"consumption, destruction; waste, profusion, Mt. 26:8; Mk. 14:4; destruction, state of being destroyed, Acts 25:6; eternal ruin, perdition, Mt. 7:13; Acts 8:20"
Definition and meaning
consumption, destruction; waste, profusion, Mt. 26:8; Mk. 14:4; destruction, state of being destroyed, Acts 25:6; eternal ruin, perdition, Mt. 7:13; Acts 8:20
In the original Greek the word is written: ἀπώλεια
Historical context
Rome had controlled Judea since 63 BC. Herod the Great rebuilt the Temple into one of the most magnificent structures in the ancient world — and simultaneously murdered members of his own family. The common people paid multiple layers of taxation and were politically powerless. Into that world a carpenter from Galilee began teaching that the kingdom of God had arrived.
The people who first heard this word were not reading a book — they were living through empires, oppression, exile, and covenant. Every word carried the weight of that reality. Understanding it changes how you read Scripture.
Scripture references
These are the most notable occurrences of apoleia (G684) across the King James Bible.
Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
But when his disciples saw it, they had indignation, saying, To what purpose is this waste?
And there were some that had indignation within themselves, and said, Why was this waste of the ointment made?
While I was with them in the world, I kept them in thy name: those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition; that the scripture might be fulfilled.
To whom I answered, It is not the manner of the Romans to deliver any man to die, before that he which is accused have the accusers face to face, and have licence to answer for himself concerning the crime laid against him.
What if God, willing to shew his wrath, and to make his power known, endured with much longsuffering the vessels of wrath fitted to destruction:
And in nothing terrified by your adversaries: which is to them an evident token of perdition, but to you of salvation, and that of God.
Whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things.)
Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition;
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
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Common questions
Strong's G684 (apoleia) is a Greek word that means: consumption, destruction; waste, profusion, Mt. 26:8; Mk. 14:4; destruction, state of being destroyed, Acts 25:6; eternal ruin, perdition, Mt. 7:13; Acts 8:20 It appears 18 times in the King James Bible.
The word apoleia (G684) appears 18 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G684 is apoleia, a Greek word defined as: consumption, destruction; waste, profusion, Mt. 26:8; Mk. 14:4; destruction, state of being destroyed, Acts 25:6; eternal ruin, perdition, Mt. 7:13; A. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
apoleia is a Greek word found in the New Testament.