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ἀπωθέομαι

apōthéomai

G683 verb

SILEX Entry

Root ὠθ- to push, to shove, to drive away

Definition

To push or drive away from oneself, to forcefully remove or displace. In extended and figurative usage, to reject, repudiate, or refuse to accept someone or something; to dismiss or exclude, typically with some degree of force, decisiveness, or emphasis. Can also convey a sense of strong emotional or social rejection in certain contexts.

Semantic Range

to push away, to drive off, to thrust aside, to reject, to repudiate, to cast off, to dismiss, to exclude

Root / Etymology

Compound of ἀπό (from, away from) and ὠθέω (to push, to shove), with the middle/passive ending indicating the subject's own involvement or experience in the action. The sense is literally 'to push oneself away from' or 'to be pushed away from.'

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, ἀπωθέομαι often carries the literal sense of pushing or thrusting something or someone away, whether physically (e.g., a boat from shore, an enemy in battle) or metaphorically (e.g., dismissing an argument or proposal). In the Septuagint and New Testament usage, the verb frequently shifts into the metaphorical domain, referring to God's 'rejection' of individuals or groups, or human rejection of God or others. The notion is not mild; it often implies deliberate and forceful rejection, not merely neglect. English translations sometimes render ἀπωθέομαι as 'cast away' or 'thrust aside,' but these may obscure the word's active, even final, sense of exclusion or dismissal. The verb is middle/passive in form and often intransitive, focusing either on the subject's action upon themselves or the experience of being rejected. The active voice (rare) would indicate the subject doing the pushing; the middle voice can also express a personal or vested interest in the act. In contrast, words like ἀθετέω ('to nullify, disregard') or παραβαίνω ('to transgress') differ in nuance, not necessarily implying forceful removal, but rather annulment or violation.

Translation Consistency

primary "push" 3 occurrences

‘Push’ naturally covers the primary sense “drive/thrust away” and easily extends figuratively to “push away” = reject or repudiate. It’s simple, common English and matches the typical physical and metaphorical uses in the SILEX range, while keeping all forms consistent.

Alternatives (3 occurrences):
"thrust away" (1x) "reject" (1x) "having thrust away" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from ἀπό and the middle voice of or (to shove); to push off, figuratively, to reject:--cast away, put away (from), thrust away (from).

Root Family

ἀπωθέομαι (apōtheomai) — to push, to shove, to drive away

Word Forms

4 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G683-03 ἀπώσατο aposato V AOR MID IND 3P SG cast away he pushed away from himself he pushed away from himself 3
G683-01 ἀπωσάμενοι aposamenoi V AOR MID PTCP NOM M PL having rejected having thrust away having thrust away 1
G683-02 ἀπώσαντο aposanto V AOR MID IND 3P PL they thrust away they pushed away from themselves they thrust away 1
G683-04 ἀπωθεῖσθε apotheisthe V PRS MID IND 2P PL you reject you are pushing away from yourselves you reject 1

Occurrences in Scripture

6 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G683-03 Acts 7:27 ἀπώσατο aposato V AOR MID IND 3P SG pushed away he pushed away from himself he pushed away from himself
G683-02 Acts 7:39 ἀπώσαντο aposanto V AOR MID IND 3P PL they thrust away they pushed away from themselves they thrust away
G683-04 Acts 13:46 ἀπωθεῖσθε apotheisthe V PRS MID IND 2P PL you reject you are pushing away from yourselves you reject
G683-03 Romans 11:1 ἀπώσατο aposato V AOR MID IND 3P SG cast away he pushed away from himself he pushed away from himself
G683-03 Romans 11:2 ἀπώσατο aposato V AOR MID IND 3P SG rejected he pushed away from himself he pushed away from himself
G683-01 1 Timothy 1:19 ἀπωσάμενοι aposamenoi V AOR MID PTCP NOM M PL having rejected having thrust away having thrust away
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