ἀφίημι
aphiēmi
to release: leave
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Greek verb ἀφίημι (aphiēmi) is found 73 times in the New Testament. Its primary definition is to release or leave something or someone. This can involve a physical or emotional detachment. Its usage is varied, often denoted in contexts of releasing, abandoning, dismissing, or sending away. In the biblical text, ἀφίημι is used in a range of situations, including the release from sin (as in letting go of an action or attitude), releasing a person from a bond or restraint, dismissing someone from a position, or even allowing something to happen. Its use highlights the importance of release and detachment in various areas of life. The significance of ἀφίημι lies in its portrayal of freedom from constraints, whether material, emotional, or spiritual. This concept can have multiple connotations, ranging from liberation to abandonment, depending on the context. Its prevalence throughout the New Testament underscores the value placed on release and the potential consequences of holding onto things or situations.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
73 total occurrences across the text — showing 50
Then the devil left him, and behold, angels came and served him.
Matthew 4:20They immediately left their nets and followed him.
Matthew 4:22They immediately left the boat and their father, and followed him.
Matthew 5:24leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.
Matthew 8:15He touched her hand, and the fever left her. She got up and served him.
Matthew 8:22But Jesus said to him, “Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.”
Matthew 13:36Then Jesus sent the multitudes away, and went into the house. His disciples came to him, saying, “Explain to us the parable of the darnel weeds of the field.”
Matthew 15:14Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”
Matthew 18:12“What do you think? If a man has one hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine, go to the mountains, and seek that which has gone astray?
Matthew 19:27Then Peter answered, “Behold, we have left everything, and followed you. What then will we have?”
Matthew 19:29Everyone who has left houses, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my name’s sake, will receive one hundred times, and will inherit eternal life.
Matthew 22:22When they heard it, they marveled, and left him, and went away.
Matthew 22:25Now there were with us seven brothers. The first married and died, and having no offspring left his wife to his brother.
Matthew 23:23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.
Matthew 23:23“Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint, dill, and cumin, and have left undone the weightier matters of the law: justice, mercy, and faith. But you ought to have done these, and not to have left the other undone.
Matthew 23:38Behold, your house is left to you desolate.
Matthew 24:2But he answered them, “You see all of these things, don’t you? Most certainly I tell you, there will not be left here one stone on another, that will not be thrown down.”
Matthew 24:40Then two men will be in the field: one will be taken and one will be left.
Matthew 24:41Two women will be grinding at the mill: one will be taken and one will be left.
Matthew 26:44He left them again, went away, and prayed a third time, saying the same words.
Matthew 26:56But all this has happened that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled.” Then all the disciples left him and fled.
Matthew 27:49The rest said, “Let him be. Let’s see whether Elijah comes to save him.”
Mark 1:18Immediately they left their nets, and followed him.
Mark 1:20Immediately he called them, and they left their father, Zebedee, in the boat with the hired servants, and went after him.
Mark 1:31He came and took her by the hand, and raised her up. The fever left her immediately, and she served them.
Mark 4:36Leaving the multitude, they took him with them, even as he was, in the boat. Other small boats were also with him.
Mark 7:8“For you set aside the commandment of God, and hold tightly to the tradition of men—the washing of pitchers and cups, and you do many other such things.”
Mark 8:13He left them, and again entering into the boat, departed to the other side.
Mark 10:28Peter began to tell him, “Behold, we have left all, and have followed you.”
Mark 10:29Jesus said, “Most certainly I tell you, there is no one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or land, for my sake, and for the sake of the Good News,
Mark 11:6They said to them just as Jesus had said, and they let them go.
Mark 12:12They tried to seize him, but they feared the multitude; for they perceived that he spoke the parable against them. They left him, and went away.
Mark 12:19“Teacher, Moses wrote to us, ‘If a man’s brother dies, and leaves a wife behind him, and leaves no children, that his brother should take his wife, and raise up offspring for his brother.’
Mark 12:20There were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and dying left no offspring.
Mark 12:22and the seven took her and left no children. Last of all the woman also died.
Mark 13:2Jesus said to him, “Do you see these great buildings? There will not be left here one stone on another, which will not be thrown down.”
Mark 13:34“It is like a man, traveling to another country, having left his house, and given authority to his servants, and to each one his work, and also commanded the doorkeeper to keep watch.
Mark 14:6But Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Why do you trouble her? She has done a good work for me.
Mark 14:50They all left him, and fled.
Mark 15:36One ran, and filling a sponge full of vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave it to him to drink, saying, “Let him be. Let’s see whether Elijah comes to take him down.”
Mark 15:37Jesus cried out with a loud voice, and gave up the spirit.
Luke 4:39He stood over her, and rebuked the fever; and it left her. Immediately she rose up and served them.
Luke 5:11When they had brought their boats to land, they left everything, and followed him.
Luke 9:60But Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but you go and announce God’s Kingdom.”
Luke 10:30Jesus answered, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Luke 12:39But know this, that if the master of the house had known in what hour the thief was coming, he would have watched, and not allowed his house to be broken into.
Luke 13:8He answered, ‘Lord, leave it alone this year also, until I dig around it and fertilize it.
Luke 13:35Behold, your house is left to you desolate. I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’ ”
Luke 17:34I tell you, in that night there will be two people in one bed. One will be taken and the other will be left.
Luke 17:35There will be two grinding grain together. One will be taken and the other will be left.”