G337 — ἀναιρέω (anaireō)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G337
Original: ἀναιρέω
Transliteration: anaireō
Pronunciation: an-ahee-reh-o
Part of Speech: Verb (v)
Root: Compound of ἀνά (G303, "up") + αἱρέω (G138, "to take, choose")
Literal sense: "to take up"
Derived senses: (1) to take up into one's arms / adopt; (2) to take up, i.e. make away with, destroy, kill; (3) to abolish, set aside (of laws/practices)
Occurrences: 24 tokens across 23 verses in 5 NT books (Acts 7:28 has two tokens)
First Occurrence: Matthew 2:16 — "[Herod] sent forth, and slew all the children that were in Bethlehem"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From ἀνά + (the active of) αἱρέομαι; to take up, i.e. adopt; by implication, to take away (violently), i.e. abolish, murder:—put to death, kill, slay, take away, take up.

The verb compounds ἀνά ("up") with αἱρέω ("take, choose"). The base sense is "take up from the ground." Greek developed two specialized extensions from this: the middle voice for taking up a child into one's arms (adoption; cf. Acts 7:21) and the active voice idiomatically for "taking off" a life — i.e. killing. Both senses appear in the NT.

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida:

ἀναιρέω is indexed under multiple Louw-Nida domains, reflecting its polysemy:

Code	Subdomain	Sense
20	Violence, Harm, Destroy, Kill	general killing
20.61	Kill	"to kill, to execute"
35	Help, Care For	caring relationships
35.48	Adopt	"to take up as one's own child"
76	Power, Force	force/abolition

UBS Semantic Domains: - [020] Violence, Harm, Destroy, Kill - [076] Power, Force - [035] Help, Care For

The semantic range spans three poles: killing (most frequent), adopting (Acts 7:21 only), and abolishing (Heb 10:9).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Tokens	%
(to) kill / killed / (have/would have) killed	10	41.7%
(to) slay / slew / slain	10	41.7%
put to death	2	8.3%
took / took up (Acts 7:21)	1	4.2%
taketh away (Heb 10:9)	1	4.2%

Nearly 83% of tokens render violent killing. The "take up" sense survives in one verse (Acts 7:21 middle voice), and the abolishing sense in one verse (Heb 10:9 present active).

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Tokens	Verses	Per 100 Verses
Acts	19	18	1.88
2 Thessalonians	1	1	2.33
Hebrews	1	1	0.33
Matthew	1	1	0.09
Luke	2	2	0.17

Acts contains 19 of 24 tokens (79%). This is overwhelmingly a Lukan narrative verb used in Acts for plots to kill, executions, and martyrdoms. It is absent from the Gospel of Mark, John, the Pauline corpus except 2 Thess 2:8, the General Epistles, and Revelation. Luke-Acts together account for 21 of 24 tokens (87.5%).

Semantic Categories¶

1. Judicial / State Execution¶

Formal putting to death by political or judicial authority. - Matthew 2:16 — Herod "slew all the children" (ἀνεῖλεν) - Luke 23:32 — two malefactors "led with him to be put to death" (ἀναιρεθῆναι) - Acts 12:2 — Herod "killed James the brother of John with the sword" (ἀνεῖλεν) - Acts 13:28 — though no cause of death, "they Pilate that he should be slain" (ἀναιρεθῆναι) - Acts 26:10 — "when they were put to death, I gave my voice against them" (ἀναιρουμένων)

2. Plotted / Conspired Killing¶

Lethal intent, often expressed as aorist infinitive after ζητέω / βουλεύομαι / συντίθεμαι ("seek / counsel / agree to kill"). - Luke 22:2 — chief priests "sought how they might kill him" (ἀνέλωσιν) - Acts 5:33 — council "took counsel to slay them" (ἀνελεῖν) - Acts 9:23 — Jews "took counsel to kill him" (ἀνελεῖν) - Acts 9:24 — "watched the gates day and night to kill him" (ἀνέλωσιν) - Acts 9:29 — "they went about to slay him" (ἀνελεῖν) - Acts 23:15 — "we... are ready to kill him" (ἀνελεῖν) - Acts 23:21 — men bound by oath "till they have killed him" (ἀνέλωσιν) - Acts 25:3 — "laying wait in the way to kill him" (ἀνελεῖν)

3. Completed Act of Killing (Historical Narrative)¶

Aorist indicative for past killings. - Acts 2:23 — "ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain" (ἀνείλατε) — of Christ - Acts 5:36 — Theudas "was slain" (ἀνῃρέθη) - Acts 7:28 — "Wilt thou kill me, as thou diddest the Egyptian yesterday?" (ἀνελεῖν / ἀνεῖλες) — Moses' challenger - Acts 10:39 — "whom they slew and hanged on a tree" (ἀνεῖλαν) — of Christ - Acts 22:20 — "them that slew him" (ἀναιρούντων) — Stephen's killers - Acts 23:27 — "should have been killed of them" (ἀναιρεῖσθαι) — Paul

4. Attempted / Prevented Killing¶

Acts 16:27 — jailer "would have killed himself" (ἀναιρεῖν) — thwarted suicide

5. Taking Up (Middle Voice, Adoption Sense)¶

Only one NT instance preserves the literal "take up" sense. - Acts 7:21 — "Pharaoh's daughter took him up, and nourished him for her own son" (ἀνείλατο, aorist middle) — of Moses

6. Abolishing / Setting Aside¶

Metaphorical "taking away" of a prior order. - Hebrews 10:9 — "He taketh away the first [covenant/sacrifice], that he may establish the second" (ἀναιρεῖ, present active)

7. Eschatological Slaying¶

The future-tense use unique in the NT. - 2 Thessalonians 2:8 (critical text) — "whom the Lord shall slay with the breath of his mouth" (ἀνελεῖ, V-2FAI-3S)

2 Thessalonians 2:8 — Textual Variant¶

Two readings stand in the manuscript tradition for the verb describing the Lord's act against ὁ ἄνομος ("the lawless one"):

Reading	Verb	Lemma	Gloss	Witnesses
Critical text (NA28/UBS5)	ἀνελεῖ	ἀναιρέω (G337)	"will slay / take away"	א A B P Ψ 0278 33 1739 1881 Maj (majority of Greek mss)
Textus Receptus	ἀναλώσει	ἀναλίσκω (G355)	"will consume / destroy"	D F G and a minority; followed by KJV "shall consume"

The critical-text reading ἀνελεῖ (future active indicative 3rd singular of ἀναιρέω) is the basis of the Isa 11:4 LXX allusion. The TR reading ἀναλώσει (from ἀναλίσκω, "consume utterly") is semantically close but lexically distinct; it would remove the direct verbal link to the LXX of Isaiah 11:4.

Parallel in the same verse: καὶ καταργήσει τῇ ἐπιφανείᾳ τῆς παρουσίας αὐτοῦ — "and shall destroy/render-inoperative by the appearing of his coming" (καταργέω, G2673). The two verbs (ἀνελεῖ ... καταργήσει) form a parallel couplet: slaying/abolishing by his breath (present/ongoing) and by his appearing (final).

Isaiah 11:4 LXX Allusion¶

The critical-text reading in 2 Thess 2:8 echoes verbatim the LXX of Isa 11:4:

LXX Isa 11:4b: καὶ πατάξει γῆν τῷ λόγῳ τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ καὶ ἐν πνεύματι διὰ χειλέων ἀνελεῖ ἀσεβῆ. "And he shall smite the earth with the word of his mouth, and with breath through his lips he shall slay the ungodly."

2 Thess 2:8b (critical): ὃν ὁ Κύριος Ἰησοῦς ἀνελεῖ τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ. "whom the Lord Jesus shall slay with the breath of his mouth."

Both use ἀνελεῖ (V-2FAI-3S) as the finite verb of slaying, and both pair the verb with πνεῦμα + στόμα/χείλη ("breath of the mouth/lips"). The MT of Isa 11:4 has וּבְרוּחַ שְׂפָתָיו יָמִית רָשָׁע — "and with the breath of his lips he shall slay the wicked" (H4191 mûth, "put to death"). The LXX renders the Hebrew יָמִית ("slay") by ἀνελεῖ, and Paul picks up the LXX form directly.

Lexical correspondence table:

Hebrew (MT Isa 11:4)	LXX Isa 11:4	2 Thess 2:8 (critical)
רוּחַ (ruach) "breath/spirit" H7307	πνεύματι (pneuma) G4151	πνεύματι (pneuma) G4151
שְׂפָתָיו (sephathayw) "his lips" H8193	χειλέων (cheileōn) G5491	στόματος (stoma) G4750 "mouth"
יָמִית (yamith, Hiph hiphil of H4191 mûth)	ἀνελεῖ (anelei) G337	ἀνελεῖ (anelei) G337
רָשָׁע (rasha) "wicked one" H7563	ἀσεβῆ (asebē) G765	(not echoed; compare ὁ ἄνομος G459)

Paul substitutes στόματος ("mouth") for the LXX's χειλέων ("lips") but retains πνεύματι and ἀνελεῖ. This is the tightest verbal allusion in the immediate clause.

Verb Form Distribution (Critical Text, Text-Fabric)¶

Parsing	Count	Forms
Aor Act Inf (2AAN)	7	ἀνελεῖν (Acts 5:33; 7:28; 9:23; 9:29; 23:15; 25:3) and one 2AAN form in 2 Thess context paralleled
Aor Act Subj 3P	3	ἀνέλωσιν (Luke 22:2; Acts 9:24; 23:21)
Aor Act Ind 3S	2	ἀνεῖλεν (Matt 2:16; Acts 12:2)
Aor Act Ind 3P	1	ἀνεῖλαν (Acts 10:39)
Aor Act Ind 2S	1	ἀνεῖλες (Acts 7:28)
Aor Act Ind 2P	1	ἀνείλατε (Acts 2:23)
Aor Mid Ind 3S	1	ἀνείλατο (Acts 7:21)
Aor Pass Ind 3S	1	ἀνῃρέθη (Acts 5:36)
Aor Pass Inf (APN)	2	ἀναιρεθῆναι (Luke 23:32; Acts 13:28)
Pres Act Ind 3S	1	ἀναιρεῖ (Heb 10:9)
Pres Act Inf (PAN)	1	ἀναιρεῖν (Acts 16:27)
Pres Act Ptcp Gen Pl M	1	ἀναιρούντων (Acts 22:20)
Pres Pass Inf (PPN)	1	ἀναιρεῖσθαι (Acts 23:27)
Pres Pass Ptcp Gen Pl M	1	ἀναιρουμένων (Acts 26:10)
Fut Act Ind 3S (2FAI-3S)	1	ἀνελεῖ (2 Thess 2:8)

The future active indicative is unique to 2 Thess 2:8 in the entire NT — matching the eschatological/prophetic horizon of the passage.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ζητέω (zēteō) "seek"	G2212	3x	"sought to kill" (Luke 22:2; Acts 9:23 conceptually; cf. plot language)
βουλεύομαι / βουλή (boulē) "counsel"	G1012	2x	"took counsel to slay" (Acts 5:33; 9:23)
ἐνεδρεύω / ἐνέδρα "lie in wait"	G1748/1747	3x	"lying in wait to kill" (Acts 23:15, 21; 25:3)
πνεῦμα (pneuma) "breath/spirit"	G4151	1x	"slay with the breath" (2 Thess 2:8) — direct Isa 11:4 LXX echo
στόμα (stoma) "mouth"	G4750	1x	"breath of his mouth" (2 Thess 2:8)
σταυρόω (stauroō) "crucify"	G4717	1x	"crucified and slain" (Acts 2:23)
ξύλον (xylon) "tree"	G3586	1x	"slew and hanged on a tree" (Acts 10:39)
μάχαιρα (machaira) "sword"	G3162	1x	"killed with the sword" (Acts 12:2)
καταργέω (katargeō) "destroy/abolish"	G2673	1x	parallel verb in 2 Thess 2:8
ἄνομος (anomos) "lawless"	G459	1x	object in 2 Thess 2:8

Word Family (compounds / cognates of αἱρέω G138)¶

Word	Strong's	Gloss
αἱρέω	G138	"take, choose" — base root
αἱρετίζω	G140	"choose"
ἀφαιρέω	G851	"take away, cut off"
διαιρέω	G1244	"divide, distribute"
ἐξαιρέω	G1807	"take out, deliver, rescue"
καθαιρέω	G2507	"take down, destroy, cast down"
περιαιρέω	G4014	"take away from around, remove"
προαιρέω	G4255	"purpose, choose beforehand"
ἀναίρεσις	G336	"killing, slaughter" (noun; Acts 8:1; 22:20)

Synonyms¶

No close lexical synonyms were identified by search_relationships.py outside the kill-verb parallels already listed below.

Antonyms¶

No direct antonyms were identified by search_relationships.py.

Easily Confused Words (Shared KJV Translations)¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Gloss	Key Difference
ἀναλίσκω	G355	"consume, destroy"	TR variant in 2 Thess 2:8; root sense is "use up / consume" — total destruction rather than specific killing
ἀποκτείνω	G615	"kill, slay"	Most common NT word for "kill" (~74x); direct, with no "take up" overtone; preferred in the Gospels
θανατόω	G2289	"put to death"	Specifically "cause to die"; cultic/judicial overtones
φονεύω	G5407	"kill, murder"	Moral/criminal murder; cognate with φονεύς "murderer" and the sixth commandment (Matt 5:21)
σφάζω	G4969	"slay, slaughter"	Slaughter as of an animal; used in Revelation for martyrdom and the slain Lamb
καταργέω	G2673	"destroy, abolish, render inoperative"	Parallel verb in 2 Thess 2:8; not killing but making powerless
ὄλλυμι / ἀπόλλυμι	G622	"destroy, perish"	Total ruin / perdition; broader than killing
ἀπάγω	G520	"lead away" (to execution)	Judicial escort to death, not the killing act itself

Hebrew Source (LXX Reverse Alignment)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	PMI-weighted count	Gloss
הָרַג (harag)	H2026	20 (PMI 5.73, score 17.46)	"slay, kill" — the dominant LXX source
קְטַל (qetal, Aramaic)	H6992	4 (PMI 8.37, score 13.46)	Aramaic "kill" (in Daniel)
פָּגַע (paga)	H6293	5 (PMI 5.58, score 10.00)	"encounter, fall upon, strike down"
מוּת (muth)	H4191	15 (PMI 3.17, score 8.78)	"die / put to death" — the Hiph of H4191 is the source in Isa 11:4 MT

ἀναιρέω renders multiple Hebrew verbs of killing in the LXX. The Isa 11:4 LXX pairing (H4191 Hiph → ἀνελεῖ) is statistically minor but theologically weighted because of the prophetic context and Paul's direct echo.

Isaiah 11:4 Lexical Pathway Summary¶

The allusive chain connecting the OT messianic prophecy to 2 Thess 2:8:

MT Isa 11:4  →  LXX Isa 11:4  →  2 Thess 2:8 (critical text)
יָמִית רָשָׁע  →  ἀνελεῖ ἀσεβῆ  →  ἀνελεῖ (obj.: ὁ ἄνομος)
"slay the wicked"   "slay the ungodly"   "slay [the lawless one]"
(בְּרוּחַ שְׂפָתָיו) → (ἐν πνεύματι διὰ χειλέων) → (τῷ πνεύματι τοῦ στόματος αὐτοῦ)
"with the breath of his lips"

The future-tense verb ἀνελεῖ occurs only once in the NT (2 Thess 2:8) and once in the LXX of the Major Prophets in this formulation (Isa 11:4). The lexical match + the πνεῦμα + στόμα/χείλη word field establishes the allusion. The TR variant ἀναλώσει ("will consume," from ἀναλίσκω G355) breaks the direct verbal link, though retains the sense.

Notable Patterns¶

Acts-heavy distribution: 19 of 24 tokens in Acts reflects Luke's recurring narrative of plots against Paul and other believers, and the legal/political vocabulary of state execution.
Aorist dominance: 20 of 24 tokens are aorist (either indicative of completed killing or infinitive/subjunctive of intended killing); the 4 present tokens are either iterative (Acts 22:20; 26:10), thwarted (Acts 16:27, 23:27), or principial (Heb 10:9).
Christ as object: Acts 2:23; 10:39; 13:28 all use ἀναιρέω for the killing of Christ — a deliberate Lukan echo.
Future tense unique: 2 Thess 2:8 is the only future form of this verb in the NT.