G1615 — ἐκτελέω (ekteléō)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G1615
Original: ἐκτελέω
Transliteration: ekteléō
Pronunciation: ek-tel-eh'-o
Part of Speech: Verb (v)
Root: ἐκ (G1537, "out of, from") + τελέω (G5055, "to finish, complete") — to complete fully, finish entirely
Occurrences: 2 unique verses (2 tokens) in NT
First Occurrence: Luk 14:29 — "Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish [it]..."
Hapax Legomenon: No (2 occurrences)

Lexicon Definition¶

ἐκτελέω; from G1537 (ἐκ, "out") and G5055 (τελέω, "to end, complete"); to complete fully, i.e. accomplish thoroughly:—finish.

The compound intensifies the base verb τελέω with the prepositional prefix ἐκ-, conveying completion that exhausts or carries through to the very end.

Verb Form Distribution¶

Both NT occurrences are Aorist Active Infinitive (ἐκτελέσαι).

Form	Count	Parsing
Aorist Active Infinitive	2	V-AAN

The aorist infinitive here expresses the punctiliar (undefined) aspect — the inability to bring the action to completion as a single whole. The active voice indicates the subject performs the finishing. No present, perfect, or passive forms occur in the NT.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 068 — Aspect
Subdomain: 068.3 — Complete, Finish, Succeed
Other words in subdomain: ἀναπληρόω (G0378), ἀπαρτισμός (G0535), ἀποτελέω (G0658), διανύω (G1274), ἐπιτελέω (G2005), εὐοδόω (G2137), κρατέω (G2902), πληροφορέω (G4135), πληρόω (G4137), συντελέω (G4931)

Domain Neighbors (068.3 — Complete, Finish, Succeed)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Vv	Primary KJV Translation(s)
G0378	ἀναπληρόω	3	fill up, fulfil
G0535	ἀπαρτισμός	1	finish
G0658	ἀποτελέω	1	when it is finished
G1274	διανύω	1	had finished
G2005	ἐπιτελέω	3	I do, I have performed
G2137	εὐοδόω	3	I might have a prosperous journey
G2902	κρατέω	11	took, hold
G4135	πληροφορέω	3	Let, be fully persuaded
G4137	πληρόω	22	it might be fulfilled
G4931	συντελέω	4	had ended, I will make
G5046	τέλειος	11	perfect

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Verses	%
to finish	2	100.0%

G1615 is uniformly rendered "to finish" in the KJV, the same gloss as the base verb G5055. The intensive prefix ἐκ- is not distinguished in the English rendering.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Abbrev	Count	BookV	Per 100 Verses
Luke	Luk	2	1151	0.17

G1615 appears only in Luke, concentrated in a single parable (Luke 14:28-30, the tower builder). No occurrences in Matthew, Acts, Paul, Hebrews, or Revelation.

Semantic Categories¶

With only 2 verses (both in the same immediate context), G1615 exhibits a single coherent usage pattern.

1. Completing a Project / Finishing What Was Begun¶

Both verses occur in Jesus' twin parables of counting the cost before beginning a project (Luke 14:28-33). The aorist infinitive ἐκτελέσαι appears in the negative construction "not able to finish" (μὴ ἰσχύοντος ἐκτελέσαι / οὐκ ἴσχυσεν ἐκτελέσαι), describing the inability to bring a building project to completion after laying the foundation.

Luk 14:29 — "Lest haply, after he hath laid the foundation, and is not able to finish [it], all that behold [it] begin to mock him"
Luk 14:30 — "Saying, This man began to build, and was not able to finish."

The compound ἐκτελέω heightens the sense of bringing to full completion — not merely stopping work but failing to reach the intended end. The repetition of the same word-form in consecutive verses forms a rhetorical bracket around the mockers' taunt, emphasizing the folly of beginning without the resources to finish.

Common Collocations¶

All collocations at 1x (50%) due to the word appearing in only 2 verses.

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἄνθρωπος (anthrōpos)	G0444	1x (50%)	"This man began to build and was not able to finish"
ἐμπαίζω (empaizō)	G1702	1x (50%)	"begin to mock him" — those who see the unfinished project
θεμέλιος (themelios)	G2310	1x (50%)	"after he hath laid the foundation" — beginning before finishing
θεωρέω (theōreō)	G2334	1x (50%)	"all that behold" — spectators of the unfinished work
λέγω (legō)	G3004	1x (50%)	"Saying, This man began to build..." — the mockers' speech
οἰκοδομέω (oikodomeō)	G3618	1x (50%)	"began to build" — the initiated action contrasted with failure to finish
τίθημι (tithēmi)	G5087	1x (50%)	"after he hath laid (the foundation)" — initial step
ἰσχύω (ischuō)	G2480	1x (50%)	"not able (ischuō) to finish" — inability

Word Family / Cognates (τελ- Root)¶

G5055 τελέω (teleō) — root verb: to finish, end, complete, accomplish (26 vv)
G2005 ἐπιτελέω (epiteleō) — to complete, perform, finish (epi + teleo) (10 vv)
G4931 συντελέω (synteleō) — to end, bring to close (syn + teleo) (7 vv)
G0658 ἀποτελέω (apoteleō) — to finish, complete (apo + teleo) (1 v)
G5048 τελειόω (teleioō) — to make perfect, complete, accomplish (24 vv)
G5046 τέλειος (teleios) — adjective: perfect, complete, mature (19 vv)
G5056 τέλος (telos) — noun: end, goal, purpose, consummation (41 vv)
G5050 τελείωσις (teleiōsis) — noun: completion, perfection (2 vv)
G5051 τελειωτής (teleiōtēs) — noun: completer, finisher (1 v)
G1537 ἐκ (ek) — preposition: out of, from — the intensive prefix in this compound

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
τελειόω (teleioō)	G5048	"finish" (Jhn 4:34, 5:36, 17:4)	teleioō = bring to telos (goal/purpose/perfecting); ekteleō = finish through to the end, exhaust the action
כָּלָה (kālâ)	H3607	"to finish" (Gen 2:1)	OT Hebrew background; kālâ = to be complete/at an end/perish; not a direct LXX equivalent for G1615

Synonyms¶

G5055 τελέω (teleō) — to finish, complete (less intensive, no ἐκ- prefix)
G4931 συντελέω (synteleō) — to end, finish completely (συν- = together, emphasizing totality)
G2005 ἐπιτελέω (epiteleō) — to perform, finish (ἐπι- = upon, toward a goal)
G4137 πληρόω (plēroō) — to fill, fulfill, complete (filling what was empty)
G5048 τελειόω (teleioō) — to make perfect, complete (bring to intended end/purpose)

Antonyms¶

No direct antonyms identified from search_relationships.py. Conceptually, the opposite of completing fully would be: - G0756 ἄρχομαι (archomai) — to begin (Luk 14:30: "began to build, and was not able to finish")

Hebrew Source¶

No Hebrew sources found for G1615 via LXX mapping. The word has no Hebrew equivalent bridge — it is a NT-only compound with no direct OT precedent.