G1842 — ἐξολοθρεύω (exolothreúō)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G1842
Original: ἐξολοθρεύω (also spelled ἐξολεθρεύω in Acts 3:23 NA/UBS text)
Transliteration: exolothreúō / exolethreúō
Pronunciation: ex-ol-oth-ryoo'-o
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: Compound of ἐκ (G1537, "out of, from, utterly") + ὀλοθρεύω (G3645, "to destroy, slay"), itself from ὄλεθρος (G3639, "ruin, destruction")
Occurrences: 1 in NT (hapax legomenon)
First Occurrence: Acts 3:23 — "And it shall come to pass, [that] every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people."
Hapax Legomenon: YES — appears only once in the entire NT (very frequent in LXX, ~250x)

Lexicon Definition¶

From Strong's: "from ἐκ and ὀλοθρεύω; to extirpate — destroy." The compound intensifies the base verb: not merely to destroy, but to destroy utterly, to root out completely, to exterminate from a group. The prefix ἐκ- adds the sense of "out from among" — the destruction removes the object entirely from a body or community.

Morphology in Acts 3:23¶

Form: ἐξολεθρευθήσεται (from greek_parser.py) - Parsing: [V-FPI-3S] Future Passive Indicative 3rd Singular - Voice: Passive ("shall be destroyed," not "shall destroy") - Tense: Future — settled divine judgment, not a present or past act - Subject: πᾶσα ψυχή ("every soul") — universal scope within the covenant community - Prepositional phrase: ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ ("out from the people") — the destruction is also a separation, an excommunication-by-judgment

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida: - Domain 20.003 — Destroy (subdomain under Violence, Harm, Destroy, Kill) - Other words in this subdomain: - αἴρω (G142) — take up, remove - ἀναλίσκω (G355) — consume - ἀπόλλυμι (G622) — destroy fully, perish - ἀπώλεια (G684) — destruction, perdition - ἀφανίζω (G853) — cause to disappear - διαφθείρω (G1311) — corrupt, destroy thoroughly - ἐδαφίζω (G1474) — raze to the ground - ἐρημόω (G2049) — lay desolate - ἐρήμωσις (G2050) — desolation - καθαίρεσις (G2506) — pulling down

UBS Semantic Domains: - [020] Violence, Harm, Destroy, Kill

Domain Neighbors — Destroy (20.003)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total vv	Primary KJV	Key Difference
G142	αἴρω	22	take up, remove	Remove/lift away; neutral to destructive
G355	ἀναλίσκω	3	consume	Consume (often fire); process
G622	ἀπόλλυμι	102	perish, destroy	General destruction / loss; most common NT verb for ruin
G684	ἀπώλεια	13	destruction, perdition	Noun: state/result of ruin
G853	ἀφανίζω	4	corrupt, perish	Cause to vanish / mar
G1311	διαφθείρω	3	corrupt	Thorough corruption
G1474	ἐδαφίζω	2	lay level with ground	Physical razing
G2049	ἐρημόω	4	desolate	Depopulate, make desolate
G2506	καθαίρεσις	3	pulling down	Demolition, breaking down

ἐξολοθρεύω distinctive: of these, only ἐξολοθρεύω carries the covenant-community "cut off from among the people" sense (via LXX usage of the karath formula). It is the strongest, most final verb in the cluster — extermination with separation.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
shall be destroyed	1	100%

Only one NT occurrence — Acts 3:23.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Acts	1	0.1

Limited to Peter's sermon in Solomon's Portico (Acts 3). The rarity in the NT corpus is striking given the verb's frequency in the LXX — Peter deliberately reaches for septuagintal language to frame the consequence of rejecting the prophet-like-Moses.

Semantic Categories¶

The NT occurrence is singular. Categories below are derived from the LXX usage pattern that informs Peter's citation, which the word study library's H3772-karath study documents in depth.

1. Judicial "Cut Off" from the Covenant Community¶

The LXX routinely uses ἐξολοθρεύω to render Hebrew כָּרַת (karath, H3772) and שָׁמַד (shamad, H8045) in the Pentateuchal formula "that soul shall be cut off from his people" — penalties for covenant violations (Lev 17:4, 17:9, 17:14; 18:29; 19:8; 20:3–6; 23:29; Num 9:13; 15:30–31). - Acts 3:23 — "every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed (ἐξολεθρευθήσεται) from among the people (ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ)" — Peter quotes Deut 18:19 in the LXX-inflected form of Lev 23:29 ("cut off from his people"), applying the mosaic excision penalty to rejection of the prophet-like-Moses, i.e. the Messiah.

2. Total Extermination / Extirpation (LXX background)¶

In LXX historical and prophetic material the verb denotes complete destruction of nations, cities, or persons (e.g., Deut 4:3; 28:63; Josh 7:12; 1 Sam 15:18; Ps 36:9 LXX).

3. Divine Judgment in Prophetic Warnings (LXX background)¶

Used of Yahweh's threatened judgments on idolaters and covenant-breakers, often paired with καταρά or ὀργή.

These categories are inferred from the word's LXX ancestry; the lone NT use (Acts 3:23) compresses all three senses into one verdict.

Common Collocations¶

No co-occurrence data available (single NT verse). Within Acts 3:23 itself the verb stands beside:

Word	Strong's	Relation
ψυχή	G5590	Subject — "every soul"
ἀκούω	G191	Negated condition — failure to "hear" triggers the verb
προφήτης	G4396	Object of hearing — "that prophet" (the Messiah per Deut 18:15)
ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ	G1537+G2992	Separation phrase — "from among the people" (covenantal excision)

Typical pattern (from LXX): ψυχή + ἐξολοθρεύω + ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ — the characteristic "soul...cut off from the people" covenant-curse formula lifted verbatim from Lev/Num LXX.

Word Family / Cognates¶

G3645 ὀλοθρεύω (olothreúō) — base verb "to destroy, slay" (Heb 11:28, of the destroyer in Passover)
G3639 ὄλεθρος (ólethros) — noun "ruin, destruction" (1 Cor 5:5; 1 Thess 5:3; 2 Thess 1:9; 1 Tim 6:9) — see G3639-olethros.md
G3644 ὀλοθρευτής (olothreutḗs) — "destroyer" (1 Cor 10:10, of the angel)
G1537 ἐκ — intensifying prefix, adds "out from, utterly"

Synonyms¶

No direct synonyms identified from search_relationships.py beyond the immediate word family already listed above.

Antonyms¶

No direct antonyms identified from search_relationships.py for this hapax destroy/excision verb.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared sense	Key Difference
ἀπόλλυμι	G622	"destroy, perish"	The common NT verb for ruin/perishing; wider semantic range (lose, be lost, perish, destroy). Lacks the covenant-excision nuance.
ὀλοθρεύω	G3645	"destroy, slay"	Uncompounded base verb; in LXX often physical slaying, as of the Passover destroyer.
καθαιρέω	G2507	"destroy, pull down"	Pull down, demolish (esp. structures, rulers).
ἀφανίζω	G853	"destroy, vanish"	Make disappear, mar, corrupt.
διαφθείρω	G1311	"destroy, corrupt"	Thorough corruption/decay.

ἐξολοθρεύω distinctive: unique association with the LXX karath-formula and covenant-community excision.

Hebrew Source (via LXX equivalence)¶

Although the database's NT-side LXX alignment returned no hits for the hapax G1842, the verb is a stock LXX rendering of:

Hebrew Source	Strong's	LXX usage pattern
כָּרַת (karath)	H3772	"cut off" — dominant equivalent in the Pentateuchal karath-formula; see H3772-karath.md
שָׁמַד (shamad)	H8045	"utterly destroy, exterminate" — Deut usage for annihilation
אָבַד (abad)	H6	"perish, be destroyed" — frequent LXX target for exolothreuō
צָמַת (tsamath)	H6789	"put an end to, silence" — occasional

The Acts 3:23 citation conflates Deut 18:19 ("I will require it of him") with Lev 23:29 LXX ("ἐξολεθρευθήσεται ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ") — Peter deliberately escalates the Deuteronomy warning using the stronger Leviticus excision language, framing messianic rejection as the ultimate karath offense.

OT Quotation Background¶

Acts 3:22–23 is a composite citation: - Acts 3:22 ≈ Deut 18:15–18 (prophet-like-Moses promise) - Acts 3:23a ≈ Deut 18:19 (accountability for not hearing) - Acts 3:23b ≈ Lev 23:29 LXX verbatim ("ἐξολεθρευθήσεται ἐκ τοῦ λαοῦ")

Lev 23:29 LXX originally threatened excision for anyone who would not "afflict himself" on the Day of Atonement. Peter re-applies this Yom Kippur penalty to the rejection of the risen Messiah, implicitly identifying response to Jesus with the central atonement-day posture.