StrongerBible

kataleipō

καταλείπω

GreekG2641leave, forsake, ...

Appears 24 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Mat 4:13Mat 16:4Mat 19:5Mat 21:17Mrk 10:7Mrk 12:19Mrk 12:21Mrk 14:52Luk 5:28Luk 10:40Luk 15:4Luk 20:31Jhn 8:9Act 6:2Act 18:19Act 21:3Act 24:27Act 25:14Rom 11:4Eph 5:311Th 3:1Heb 4:1Heb 11:272Pe 2:15
Compound of
Names & words formed with this
Word studyka-ta-LAY-poverb

What kataleipō means

to leave behind: to go away from someone or something, or to let it stay behind, remain, or be given up

TranslatabilityPartialCertaintySettled

This is a strengthened form of the ordinary verb for leaving. The prefix adds the sense of leaving something firmly in place or fully behind you, so the word covers a wide arc: walking away from a town or a group of people, leaving a person on their own, leaving heirs when you die, giving something up for good, and keeping a portion in reserve.

What holds all of these together is a single picture: one party moves on, or takes a decisive step, and something is left where it was. Whether that leftover is a place, a person, a possession, or a surviving remnant, the word describes the same act of separation from the speaker's side.

The shades matter because English forces a choice the Greek does not. The same verb that means a neutral departure from a town can also mean a wholehearted renouncing of everything you own, or the deliberate sparing of a faithful few. Context, not the word itself, tells you which weight to hear.

Nuances

1ato leave a place or leave people behind as one departs or moves on
Mat 4:13Mat 16:4Mat 19:5Mat 21:17Mrk 10:7Mrk 14:52Luk 15:4Act 18:19Act 21:3Eph 5:31
1bto leave someone by themselves or in a particular condition
Luk 10:40Jhn 8:9Act 24:27Act 25:141Th 3:1
1cto leave behind survivors or offspring at one's death
Mrk 12:19Mrk 12:21Luk 20:31
1dto forsake or abandon: to give something up or turn away from it on purpose
Luk 5:28Act 6:2Heb 11:272Pe 2:15
1eto leave remaining or hold in reserve: to keep a portion back
Rom 11:4Heb 4:1

What scholars say about kataleipō

The lexica treat καταλείπω as a perfective compound of λείπω, with κατα- intensifying the leaving. BDAG groups the uses under three heads: to leave behind (a place, a person, a person in a state, including leaving survivors at death), to forsake or abandon, and to leave over or cause to remain. LSJ documents the same range in classical and Hellenistic Greek, including the reserve/remnant sense. The word is common and its meaning is not in dispute; the interpretive work is only in choosing the right English shade per context. The marriage saying (Matt 19:5; Mark 10:7; Eph 5:31) follows the Septuagint of Gen 2:24, where καταλείπω renders עזב.

Sources

  • BDAG, s.v. καταλείπωlexicon
  • LSJ, s.v. καταλείπωlexicon
  • H. Balz, EDNT 2:262, s.v. καταλείπωdictionary

All attested forms of καταλείπω

second-aorist active participle nominative m s

καταλιπὼν

Mat 4:13, Mat 16:4, Mat 21:17, Mrk 12:21, Mrk 14:52, Luk 5:28

second-aorist active indicative 3s

κατέλιπεν

Luk 10:40, Act 18:19, Act 24:27, Heb 11:27

future active indicative 3s

καταλείψει

Mat 19:5, Mrk 10:7, Eph 5:31

aorist active participle accusative m p

καταλείψαντας

Act 6:2

aorist passive indicative 3s

κατελείφθη

Jhn 8:9

aorist passive infinitive

καταλειφθῆναι

1Th 3:1

perfect passive participle nominative m s

καταλελειμμένος

Act 25:14

present active indicative 3s

καταλείπει

Luk 15:4

present active participle nominative m p

καταλείποντες

2Pe 2:15

present passive participle genitive f s

καταλειπομένης

Heb 4:1

second-aorist active indicative 1s

κατέλιπον

Rom 11:4

second-aorist active indicative 3p

κατέλιπον

Luk 20:31

second-aorist active participle nominative m p

καταλιπόντες

Act 21:3

second-aorist active subjunctive 3s

καταλίπῃ

Mrk 12:19