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Common in the Septuagint and papyri for fraud and withholding payment. In Paul's letters it is consistently about defrauding.
Where it appears
Mark · 1
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Mark 10:19 ἀποστερήσῃς, shall you defraud,
You know the commandments: ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness, do not cheat others, honor your father and mother.’”
Here: To withhold or keep back what someone is owed: wages, a deposit, what is due. It is not one of the Ten Commandments. It sits where 'do not covet' would normally come, and it is pointed at a man of wealth.
1 Corinthians · 3
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1 Corinthians 6:7 ἀποστερεῖσθε; be defrauded?
The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means that you are thoroughly defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?
Here: 'Let yourselves be robbed' or 'deprived of what is yours'. It narrows the general 'wronged' to the property and money matters these suits were probably about. It too comes back in active form in v. 8.
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1 Corinthians 6:8 ἀποστερεῖτε, defraud,
Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, even against your own brothers!
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1 Corinthians 7:5 ἀποστερεῖτε do deprive
Do not deprive each other, except by mutual consent and for a time, so you may devote yourselves to prayer. Then come together again, so that Satan will not tempt you through your lack of self-control.
Here: A command addressed to the whole group ("you all"). It is the vocabulary of fraud and unpaid debts: withholding from your spouse what you owe them. It picks up the 'debt' language of 7:3 and echoes the cheating condemned in 6:7–8.
1 Timothy · 1
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1 Timothy 6:5 ἀπεστερημένων defrauded
and constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain.
Here: "Having been robbed of". It is again a perfect passive, so a settled state. The verb is about taking what belongs to someone, used elsewhere for withholding wages or defrauding. Ironically, the men chasing profit are the ones who have been robbed.
James · 1
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James 5:4 ἀπεστερημένος kept back
Look, the wages you withheld from the workmen who mowed your fields are crying out against you. The cries of the harvesters have reached the ears of the Lord of Hosts.
Here: This tense describes a past act whose result still stands: the pay was withheld and is still unpaid. The word means keeping back what someone has a right to, the vocabulary of fraud in the Greek Old Testament (Mal 3:5).
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.