TR: azab → enkataleipo (Forsake/Abandon)

The Chain

Hebrew OT            LXX (Greek OT)              Greek NT
───────────          ───────────────              ────────
עָזַב (azab)     →   ἐγκαταλείπω (enkataleipo) →  ἐγκαταλείπω (enkataleipo)
H5800, 206x          123x as translation           9x in NT
"forsake, leave"     of azab                       "forsake, abandon"

OT Usage (Hebrew)

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
H5800	עָזַב (azab)	206v	forsake, leave, abandon, relinquish

Key OT passages: - Psa 22:1 — "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken (azab) me?" — the definitive cry of dereliction - Deut 31:6 — "He will not fail thee, nor forsake (azab) thee" — covenant assurance formula - Jer 2:13 — "They have forsaken (azab) me the fountain of living waters" — prophetic accusation

H5800-azab.md

LXX Bridge

Hebrew	Greek Translation	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
azab (H5800)	ἐγκαταλείπω (G1459)	123	31.81	Dominant — used for covenantal/relational forsaking
azab (H5800)	καταλείπω (G2641)	47	18.11	Physical leaving/departing sense
azab (H5800)	ἀφίημι (G863)	9	8.70	"Let go, release"

Reverse mapping — Other Hebrew words also rendered ἐγκαταλ��ίπω: | Hebrew | Strong's | Co-occurrences | Notes | |--------|----------|---------------|-------| | נָטַשׁ (natash) | H5203 | 6 | "scatter, forsake" | | בָּגַד (bagad) | H898 | 6 | "deal treacherously" | | רָפָה (raphah) | H7503 | 6 | "slacken, let go" |

Semantic alignment in translation: The LXX translators chose ἐγκαταλείπω — a compound of ἐν + κατά + λείπω ("leave down in a place") — specifically for the relational/covenantal dimension of azab. The simpler καταλείπω handles the neutral "leave behind" sense. This lexical split shows the translators recognized two distinct semantic registers within azab and preserved the distinction in Greek.

NT Usage (Greek)

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
G1459	ἐγκαταλείπω (enkataleipo)	9v	forsake, abandon, leave behind

Key NT passages: - Matt 27:46 / Mark 15:34 — "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" — Jesus quoting Psa 22:1 from the cross - Acts 2:27 — "Thou wilt not leave my soul in hell" — Peter quoting Psa 16:10 at Pentecost - 2 Cor 4:9 — "Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed" - 2 Tim 4:10 �� "Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world" - Heb 10:25 — "Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together"

TODO(need G1459 study)

Direct OT→NT Quotations

NT Verse	Quotes OT	Shared Word	Significance
Matt 27:46 / Mark 15:34	Psa 22:1	azab → enkataleipo	The cry of dereliction: Jesus appropriates the psalmist's lament of divine abandonment
Acts 2:27	Psa 16:10	azab → enkataleipo	Peter argues David prophesied the resurrection: God did not "leave" the Messiah's soul in Sheol
Acts 2:31	Psa 16:10	azab → enkataleipo	Same quotation extended: "neither his flesh did see corruption"
Rom 9:29	Isa 1:9 (cf. Isa 10:22)	azab → enkataleipo	"Except the Lord of Sabaoth had left us a seed" — remnant theology

Continuity and Shifts

What stays the same across testaments: - The core meaning of relational abandonment carries through intact. In both testaments, enkataleipo/azab describes the severing of a personal bond — God forsaking his people, a disciple forsaking his mentor (2 Tim 4:10), or the sufferer's experience of being abandoned by God. - The covenantal framework persists: forsaking is consistently tied to covenant violation in both OT prophetic usage and NT ethical exhortation (Heb 10:25 — not forsaking the assembly).

What shifts: - The OT overwhelmingly uses azab for corporate/national covenant failure (Israel forsaking YHWH). The NT applies enkataleipo primarily to individual experience — Christ's cry, Paul's personal abandonment by Demas, individual believers not forsaking the assembly. - The Psa 22:1 quotation at the crucifixion transforms the word from lament into christological event. What was a psalmist's complaint becomes the theological center of the atonement narrative. - The OT "promise not to forsake" (Deut 31:6, Josh 1:5) reappears in Heb 13:5 but using a different Greek construction (οὐ μή σε ἀνῶ οὐδ' οὐ μή σε ἐγκαταλίπω), demonstrating the continuity of the azab → enkataleipo chain even in free quotation.

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Generated from: gather_trace_data.py, search_strongs.py (--lxx-map, --hebrew-source, --lookup) Last updated: 2026-05-03