Original Word: ἀφίημι
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: aphiémi
Pronunciation: ah-FEE-ay-mee
Phonetic Spelling: (af-ee'-ay-mee)
Definition: To send away, to leave, to forgive, to permit, to abandon
Meaning: (a) I send away, (b) I let go, release, permit to depart, (c) I remit, forgive, (d) I permit, suffer.

Word Origin: From ἀπό (apo, meaning "from") and ἵημι (hiemi, meaning "to send" or "to let go")

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: - H5375 (נָשָׂא, nasa): To lift, bear, carry, take away, forgive

- H5545 (סָלַח, salach): To forgive, pardon

Usage: The Greek verb ἀφίημι (aphiémi) is a versatile term used in the New Testament to convey the act of sending away or letting go. It is most commonly translated as "forgive" in the context of releasing someone from a debt or offense. The term also encompasses meanings such as leaving behind, permitting, or abandoning. In the context of forgiveness, it reflects a conscious decision to release someone from the burden of guilt or obligation, embodying the grace and mercy central to Christian doctrine.

Cultural and Historical Background: In the Greco-Roman world, the concept of forgiveness was often tied to legal and financial transactions, where debts could be canceled or pardoned. The New Testament writers, drawing from Jewish traditions, expanded this concept to include moral and spiritual dimensions. Forgiveness became a hallmark of Christian ethics, reflecting God's forgiveness of humanity's sins through Jesus Christ. The cultural backdrop of honor and shame in ancient societies further underscores the radical nature of forgiveness as taught by Jesus, who emphasized reconciliation and restoration over retribution.

863 aphíēmi (from 575 /apó, "away from" and hiēmi, "send") – properly, send away; release (discharge).

Word Origin
from apo and hiémi (to send)
Definition
to send away, leave alone, permit
NASB Translation
abandoned (1), allow (5), allowed (2), divorce (2), forgave (2), forgive (23), forgiven (23), forgives (1), gave...permission (1), leave (7), leaves (2), leaving (8), left (38), let (9), let...alone (6), let him have (1), neglected (1), neglecting (2), permit (6), permitted (1), permitting (1), send...away (1), tolerate (1), uttered (1), yielded (1).

STRONGS NT 863: ἀφίημι

ἀφίημι; present 2 person singular ἀφείς (from the form ἀφέω, Revelation 2:20 for Rec. ἐᾷς) (3 person plural ἀφίουσιν Revelation 11: Tdf. editions 2, 7, from a form ἀφιέω; cf. Buttmann, 48 (42)); imperfect 3 person singular ἤφιε, with the augment before the preposition, Mark 1:34; Mark 11:16, from the form ἀφίω; whence also present 1 person plural ἀφίομεν Luke 11:4 L T Tr WH for ἀφίεμεν Rec. and 3 person ἀφίουσιν Revelation 11:9 L T Tr WH; (see WH's Appendix, p. 167); future ἀφήσω; 1 aorist ἀφῆκά, 2 person singular ἀφῆκες Revelation 2:4 T Tr WH (cf. κοπιάω); 2 aorist imperative ἄφες, ἄφετε, subjunctive 3 person singular ἀφῇ, 2 person plural ἀφῆτε (infinitive ἀφεῖναι (Matthew 23:23 L T Tr WH; Luke 5:21 L text T Tr WH)), participle ἀφείς, ἀφέντες; passive, present ἀφίεμαι (yet 3 person plural ἀφιονται John 20:23 WH marginal reading etc.; cf. ἀφίω above); perfect 3 person plural ἀφέωνται (a Doric form (cf. Winer's Grammar, § 14, 3 a.; B 49 (42); Kühner, § 285, 4), Matthew 9:2, 5; Mark 2:5,(9) — in both these Gospels L (except in Mark marginal reading) T Tr WH have restored the present 3 person plural ἀφίενταί; Luke 5:20, 23; Luke 7:47 (48); John 20:23 L text T Tr text WH text; 1 John 2:12); 1 aorist ἀφεθην; future ἀφεθήσομαι; cf. Winers Grammar, § 14, 3; Buttmann, 48 (42); (WHs Appendix, p. 167; Veitch, under the word ἵημι); (from ἀπό and ἵημι); (fr. Homer down); to send from (ἀπό) oneself;

1. to send away;

a. to bid go away or depart: τούς ὄχλους, Matthew 13:36 (others refer this to 3 below); τήν γυναῖκα, of a husband putting away his wife, 1 Corinthians 7:11-13 (Herodotus 5, 39; and a substantive, ἄφεσις, Plutarch, Pomp c. 42, 6).

b. to send forth, yield up, emit: τό πνεῦμα, to expire, Matthew 27:50 (τήν ψυχήν, Genesis 35:18; Herodotus 4, 190 and often in other Greek writings (see πνεῦμα, 2)), φωνήν to utter a cry (emitterevocem, Livy 1, 58), Mark 15:37 (Genesis 45:2 and often in Greek writings; (cf. Heinichen on Eusebius, h. e. 8, 14, 17)).

c. to let go, let alone, let be; α. to disregard: Matthew 15:14. β. to leave, not to discuss now, a topic, used of tethers, writers, speakers, etc.: Hebrews 6:1 (Euripides, Andr. 392; Theophrastus, char. praef. § 3; for other examples from Greek writings see Bleek on Heb. vol. 2:2, p. 144f) (others take the word in Hebrews, the passage cited as expressive of the duty of the readers, rather than the purpose of the writer; and consequently refer the passage to 3 below). γ. to omit, neglect: Matthew 23:23 (Luke 11:42 R G); Mark 7:8; Romans 1:27. δ. to let go, give up, a debt, by not demanding it (opposed to κρατεῖν, John 20:23), i. e. to remit, forgive: τό δάνειον, Matthew 18:27; τήν ὀφειλήν, Matthew 18:32; τά ὀφειλήματα, Matthew 6:12; τά παραπτώματα, Matthew 6:14; Mark 11:25f. (T Tr WH omit Mark 11:26); τάς ἁμαρτίας, τά ἁμαρτήματα, τάς ἀνομίας, Matthew 9:2, 5; Matthew 12:31; Mark 2:5, 7; Mark 3:28; Luke 5:20f, 23; Romans 4:7 (from Psalm 31:1 ()); 1 John 1:9; James 5:15 (Isaiah 22:14; Isaiah 33:24, etc.); ἡ ἐπίνοια τῆς καρδίας, Acts 8:22, (τήν αἰτίαν, Herodotus 6, 30; τά χρέα, Aelian v. h. 14, 24); absolutely, ἀφιέναι τίνι to forgive one: Matthew 12:32; Matthew 18:21, 35; Mark 4:12; Luke 11:4; Luke 12:10; Luke 17:3; Luke 23:34 (L brackets WH reject the passage).

e. to give up, keep no longer: τήν πρώτην ἀγάπην, Revelation 2:4.

2. to permit, allow, not to hinder;

a. followed by a present infinitive (Buttmann, 258 (222)): Mark 10:14; Luke 18:16 ἄφετε ἔρχεσθαι καί μή κωλύετε αὐτά, Matthew 13:30; Mark 1:34; John 11:44; John 18:8. by the aorist infinitive: Matthew 8:22; Matthew 23:13 (14); Mark 5:37; Mark 7:12, 27; Luke 8:51; Luke 9:60; Luke 12:39; Revelation 11:9.

b. without an infinitive: Matthew 3:15 (ἄφες ἄρτι permit it just now). with an accusative of the person or thing permitted: Matthew 3:15 τότε ἀφίησιν αὐτόν, Mark 5:19; Mark 11:6; Mark 14:6; Luke 13:8; John 12:7 R G; ; Acts 5:38 (L T Tr WH; R G ἐάσατε); Revelation 2:20 (Rec. ἐᾷς).

c. ἀφίημι τίνι τί, to give up a thing to one: Matthew 5:40 (ἄφες αὐτῷ καί τό ἱμάτιον).

d. followed by ἵνα: Mark 11:16; John 12:7 L T Tr WH, a later construction, cf. Winers Grammar, § 44, 8; Buttmann, 238 (205).

e. followed by the simple hortative subjunctive: Matthew 7:4; Luke 6:42 (ἄφες ἐκβάλω); Matthew 27:49; Mark 15:36 (ἄφετε ἴδωμεν); Epictetus diss. 1, 9, 15 ἄφες δειξωμεν, 3, 12, 15 ἄφες ἴδω. Cf. Buttmann, 209f (181f); Winer's Grammar, 285 (268).

3. to leave, go away from one; to depart from anyone,

a. in order to go to another place: Matthew 22:22; Matthew 26:44; Mark 8:13 (Matthew 16:4 καταλιπών); ; John 4:3; John 16:28.

b. to depart from one whom one wishes to quit: Matthew 4:11; so of diseases departing, ἀφῆκεν τινα ὁ πυρετός, Matthew 8:15; Mark 1:31; Luke 4:39; John 4:52.

c. to depart from one and leave him to himself, so that all mutual claims are abandoned: τόν πατέρα, Matthew 4:22; Mark 1:20; Matthew 18:12 (Luke 15:4 καταλείπει). Thus also ἀφιέναι τά ἑαυτοῦ to leave possessions, home, etc.: Matthew 4:20; Matthew 19:27, 29; Mark 1:18; Mark 10:28; Luke 5:11; Luke 18:28f.

d. to desert one (wrongfully): Matthew 26:56; Mark 14:50; John 10:12.

e. to go away leaving something behind: Matthew 5:24; John 4:28.

f. to leave one by not taking him as a companion: opposed to παραλαμβάνειν, Matthew 24:40f: Luke 17:34f.

g. to leave on dying, leave behind one: τέκνα, γυναῖκα, Matthew 22:25; Mark 12:20, 22 (Luke 20:31 καταλείπω). h. to leave so that what is left may remain, leave remaining: οὐ μή ἀφεθῇ ὧδε λίθος ἐπί λίθον (or λίθῳ), Matthew 24:2; Mark 13:2; Luke 21:6. 1:ἀφιέναι followed by the accusative of a noun or pronoun with an accusative of the predicate (Buttmann, § 144, 18): Luke 10:30 (ἡμιθανῆ); John 14:18 (τινα ὀρθανον); Matthew 23:38; Luke 13:35 (but Lachmann omits ἔρημος in both passages, WH text omits in Matthew, G T Tr WH omit in Luke; that being omitted, ἀφιέναι means to abandon, to leave destitute of God's help); Acts 14:17 (ἀμάρτυρον ἑαυτόν (L T Tr αὐτόν (WH αὑτόν which see))).

lay aside, leave, let go, omit

From apo and hiemi (to send; an intensive form of eimi, to go); to send forth, in various applications (as follow) -- cry, forgive, forsake, lay aside, leave, let (alone, be, go, have), omit, put (send) away, remit, suffer, yield up.

see GREEK apo

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