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ἐκβολή

ekbolḗ

G1546 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

The act of casting out, throwing out, or expulsion; primarily, the act of expelling or ejecting something (such as goods, cargo, people), sometimes specifically referring to the throwing overboard of cargo from a ship during a crisis; by extension, can signify a general removal or expulsion from a place or group. In some contexts, can refer more abstractly to the state or effect of being cast out.

Semantic Range

casting out, expulsion, ejection, act of throwing overboard (nautical), removal, the effect or state of being expelled

Root / Etymology

From the verbal noun formed from ἐκβάλλω (ekballō, 'to cast out, to throw out'), itself built from ἐκ ('out of') and βάλλω ('to throw').

Historical & Contextual Notes

In Koine Greek, ἐκβολή appears mostly in Hellenistic and later sources, especially in technical or narrative contexts involving ships or expulsion. In the New Testament (as in Acts 27:18,19), it specifically refers to the act of throwing cargo overboard to lighten a ship in distress; this sense also exists in contemporary non-biblical Greek maritime literature. In the broader Hellenistic Greek corpus, the word may also denote other forms of expulsion or removal and can even refer in medicine or drama to an 'expulsion' more abstractly. Septuagintal usage is rare or absent. English Bible translations typically render the term with maritime phrases such as 'jettisoning the cargo' or 'lighten the ship,' which captures the situational nuance rather than the general sense of expulsion. ἐκβολή is distinct from terms like ἀποβολή (apobolē, 'loss, throwing away') in that it emphasizes the act of expelling rather than the result or state of loss.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from ἐκβάλλω; ejection, i.e. (specially) a throwing overboard of the cargo:--+ lighten the ship.

Root Family

ἐκβολή (ekbolē) — casting out, expulsion, ejection, throwing overboard, removal

Root ἐκβολ- to throw out, to cast out, to expel

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G1546-01 ἐκβολὴν ekbolen N ACC F SG jettisoning the casting out jettison 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G1546-01 Acts 27:18 ἐκβολὴν ekbolen N ACC F SG jettisoning the casting out jettison
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