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ἀποφεύγω

apopheúgō

G668 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To escape or flee away, typically with the sense of getting out of danger, avoiding capture, or eluding a threatening situation. In figurative contexts, can also mean to avoid or shun (immorality, corruption, or error). The primary sense is active evasion or departure from something unfavorable, whether literal (danger, person, place) or metaphorical (moral peril, spiritual corruption).

Semantic Range

to escape (physical danger), to flee (from a location or threat), to avoid or shun (figuratively: evil, corruption, error), to be acquitted (legal/forensic sense)

Root / Etymology

Compound of ἀπό (away from) and φεύγω (to flee).

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, ἀποφεύγω is used primarily in legal and physical contexts, often referring to someone successfully fleeing from danger or, in the context of the law courts, being acquitted (i.e., 'escaping' a penalty). In Second Temple and Koine usage (including the New Testament and wider Hellenistic Greek), the word is employed for both literal escape and metaphorical avoidance, most often of moral or spiritual dangers (cf. 2 Peter 1:4; 2:18, 20). The Septuagint uses the base verb φεύγω more frequently, but compounds with ἀπό remain clearly understood in the Greek world of the period. English translations often render ἀποφεύγω simply as 'escape,' but in biblical texts, the nuance often involves a decisive turning away or successful evasion, whether from physical threat or from the corruptions of the world. The term is distinct from verbs meaning general departure or movement away (like ἀποχωρέω), due to its core sense of active avoidance, often involving urgency, risk, or intentionality.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from ἀπό and φεύγω; (figuratively) to escape:--escape.

Root Family

ἀποφεύγω (apopheugō) — to flee, to escape, to avoid

Root φεύγ- to flee, to escape, to avoid

Word Forms

2 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G668-02 ἀποφυγόντες apophugontes V AOR ACT PTCP NOM M PL having escaped having fled away having escaped 2
G668-01 ἀποφεύγοντας apopheugontas V PRS ACT PTCP ACC M PL escaping fleeing away escaping 1

Occurrences in Scripture

3 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G668-02 2 Peter 1:4 ἀποφυγόντες apophugontes V AOR ACT PTCP NOM M PL having escaped having fled away having escaped
G668-01 2 Peter 2:18 ἀποφεύγοντας apopheugontas V PRS ACT PTCP ACC M PL escaping fleeing away escaping
G668-02 2 Peter 2:20 ἀποφυγόντες apophugontes V AOR ACT PTCP NOM M PL having escaped having fled away having escaped
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