βεβηλόω
bebēlóō
G953 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To make profane, to treat something as not sacred; to violate the sanctity of something that is customarily or ritually set apart as holy. The verb focuses on an action that removes, disregards, or breaches established boundaries of sacredness, rendering something common or unclean in cultic, religious, or social terms. It can also mean to treat something as ordinary or accessible to all, as opposed to being restricted or specially reserved.
Semantic Range
to make common what is holy, to defile by irreverent or unauthorized use, to treat as ordinary what should remain set apart, to desecrate, to profane
Root / Etymology
From the adjective βέβηλος (bebēlos), meaning 'profane,' which itself is likely composed of the prefix βε- (a variant of δια- or an intensifier) and βηλός, related to the verb βαίνω ('to go, to step'). The idea is of something 'stepped over' or 'gone through,' hence 'accessible,' and by extension, not sacred or restricted. The -όω ending forms a denominative verb meaning 'to make or treat as βέβηλος.'
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical and Hellenistic Greek, βεβηλόω denotes the action of desecrating what is set apart as sacred—typically temples, ritual objects, or ideas. In the Septuagint and New Testament usage, the verb retains this primary sense of violating what is sanctified in religious, especially cultic, contexts. It parallels the Hebrew concept of ׁחלל (ḥll), meaning 'to profane' or 'to violate sanctity.' English translations often render the verb as 'to profane' or 'to desecrate,' but may not bring out the full sense of breaching sacred boundaries or diminishing something's sanctity. Unlike related terms such as ἀσεβέω ('to act impiously'), βεβηλόω specifically pertains to altering or degrading the status of what is holy rather than to general irreverence. The underlying concept is not unique to Judean or Israelite religious practice; Greek cultic language also draws sharp distinction between sacred (ἱερός) and profane (βεβηλος), and this verb highlights the deliberate or negligent act of crossing that line. In later Christian Greek, the term continued to be used for the desecration of churches, sacraments, or sacred times.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from βέβηλος; to desecrate:--profane.
Root Family
βεβηλόω (bebēloō) — to make profane, to desecrate, to violate the sacred
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G953-02 |
βεβηλοῦσιν | bebelousin | V PRS ACT IND 3P PL |
profane | they are desecrating | profane | 1 |
G953-01 |
βεβηλῶσαι | bebelosai | V AOR ACT INF |
to desecrate | to desecrate | to desecrate | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G953-02 |
Matthew 12:5 | βεβηλοῦσιν | bebelousin | V PRS ACT IND 3P PL |
profane | they are desecrating | profane |
G953-01 |
Acts 24:6 | βεβηλῶσαι | bebelosai | V AOR ACT INF |
to desecrate | to desecrate | to desecrate |