G115 — ἀθέτησις (athetēsis)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G115
Original: ἀθέτησις
Transliteration: athetēsis
Pronunciation: ath-et'-ay-sis
Part of Speech: Feminine noun
Root: ἀθετέω (atheteō, G114) — to set aside, reject, disannul; itself from α-privative + τίθημι (tithēmi, G5087 — "to place, set")
Occurrences: 2 unique verses (2 tokens) in NT — both in Hebrews
First Occurrence: Heb 7:18 — "For there is verily a disannulling of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof."
Hapax Legomenon: No (dis legomenon — exactly 2 occurrences)

Lexicon Definition¶

From ἀθετέω (G114); cancellation (literally or figuratively): disannulling, put away.

The word is an action-noun (suffix -σις) from the verb ἀθετέω, which means "to regard as not placed" (α + τίθημι) — i.e., to treat as invalid, null, or void. The noun denotes the act or result of setting aside, abrogating, or annulling something previously established.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 76: Power, Force
Domain 13.001: State (Be, Become, Exist, Happen)
Glosses: to reject, to regard as invalid, annulment

Domain 76 Neighbors (Power, Force)¶

Strong's	Word	Verses	Primary KJV Translation
G114	ἀθετέω	16	despiseth, reject
G208	ἀκυρόω	3	making of none effect
G2647	καταλύω	20	destroy
G2673	καταργέω	32	shall destroy, abolished
G2758	κενόω	7	is made void
G2964	κυρόω	2	confirm
G4300	προκυρόω	1	confirmed before

The domain placement is significant: athetēsis sits within a cluster of words about legal authority — validating, invalidating, confirming, and annulling. The cognate verb ἀθετέω (G114, 16 occurrences) is translated "despiseth" (5x), "reject" (3x), "frustrate" (1x), "disannulleth" (1x), "cast off" (1x).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
a disannulling	1	50%
put away	1	50%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Hebrews	2	0.7

Exclusively Hebrews. Both occurrences fall within the central argument of Hebrews 7-9 concerning the supersession of the Levitical priesthood and old covenant system.

Morphological Distribution¶

Form	Parsing	Verse
ἀθέτησις	Nom Sg F (N-NSF)	Heb 7:18
ἀθέτησιν	Acc Sg F (N-ASF)	Heb 9:26

Nominative in 7:18 (subject: "there is a disannulling"), accusative in 9:26 (purpose/result: "for the putting away of sin").

Semantic Categories¶

1. Legal Abrogation — Setting Aside a Prior Ordinance¶

Heb 7:18 — "For there is verily a disannulling (athetēsis) of the commandment going before for the weakness and unprofitableness thereof."

The context is the replacement of the Levitical priesthood by the Melchizedek order. The "commandment going before" (proagousēs entolēs) refers to the Mosaic regulation establishing the Aaronic priesthood (cf. Heb 7:11-16). Athetēsis here is a juridical act: formal annulment of a legal provision because it proved "weak and unprofitable" (asthenēs kai anōphelēs, v. 18b).

2. Elimination / Removal — Putting Away Sin¶

Heb 9:26 — "but now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away (eis athetēsin) sin by the sacrifice of himself."

Here eis athetēsin + genitive (hamartias) expresses purpose: "for the cancellation of sin." The construction parallels the legal usage in 7:18 — sin is treated as something with standing that must be formally set aside or annulled. The means specified is "by the sacrifice of himself" (dia tēs thysias autou). The word "once" (hapax) and the temporal phrase "in the end of the world" (epi synteleia tōn aiōnōn) underscore the unrepeatable, eschatological finality of this cancellation.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἐντολή (entolē)	G1785	1x (Heb 7:18)	"disannulling of the commandment" — object being annulled
ἀνωφελής (anōphelēs)	G512	1x (Heb 7:18)	"weakness and unprofitableness" — grounds for annulment
ἀσθενής (asthenēs)	G772	1x (Heb 7:18)	paired with anōphelēs as reason for the disannulling
ἁμαρτία (hamartia)	G266	1x (Heb 9:26)	"putting away of sin" — object being cancelled
θυσία (thysia)	G2378	1x (Heb 9:26)	"by the sacrifice of himself" — means of cancellation
ἅπαξ (hapax)	G530	1x (Heb 9:26)	"once" — the cancellation is unrepeatable
συντέλεια (synteleia)	G4930	1x (Heb 9:26)	"end of the world" — eschatological timing
καταβολή (katabolē)	G2602	1x (Heb 9:26)	"foundation of the world" — temporal contrast
προάγω (proagō)	G4254	1x (Heb 7:18)	"commandment going before" — identifies the prior ordinance

With only 2 occurrences, every co-occurring content word appears exactly once. The collocations divide cleanly by verse: 7:18 clusters around legal terminology (commandment, weakness, unprofitableness), while 9:26 clusters around sacrificial-eschatological terminology (sin, sacrifice, once, end of the world).

Word Family / Cognates¶

G114 ἀθετέω (atheteō) — verb: to set aside, reject, regard as invalid (16 occurrences). Root verb from which athetēsis derives. KJV translations: "despiseth" (5x), "reject" (3x), "frustrate" (1x), "disannulleth" (1x), "cast off" (1x), "despise" (1x). Appears in Heb 10:28 within the same Hebrews argument.
G5087 τίθημι (tithēmi) — ultimate root verb: to place, set, lay. The α-privative negation yields the sense of "un-placing" or rendering invalid.
G4388 προτίθεμαι (protithemai) — from πρό + τίθημι: to set before, purpose. Appears in Rom 3:25 ("whom God hath set forth as a propitiation") and Eph 1:9 ("his good pleasure which he purposed"). Semantic counterpart: protithemai puts forward, athetēsis sets aside.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
καταργέω (katargeō)	G2673	both express "abolish/annul"	katargeō = render inoperative, nullify by superior power (27x); athetēsis = formal setting aside of something previously established (2x). katargeō is broader (used of death, law, rulers).
αἴρω (airō)	G142	both "put away/take away"	airō = physically lift up or remove (102x); athetēsis = legal/formal cancellation. 1 John 3:5 uses airō for Christ taking away sins — physical removal imagery vs. athetēsis's juridical annulment.
ἀφίημι (aphiēmi)	G863	both "put away"	aphiēmi = release, forgive, let go (146x); athetēsis = formal abrogation. aphiēmi carries the sense of debt-release or pardon; athetēsis treats the thing annulled as having legal standing that is voided.
ἀφαιρέω (aphaireō)	G851	both express removal	aphaireō = physically take away, cut off (10x); Heb 10:4 uses aphaireō for the inability of bull/goat blood to "take away sins" — spatial removal vs. athetēsis's legal nullification.

Semantic Domain¶

Domain 76 — Power, Force: athetēsis belongs to a subdomain of authority-words concerning the validation or invalidation of legal provisions. Its closest neighbors are atheteō (G114, verb form), akuroō (G208, "make of none effect"), and katargeō (G2673, "render inoperative").
Domain 13.001 — State: In this secondary classification, athetēsis describes the transition of something from valid/operative to invalid/void — a change of state.

Hebrew Source¶

No Hebrew source via LXX. The noun ἀθέτησις does not appear in the Septuagint; it is a New Testament formation. The cognate verb ἀθετέω (G114) renders various Hebrew terms in the LXX (e.g., H898 bagad "deal treacherously," H6565 parar "break, frustrate"), but athetēsis itself has no direct Hebrew antecedent.