ἐλευθερόω
eleutheróō
G1659 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To set free, to liberate from restraint or bondage; to release from physical, legal, or social constraint. In extended or metaphorical use, to deliver from controlling influences, limitations, or obligations, including enslavement, captivity, or spiritual, moral, or legal restriction. The primary sense is to cause someone (or something) to be in a state of liberty who was previously not free.
Semantic Range
to set free from slavery, to liberate from physical captivity, to deliver from legal or social restraint, to exempt from obligation, to free from moral or spiritual constraint, to cause to exist in a state of liberty
Root / Etymology
From the adjective ἐλεύθερος (free, not a slave) with the verbal suffix -όω, forming a denominative verb meaning 'to make free.' Root: ἐλευθερ-.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical Greek, ἐλευθερόω is found in prose and poetry meaning 'to set free,' especially from slavery or captivity (e.g., Xen. Anab. 1.6.5). In Hellenistic and Koine Greek, including the Septuagint and New Testament, it continues to mean the act of making someone free from literal bondage or slavery or from figurative constraints such as law, sin, or death. The New Testament uses the term primarily in a metaphorical sense (e.g., John 8:32-36, Romans 6:18, 22), referring to release from the power or authority of sin or Mosaic law. English translations often employ 'set free', 'make free', or 'liberate,' sometimes 'deliver.' However, the word in Greek carries a concrete sense of release into a state of liberty, and the full depth includes legal and social dimensions in the ancient context. The related noun ἐλευθερία means 'freedom' or 'liberty.' The verb is absent from earlier Attic poetic tradition but is attested in classical prose, expanding in usage during the Koine period to cover figurative and philosophical meanings as Jewish and later Christian writers employed it to describe spiritual or moral emancipation. Distinct from λύω ('release, untie'), which carries a wider range of dissolving or releasing actions, ἐλευθερόω specifically points to the transition out of a status of bondage or unauthorized compulsion.
Translation Consistency
eleutheróō most commonly means to set someone or something into a state of liberty—literal, legal, social, or spiritual. "Free" is the natural, everyday English verb that covers the full semantic range (literal liberation, release, exemption, deliverance) and works smoothly in all grammatical forms, more natural than the more formal "liberate."
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from ἐλεύθερος; to liberate, i.e. (figuratively) to exempt (from moral, ceremonial or mortal liability):--deliver, make free.
Root Family
ἐλευθερ- (eleuthería) — to be free, to be released from constraint or servitude
| Strong's | Lemma | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|
| G1657 | ἐλευθερία | freedom |
Word Forms
5 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G1659-03 |
ἠλευθέρωσέν | eleutherosen | V AOR ACT IND 3P SG |
has set free | he set free | he freed | 2 |
G1659-04 |
ἐλευθερωθέντες | eleutherothentes | V AOR PASS PTCP NOM M PL |
having been freed | having been set free | having been set free | 2 |
G1659-01 |
ἐλευθερώσῃ | eleutherose | V AOR ACT SUBJ 3P SG |
makes free | may set free | may set free | 1 |
G1659-02 |
ἐλευθερώσει | eleutherosei | V FUT ACT IND 3P SG |
will set free | he/she/it will set free | will set free | 1 |
G1659-05 |
ἐλευθερωθήσεται | eleutherothesetai | V FUT PASS IND 3P SG |
will be set free | will be set free | will be set free | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
7 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G1659-02 |
John 8:32 | ἐλευθερώσει | eleutherosei | V FUT ACT IND 3P SG |
will set free | he/she/it will set free | will set free |
G1659-01 |
John 8:36 | ἐλευθερώσῃ | eleutherose | V AOR ACT SUBJ 3P SG |
makes free | may set free | may set free |
G1659-04 |
Romans 6:18 | ἐλευθερωθέντες | eleutherothentes | V AOR PASS PTCP NOM M PL |
having been freed | having been set free | having been set free |
G1659-04 |
Romans 6:22 | ἐλευθερωθέντες | eleutherothentes | V AOR PASS PTCP NOM M PL |
having been freed | having been set free | having been set free |
G1659-03 |
Romans 8:2 | ἠλευθέρωσέν | eleutherosen | V AOR ACT IND 3P SG |
has set free | he set free | he freed |
G1659-05 |
Romans 8:21 | ἐλευθερωθήσεται | eleutherothesetai | V FUT PASS IND 3P SG |
will be set free | will be set free | will be set free |
G1659-03 |
Galatians 5:1 | ἠλευθέρωσεν | eleutherosen | V AOR ACT IND 3P SG |
has set free | he set free | he freed |