Greek word · G873
ἀφορίζω
aphorizō
to separate
From horos 'boundary': to mark off by a boundary, separate, exclude, or set apart for a purpose. The LXX uses it for setting apart offerings and portions for God (Exod 29:26–27; Num 15:20) and for God separating Israel from the nations (Lev 20:26).
Appears 10 times in 9 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ἀφ-ορίζω
[in LXX (Cremer, 805 f.) for בָּדַל hi., סָגַר hi., נוּף hi., רוּם hi etc. ;]
(a) to mark off by boundaries from, separate from: with accusative, Acts 19:9, Galatians 2:12; id. before ἐκ (ἀπό), Matthew 13:49 25:32 (MM, see word); of excommunication, Luke 6:22. Pass., absol., 2 Corinthians 6:17;
(b) to set apart, devote to a special purpose (before εἰς): with accusative, Galatians 1:15. Mid., Acts 13:2, Romans 1:1 (DB, iii 588).†
(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
From horos 'boundary': to mark off by a boundary, separate, exclude, or set apart for a purpose. The LXX uses it for setting apart offerings and portions for God (Exod 29:26–27; Num 15:20) and for God separating Israel from the nations (Lev 20:26). It can also be negative, 'excluded, cut off' (Luke 6:22).
- Against the English
'Set apart' (BSB, WEB) and 'separated' (KJV, YLT) are both accurate. The perfect tense, 'having been set apart' and still in that state, is kept only by YLT.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Gal 1:15: God 'set me apart (aphorisas) from my mother's womb'. Acts 13:2: 'Set apart (aphorisate) for me Barnabas and Saul'. LXX Lev 20:26: 'I set you apart from all the nations to be mine.'
- Range of meaning
To mark off by a boundary (horos), separate, set apart. It can mean setting apart for a sacred purpose or excluding someone.
- Against the English
KJV/WEB/YLT "separated the disciples" is literal. BSB "took his disciples" and NIV "took the disciples with him" are clear but lose the sense of a deliberate boundary.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In the Septuagint it is used for setting apart the firstborn, the priestly portions, the Levites (e.g. Num 8:11) and the holy from the common. In the NT: Acts 13:2 ("set apart for me Barnabas and Saul"), Rom 1:1, Gal 1:15. It is also used of exclusion: Luke 6:22 ("when they exclude you"), and Gal 2:12, where Peter "separated himself." The word sounds like the Hebrew/Aramaic root behind "Pharisee" ("separated one"), though Luke makes no point of it here.
- Range of meaning
To mark off with a boundary (horos). From that: to separate, set apart, select, or (in a bad sense) exclude. It is used for separating one thing from others either for a purpose or by rejection.
- Against the English
KJV and WEB have "separate," BSB, NIV and ESV have "set apart." Both are accurate. "Set apart" carries the positive sense of devoting someone to a purpose better than "separate," which in modern English can suggest isolating or dividing.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In the Septuagint it is used for setting things apart as holy: Lev 20:26 (God set Israel apart from the nations to be his), Num 8:11 (Aaron is to present the Levites before the LORD as an offering set apart), and the separated portions of offerings (Exod 29:26–27). Paul uses it of himself: "set apart for the gospel of God" (Rom 1:1) and God "who set me apart from my mother's womb" (Gal 1:15). It is used negatively in Luke 6:22 ("when they exclude you").
Where it appears
Matthew · 3
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Matthew 13:49 ἀφοριοῦσιν will separate
So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous
Here: To draw a boundary and put one group on the other side of it. The same verb is used of the shepherd separating sheep from goats (25:32). The future tense says this is done at the end, by the angels.
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Matthew 25:32 ἀφορίσει ἀφορίζει He will separate, separates
All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.
Here: Future active, 'he will separate'. The judge himself does the sorting. The word pictures drawing a boundary line between two groups that were mixed together until now.
Luke · 1
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Luke 6:22 ἀφορίσωσιν they may exclude
Blessed are you when people hate you, and when they exclude you and insult you and reject your name as evil because of the Son of Man.
Here: To draw a boundary and put someone outside it: social and religious exclusion from the community, its gatherings and its table. In the Greek Old Testament the same verb is used for the priest isolating a suspected skin disease (Lev 13).
Acts · 2
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Acts 13:2 ἀφορίσατε do set apart
While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”
Here: "Set apart!" A plural command, so it is given to the group and not to Barnabas and Saul themselves. They are to mark the two men off from the rest for a particular purpose. The aorist command asks for one definite act, which verse 3 carries out.
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Acts 19:9 ἀφώρισεν he took separately
But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.
Here: "He drew a boundary around" the disciples and took them apart as a distinct group. It is a weighty word, also used for being "set apart" for God (Acts 13:2; Rom 1:1) and for being excluded from a synagogue (Luke 6:22).
Romans · 1
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Romans 1:1 ἀφωρισμένος set apart
Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, and set apart for the gospel of God—
Here: Perfect passive participle: 'having been set apart' (by God) and remaining so. The picture is of being marked off from everything else and reserved for one purpose, like something dedicated to God.
2 Corinthians · 1
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2 Corinthians 6:17 ἀφορίσθητε, do be separate,
“Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.”
Here: Aorist passive imperative: 'be set apart', 'let yourselves be marked off'. It carries the idea of drawing a boundary around something set apart for God, the word Greek Isaiah used for the priests who carried the temple vessels.
Galatians · 2
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Galatians 1:15 ἀφορίσας having selected
But when God, who set me apart from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace, was pleased
Here: 'Having set apart': God marked Paul off for a particular purpose, as one sets aside an offering or appoints someone to a task. The aorist (simple past) points to God's settled act.
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Galatians 2:12 ἀφώριζεν he was separating
For before certain men came from James, he used to eat with the Gentiles. But when they arrived, he began to draw back and separate himself, for fear of those in the circumcision group.
Here: 'He was separating'. This is the language of setting a boundary, the same word the Greek Old Testament uses for Israel being 'set apart from the nations' (Lev 20:26). Peter is redrawing a boundary that Paul believes the gospel has removed.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.