To destroy
ἀφανίζωStrong’s G0853aphanizō
Appears in 5 verses of the New Testament
In short
Aphanizō is the Greek word usually translated “destroy”, “disfigure” and “do perish”. It appears in 5 verses of the New Testament.
“Moreover when ye fast, be not, as the hypocrites, of a sad countenance: for they disfigure their faces, that they may appear unto men to fast. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.”
Meaning
Usually translated “destroy”, “disfigure” and “do perish”. Open the dictionary entry below for the full range of meaning, with the verses it cites.
How it's translated
- destroy 2
- they disfigure 1
- do perish 1
- vanishing 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Matthew 3
- Acts 1
- James 1
3 books in all.
Explore in Scripture
- Matthew 6:19Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal:
- Matthew 6:20But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
- Acts 13:41Behold, ye despisers, and wonder, and perish: for I work a work in your days, a work which ye shall in no wise believe, though a man declare it unto you.
- James 4:14Whereas ye know not what shall be on the morrow. For what is your life? It is even a vapour, that appeareth for a little time, and then vanisheth away.
Greek dictionary
ἀφανίζω aphanizō · to destroy
ἀφανίζω (ἀφανής), [in LXX for שָׁמֵם ni., שָׁמַד hi., etc. ;] 1. to make unseen, hide from sight (Xen., a1.). 2. Later (MM, see word) (a) to destroy: Mat.6:19-20; (b) to disfigure: Mat.6:16. Pass., to vanish: Jas.4:14; to perish: Act.13:41(LXX).† (AS)
From STEPBible’s Greek lexicon (based on Abbott-Smith).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “destroy” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
DESTROY, verb transitive
[Latin To pile, to build.]
- To demolish; to pull down; to separate the parts of an edifice, the union of which is necessary to constitute the thing; as, to destroy a house or temple; to destroy a fortification.
- To ruin; to annihilate a thing by demolishing or by burning; as, to destroy a city.
- To ruin; to bring to naught; to annihilate; as, to destroy a theory or scheme; to destroy a government; to destroy influence.
- To lay waste; to make desolate.“Go up against this land, and destroy it” Isaiah 36:10
All definitions
- To kill; to slay; to extirpate; applied to men or other animals.“Ye shall destroy all this people” Numbers 32:15“All the wicked will he destroy” Psalms 145:20
- To take away; to cause to cease; to put an end to; as, pain destroys happiness.“That the body of sin might be destroyed” Romans 6:6
- To kill; to eat; to devour; to consume.
- In general, to put an end to; to annihilate a thing or the form in which it exists.
- In chimistry, to resolve a body into its parts or elements.
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Greek, not from any one translation.