Lexical Summary
anaireó: To take up, to kill, to abolish, to destroy
Original Word: ἀναιρέω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: anaireó
Pronunciation: an-ah-ee-reh'-o
Phonetic Spelling: (an-ahee-reh'-o)
KJV: put to death, kill, slay, take away, take up
NASB: put to death, kill, put to death, slay, killed, do away, executed
Word Origin: [from G303 (ἀνά - each) and (the active of) G138 (αἱρέομαι - choose)]
1. to take up
2. (by implication) to take away
3. (violently) to eliminate, to abolish, to murder
4. (of government) to execute
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
put to death, kill, slay, take up.
From ana and (the active of) haireomai; to take up, i.e. Adopt; by implication, to take away (violently), i.e. Abolish, murder -- put to death, kill, slay, take away, take up.
see GREEK ana
see GREEK haireomai
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Originfrom
ana and
haireóDefinitionto take up, take away, make an end
NASB Translationdo away (1), executed (1), kill (4), killed (2), put...to death (8), put to death (3), slain (1), slay (3), slaying (1), slew (1), takes away (1), took...away (1).
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 337: ἀναιρέωἀναιρέω,
(ῶ; future
ἀνελῶ,
2 Thessalonians 2:8 (
L T Tr WH text cf. Judith 7:13;
Dionysius Halicarnassus 11, 18;
Diodorus Siculus 2, 25; cf.
Winers Grammar, 82 (78); (
Buttmann, 53 (47);
Veitch, under the word
αἱρέω, "perhaps late
έ῾λω)), for the usual
ἀναιρήσω; 2 aorist
ἀνεῖλον; 2 aorist middle
ἀνειλόμην (but
ἀνείλατο Acts 7:21,
ἀνεῖλαν Acts 10:39,
ἀνείλατε Acts 2:23, in
G L T Tr WH, after the
Alex. form, cf.
Winers Grammar, 73f (71f);
Buttmann, 39 (34)f (see
αἱρέω); passive, present
ἀναιροῦμαι; 1 aorist
ἀνῃρέθην;
1. to take up, to lift up (from the ground); middle to take up for myself as value, to own (an exposed infant): Acts 7:21; (so ἀναίρεσθαι, Aristophanes nub. 531; Epictetus diss. 1, 23, 7; (Plutarch, Anton. 36, 3; fortuna Romans 8; fratern. am. 18, etc.)).
2. to take away, abolish;
a. ordinances, established customs (to abrogate): Hebrews 10:9:
b. a man, to put not of the way, slay, kill, (often so in the Sept. and Greek writings from (Herodotus 4, 66) Thucydides down): Matthew 2:16; Luke 22:2; Luke 23:32; Acts 2:23; Acts 5:33, 36; Acts 7:28; Acts 9:23; Acts 9:29; Acts 10:39; Acts 12:2; Acts 13:28; Acts 22:20; Acts 23:15, 21, 27; Acts 25:3; Acts 26:10; 2 Thessalonians 2:8 L T Tr WH text; ἑαυτόν, to kill oneself, Acts 16:27.
Topical Lexicon
OverviewStrong’s Greek 337 (ἀναιρέω, anairéō) carries the idea of “taking up and away” and, by extension, “taking away by force,” whether through execution, violent removal, or setting aside an institution. With twenty-four appearances across eleven New Testament books, the verb links decisive acts of God and humans, from Herod’s massacre of infants to the future destruction of the lawless one. The contexts cluster around four spheres: (1) hostile killing, (2) judicial execution, (3) the removal of covenantal structures, and (4) divine judgment.
Hostile Killing and Persecution
The word most frequently describes murderous intent or action against God’s servants. Herod “sent and killed all the boys in Bethlehem” (Matthew 2:16), while Jewish leaders “were seeking how they might kill Him” (Luke 22:2). In Acts the horizon widens to apostolic persecution: Stephen is “those who killed him” (Acts 22:20), James is “put to death with the sword” (Acts 12:2), and conspiracies spring up repeatedly against Paul (Acts 9:23; 23:15; 25:3). These incidents confirm Jesus’ warning that disciples would face lethal hatred, yet each narrative also testifies to God’s providence—sometimes permitting martyrdom, sometimes delivering His servants.
Judicial Execution of Jesus
Peter’s Pentecost sermon centers the term on the cross: “You... put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross” (Acts 2:23). Luke records the same vocabulary in the Passion account—“to be put to death with Him” (Luke 23:32)—and Paul recalls that “they asked Pilate that He be executed” (Acts 13:28). The uniform wording underlines the human responsibility for Christ’s death while simultaneously fitting within God’s redemptive plan (Acts 2:23). Scripture’s consistency on this point strengthens confidence in both the historical fact and the salvific purpose of Calvary.
Covenantal Removal and Fulfillment
Hebrews appropriates ἀναιρέω in a figurative, redemptive sense: “He takes away the first to establish the second” (Hebrews 10:9). Here the verb signals the decisive setting aside of the Levitical system through the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus. The term thus bridges violent removal and theological displacement; what the cross accomplished in history simultaneously annulled obsolete rituals. The writer’s argument demonstrates that God’s covenants never compete—one is lawfully removed so the superior may stand.
Personal Crisis and Self-Destruction
Acts 16:27 portrays the Philippian jailer who “was about to kill himself.” The reflexive usage warns how despair can twist the instinct for self-preservation into self-destruction, yet the gospel intervenes through Paul’s cry, leading to salvation for the jailer and his household. Ministry today still encounters such crises, reminding believers that the same good news that stayed the jailer’s hand rescues the suicidal soul.
Eschatological Judgment
The final appearance is future and triumphant: “the Lord Jesus will slay with the breath of His mouth” the man of lawlessness (2 Thessalonians 2:8). The verb that often described human violence now depicts Christ’s effortless victory. What men wielded unjustly, the Lord will employ righteously, vindicating every martyr and consummating history.
Theological Threads
1. Sovereignty and Responsibility: Human agents “kill,” yet Scripture never presents their acts as thwarting God’s plan (Acts 2:23).
2. Continuity of Witness: From Moses (Acts 7:21) to the prophets and the church, the threat of being “taken away” unites God’s servants across eras.
3. Typology of Removal: The physical lifting of Moses by Pharaoh’s daughter (Acts 7:21) anticipates the doctrinal lifting of the first covenant (Hebrews 10:9).
4. Victory through Death: The same verb that narrates Christ’s execution also narrates His authority to execute final judgment (2 Thessalonians 2:8).
Pastoral and Ministry Implications
• Martyrdom is neither accidental nor meaningless; it participates in the pattern of Christ’s own suffering and reward (Acts 7; Revelation 6:9-11).
• Conspiracies against the gospel—even when sophisticated (Acts 23:12-22)—cannot outmaneuver divine protection until the appointed time.
• The gospel addresses both murderous hatred and suicidal despair, providing forgiveness for the former (Acts 2:37-38) and hope for the latter (Acts 16:27-34).
• Preaching must present both aspects of ἀναιρέω: Christ was “taken away” for sin, and He will “take away” all evil at His return.
Summary
ἀναιρέω lays bare the contrast between humanity’s unrighteous taking of life and God’s righteous removal of sin, systems, and ultimately evil itself. Every New Testament occurrence serves this grand narrative: the Lamb slain, the saints sustained, the old removed, and the wicked finally destroyed.
Forms and Transliterations
αναιρεθηναι αναιρεθήναι ἀναιρεθῆναι αναιρεθήσεται αναιρεθήσονται αναιρεθήτω αναιρει αναιρεί ἀναιρεῖ αναιρειν ἀναιρεῖν αναιρεισθαι αναιρείσθαι ἀναιρεῖσθαι αναιρείτέ αναιρούμενος αναιρουμενων αναιρουμένων ἀναιρουμένων αναιρουντων αναιρούντων ἀναιρούντων αναιρών αναίρων ανειλαν ἀνεῖλαν ανειλατε ἀνείλατε ανειλατο ανείλατο ἀνείλατο ανείλε ανειλεν ανείλεν ἀνεῖλεν ανειλες ανείλες ἀνεῖλες ανείλετε ανείλετο ανείλον άνελε ανελει ανελεί ἀνελεῖ ανελειν ανελείν ἀνελεῖν ανελείς ανέλεσθε ανελέτω ανελή ανέλης ανέλοι ανελόμενος ανελώ ανέλωμέν ανελών ανελωσιν ανέλωσιν ἀνέλωσιν ανηρεθη ανηρέθη ἀνῃρέθη ανήρει ανηρημένοι ανηρημένοις ανηρημένους ανηρημένων anairei anaireî anairein anaireîn anaireisthai anaireîsthai anairethenai anairethênai anairethēnai anairethē̂nai anairoumenon anairoumenōn anairouménon anairouménōn anairounton anairountōn anairoúnton anairoúntōn aneilan aneîlan aneilate aneílate aneilato aneílato aneilen aneîlen aneiles aneîles aneiréthe anēiréthē anelei aneleî anelein aneleîn anelosin anelōsin anélosin anélōsin anerethe anērethē
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