Greek word · G665
ἀποτρέπω
apotrepō
to avoid
Active: to turn something away, deflect, deter. Middle voice: to turn oneself away from, shun, avoid.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ἀπο-τρέπω
[in LXX: Sirach 20:29 48:18, 3Ma.1:23, 4Ma.1:33 4Mac 16:12 * ;]
to turn away; mid., to turn oneself away from: with accusative, 2 Timothy 3:5.†
(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 2 Timothy 3:5
- Range of meaning
Active: to turn something away, deflect, deter. Middle voice: to turn oneself away from, shun, avoid.
- Against the English
KJV 'from such turn away'; BSB 'Turn away from such as these!'; ESV 'Avoid such people'; NIV 'Have nothing to do with such people'. NIV is the strongest and implies complete separation. The Greek is a vivid picture of turning one's face or steps away.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Used only here in the New Testament, though it is common in classical and later Greek in the sense of 'avert, avoid'. Similar commands in the Pastorals: 'avoid' (periistaso, 2 Tim 2:16; Titus 3:9), 'have nothing to do with' (paraitou, 2 Tim 2:23; Titus 3:10), and 'turn away from' (ektrepomenos, 1 Tim 6:20).
Where it appears
2 Timothy · 1
-
2 Timothy 3:5 ἀποτρέπου. do yourself turn away from.
having a form of godliness but denying its power. Turn away from such as these!
Here: A present-tense command in the middle voice, roughly 'keep turning yourself away from'. It calls for an ongoing habit of steering clear. This is the only place the word appears in the New Testament.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.