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ἀναβάλλομαι

anabállomai

G306 verb

SILEX Entry

Definition

To postpone or defer, to put off an action or event to a later time for one's own benefit or purpose. In the middle voice, emphasizes taking the initiative to delay or reschedule, often with a sense of personal deliberation or strategic delay. In literary and documentary Greek, denotes intentional deferral or procrastination, sometimes used in legal or rhetorical contexts to indicate postponement of a decision or obligation.

Semantic Range

to postpone, to defer, to put off, to reschedule, to delay an action by personal decision, to procrastinate (rare/figurative)

Root / Etymology

From ἀνά (up, back, again) + βάλλω (to throw). The compound conveys the sense of 'throwing up/back' in time, i.e., to delay. Middle voice (ἀναβάλλομαι) emphasizes the subject acting for their own interests.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical and Hellenistic usage, ἀναβάλλομαι is primarily employed in formal or technical registers to express deliberate postponement, such as the deferment of tribunals, assemblies, or obligations. In the Koine period, including the New Testament and related literature, it retains this sense, though usages are relatively rare. The verbal nuance in the middle voice highlights the subject's agency in the action. English translations often use 'defer,' 'postpone,' or 'put off,' but may not fully convey the personal initiative inherent in the Greek middle voice. Not to be confused with forms indicating hesitation or doubt; the core sense is positive postponement rather than indecision. See also ἀναβολή (postponement); contrast with ἐκβάλλω (to cast out, to force an action).

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

middle voice from ἀνά and βάλλω; to put off (for oneself):--defer.

Root Family

ἀναβάλλομαι (anaballomai) — to throw back, to cast up, to postpone, to defer

Root βαλ- to throw, to project, to cast

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G306-01 ἀνεβάλετο anebaleto V AOR MID IND 3P SG adjourned he deferred for himself he postponed for himself 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G306-01 Acts 24:22 ἀνεβάλετο anebaleto V AOR MID IND 3P SG adjourned he deferred for himself he postponed for himself
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