ἀπώλεια
apōleia
destruction
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Greek word ἀπώλεια (apōleia) translates to "destruction." It is used 19 times in the Bible, indicating its importance in the narrative. This word encompasses a range of meanings, from physical annihilation to moral decay. In its most literal sense, ἀπώλεια refers to the act of destroying or being destroyed, often associated with catastrophes, wars, or natural disasters. Beyond its physical connotations, ἀπώλεια also carries moral and spiritual implications. It can describe the perdition of individuals or communities, highlighting the consequences of sin and rebellion against God. In this context, ἀπώλεια serves as a warning, emphasizing the importance of spiritual restoration and redemption. The frequency and varied usage of ἀπώλεια in the Bible underscore its significance as a concept. It is not merely a descriptive term but a thematic thread that weaves through the narrative, foreshadowing the ultimate destiny of humanity and the consequences of human choices.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
19 total occurrences across the text
“Enter in by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it.
Matthew 26:8But when his disciples saw this, they were indignant, saying, “Why this waste?
Mark 14:4But there were some who were indignant among themselves, saying, “Why has this ointment been wasted?
John 17:12While I was with them in the world, I kept them in your name. I have kept those whom you have given me. None of them is lost except the son of destruction, that the Scripture might be fulfilled.
Acts 8:20But Peter said to him, “May your silver perish with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money!
Acts 25:16I answered them that it is not the custom of the Romans to give up any man to destruction before the accused has met the accusers face to face and has had opportunity to make his defense concerning the matter laid against him.
Romans 9:22What if God, willing to show his wrath and to make his power known, endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction,
Philippians 1:28and in nothing frightened by the adversaries, which is for them a proof of destruction, but to you of salvation, and that from God.
Philippians 3:19whose end is destruction, whose god is the belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who think about earthly things.
2 Thessalonians 2:3Let no one deceive you in any way. For it will not be, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of destruction,
1 Timothy 6:9But those who are determined to be rich fall into a temptation, a snare, and many foolish and harmful lusts, such as drown men in ruin and destruction.
Hebrews 10:39But we are not of those who shrink back to destruction, but of those who have faith to the saving of the soul.
2 Peter 2:1But false prophets also arose among the people, as false teachers will also be among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction.
2 Peter 2:1But false prophets also arose among the people, as false teachers will also be among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, denying even the Master who bought them, bringing on themselves swift destruction.
2 Peter 2:3In covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words: whose sentence now from of old doesn’t linger, and their destruction will not slumber.
2 Peter 3:7But the heavens that exist now and the earth, by the same word have been stored up for fire, being reserved against the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men.
2 Peter 3:16as also in all of his letters, speaking in them of these things. In those, there are some things that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unsettled twist, as they also do to the other Scriptures, to their own destruction.
Revelation 17:8The beast that you saw was, and is not; and is about to come up out of the abyss and to go into destruction. Those who dwell on the earth and whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see that the beast was, and is not, and shall be present.
Revelation 17:11The beast that was, and is not, is himself also an eighth, and is of the seven; and he goes to destruction.