Greek word · G654

ἀποστρέφω

apostrephō

to turn away

Active: to turn something away, bring back, or remove (cf. Matt 26:52, 'put back your sword'). Middle/passive with an accusative of the person: to turn oneself away from someone, to reject or refuse them.

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀπο-στρέφω

[in LXX chiefly for שׁוּב ;]

trans., with accusative,

(a) to turn away, remove: Romans 11:26, 2 Timothy 4:4; metaphorically, to turn away from allegiance, pervert: Luke 23:14;

(b) to turn back, return: μάχαιραν, Matthew 26:52. Pass., reflex., to turn oneself away from: with accusative, Matthew 5:42, 2 Timothy 1:15, Titus 1:14, Hebrews 12:25; so act., absol., Acts 3:26 (cf. Sirach 8:5; Bl., § 53, 1; Cremer, 880).†

(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 5:42

Range of meaning

Active: to turn something away, bring back, or remove (cf. Matt 26:52, 'put back your sword'). Middle/passive with an accusative of the person: to turn oneself away from someone, to reject or refuse them.

Against the English

'Do not turn away from' (BSB, NIV, NASB) keeps the physical picture. ESV's 'do not refuse' gives the meaning but drops the picture of turning your face or back. KJV's 'turn not thou away' is ambiguous, but the meaning is the same.

Used elsewhere in the period

The idiom is well established in Jewish piety. Tobit 4:7 (LXX): 'do not turn your face away from any poor person, and the face of God will not be turned away from you.' Sirach 4:4–5: 'do not turn your face away from the needy.' Compare Deut 15:7, 'do not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother.'

From the study of Matthew 26:52

Range of meaning

To turn away, turn back, return, restore, or put back something to where it belongs. Used of returning money in Matt 27:3 and of turning away from someone in 5:42.

Against the English

'Put back' (BSB, NIV, WEB) is accurate. KJV's 'put up again' is older English for sheathing a weapon. YLT's 'turn back' is the most literal.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used in the Septuagint for returning or restoring things and for turning back. In Matthew 27:3 Judas 'returned' the thirty silver coins with the same verb.

From the study of Hebrews 12:25

Range of meaning

Active: turn away, turn back, return something. Middle/passive with an accusative object: turn away from, turn one's back on, reject (a person or a request).

Against the English

'Reject' (BSB, ESV) gives the result. 'Turn away from' (KJV, NIV, NASB, WEB) keeps the physical picture of turning one's back, and the present tense of an ongoing turning.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the LXX it is often used for Israel turning from God or God turning his face (e.g. Deut 30:17; Jer 3:19). In 2 Tim 4:4 people 'turn away their ears from the truth'. In Matt 5:42: 'do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow'. Titus 1:14.

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

  1. Matthew 5:42 ἀποστραφῇς.¶ may you turn away from.

    Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

    Here: Literally 'turn yourself away from', turning your face or back on someone. It is a bodily picture of refusal, like avoiding the eyes of someone you don't want to help. The form (μή with an aorist subjunctive) is the standard Greek way to forbid an action outright: 'don't do it'.

  2. Matthew 26:52 ἀπόστρεψον do return

    “Put your sword back in its place,” Jesus said to him. “For all who draw the sword will die by the sword.

    Here: A direct command for one decisive act: 'Put it back!' The blade goes back to where it came from. This is a firm order, not a suggestion.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 23:14 ἀποστρέφοντα misleading

    and said to them, “You brought me this man as one who was inciting the people to rebellion. I have examined Him here in your presence and found Him not guilty of your charges against Him.

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 3:26 ἀποστρέφειν turning away

    When God raised up His Servant, He sent Him first to you to bless you by turning each of you from your wicked ways.”

    Here: 'Turning (someone) away from.' The grammar allows either 'by his turning each of you away' or 'when each of you turns away'. Most take the first.

Romans · 1

  1. Romans 11:26 ἀποστρέψει He will remove

    And so all Israel will be saved, as it is written: “The Deliverer will come from Zion; He will remove godlessness from Jacob.

    Here: 'He will turn away / remove.' The Deliverer himself takes the ungodliness away from Israel. In the Hebrew of Isaiah, Israel turns from its sin; in the Greek, followed here, God does the turning.

2 Timothy · 2

  1. 2 Timothy 1:15 ἀπεστράφησάν turned away from

    You know that everyone in the province of Asia has deserted me, including Phygelus and Hermogenes.

    Here: 'They turned away from'. The form is passive but the meaning is active: they turned their backs. The past tense (aorist) points to a definite past turning, most likely when Paul was arrested and put on trial, not a slow drift.

  2. 2 Timothy 4:4 ἀποστρέψουσιν, they will turn away,

    So they will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths.

    Here: Future active with a direct object: they themselves will turn their ears away. It describes a deliberate turning of the head, refusing to listen, and not hearing that simply fades.

Titus · 1

  1. Titus 1:14 ἀποστρεφομένων turning away from

    and will pay no attention to Jewish myths or to the commands of men who have rejected the truth.

    Here: Describes the people who issue the commands. The present tense presents it as ongoing ('who are turning their backs on'), and the middle form means turning oneself away. This is active, chosen rejection, not innocent error.

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 12:25 ἀποστρεφόμενοι, turning away from,

    See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if the people did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject Him who warns us from heaven?

    Here: A present-tense participle: a continuing act of turning one's back. It is stronger than the 'begging off' of the first half, and is the drifting-away the whole letter warns against.

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