Lexical Summary airó: To lift, to take up, to raise, to remove, to carry away. Original Word: αἴρω Strong's Exhaustive Concordance to take up, take awayA primary root; to lift up; by implication, to take up or away; figuratively, to raise (the voice), keep in suspense (the mind), specially, to sail away (i.e. Weigh anchor); by Hebraism (compare nasa') to expiate sin -- away with, bear (up), carry, lift up, loose, make to doubt, put away, remove, take (away, up). see HEBREW nasa' NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Origina prim. verb Definition to raise, take up, lift NASB Translation away (5), bear (4), carried (1), carry (1), get (4), hoisted (1), keep (1), lifted (2), pick (9), picked (11), pulls away (2), put away (1), raised (2), remove (1), removed (3), suspense* (1), take (13), take away (5), take...away (4), taken (3), taken...away (1), taken away (12), takes away (7), taking (1), took (2), took...away (1), took away (3), weighed anchor (1). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 142: αἴρωαἴρω (contracted from the poetic ἀείρω); future ἀρῶ 1 aorist ἦρα, infinitive ἆραι, impv ἆρον; perfect ἠρκα (Colossians 2:14); passive, (present αἴρομαι); perfect ἤρμαι (John 20:1); 1 aorist ἤρθην; (on the rejection of the iota subscript in these tenses see Alexander Buttmann (1873) Ausf. Spr. i., pp. 413, 439; (Winer's Grammar, 47 (46))); 1 future ἀρθήσομαι; (from Homer down); in the Sept. generally equivalent to נָשָׂא; to lift up, raise. 1. to raise up; a. to raise from the ground, take up: stones, John 8:59; serpents, Mark 16:18; a dead body, Acts 20:9. b. to raise upward, elevate, lift up: the hand, Revelation 10:5; the eyes, John 11:41; the voice, i. e., speak in a loud tone, cry out, Luke 17:13; Acts 4:24 (also in secular writings); τήν ψυχήν, to raise the mind, equivalent to excite, affect strongly (with a sense of fear, hope, joy, grief, etc.); in John 10:24 to hold the mind in suspense between doubt and hope, cf. Lucke (or Meyer) at the passage, c. to draw up: a fish, Matthew 17:27 (ἀνασπᾶν, Habakkuk 1:15); σκάφην, Acts 27:17; anchors from the bottom of the sea, Acts 27:13, where supply τάς ἀγκύρας; cf. Kuinoel at the passage; (Winers Grammar, 594 (552); Buttmann, 146 (127)). 2. to take upon oneself and carry what has been raised, to bear: τινα ἐπί χειρῶν, Matthew 4:6; Luke 4:11 (Psalm 90:12 3. to bear away what has been raised, carry off; a. to move from its place: Matthew 21:21; Mark 11:23 (ἄρθητι be thou taken up, removed (Buttmann, 52 (45)), namely, from thy place); Matthew 22:13 (Rec.); John 2:16; John 11:39, 41; John 20:1. b. to take off or away what is attached to anything: John 19:31, 38f; to tear away, Matthew 9:16; Mark 2:21; to rend away, cut off, John 15:2. c. to remove: 1 Corinthians 5:2 (cast out from the church, where ἀρθῇ should be read for Rec. ἐξαρθῇ); tropically: faults, Ephesians 4:31; τήν ἁμαρτίαν, John 1:29 (36 Lachmann in brackets), to remove the guilt and punishment of sin by expiation, or to cause that sin be neither imputed nor punished (αἴρειν ἁμάρτημα, 1 Samuel 15:25; ἀνόμημα, 1 Samuel 25:28, i. e. to grant pardon for an offence); but in 1 John 3:5 τάς ἁμαρτίας ἡμῶν αἴρειν is to cause our sins to cease, i. e., that we no longer sin, while we enter into fellowship with Christ, who is free from sin, and abide in that fellowship, cf. 1 John 3:6. d. to carry off; carry away with one: Matthew 14:12, 20; Matthew 15:37; Matthew 20:14; Matthew 24:17; Mark 6:29, 43; Mark 8:8, 19; Mark 13:15; Luke 9:17; Luke 17:31; John 20:2, 13, 15; Acts 20:9. e. to appropriate what is taken: Luke 19:21; Mark 15:24. f. to take away from another what is his or what is committed to him, to take by force: Luke 6:30; Luke 11:52; τί ἀπό with the genitive of person, Matthew 13:12; Matthew 21:43; Matthew 25:28; Luke 8:12, 18; Luke 19:24, 26; (Matthew 25:29); Mark 4:( g. to take and apply to any use: Acts 21:11; 1 Corinthians 6:15. h. to take from among the living, either by a natural death, John 17:15 (ἐκ τοῦ κόσμου take away from contact with the world), or by violence, Matthew 24:39; Luke 23:18; John 19:15; Acts 21:36; with the addition of ἀπό τῆς γῆς, Acts 22:22; αἴρεται ἀπό τῆς γῆς ἡ ζῶν αὐτοῦ, of a bloody death inflicted upon one, Acts 8:33 (Isaiah 53:8). i. of things; to take out of the way, destroy: χειρόγραφον, Colossians 2:14; cause to cease: τήν κρίσιν, Acts 8:33 (Isaiah 53:8). (Compare: ἀπαίρω, ἐξαίρω, ἐπαίρω, μεταίρω, συναίρω, ὑπεραίρω.) The verb appears 101 times in the Greek New Testament, expressing two main actions: lifting or carrying something upward, and removing or taking something away. Context determines whether the sense is positive (raising, bearing) or negative (eliminating, disposing). The word’s flexibility allows writers to move effortlessly from the physical to the spiritual, from a literal act of hoisting a net to the redemptive removal of sin. Lifted Objects and Burdens Many occurrences describe ordinary objects being picked up—mats (Matthew 9:6), baskets of leftovers (Matthew 14:20), stones (John 8:59), even serpents without harm (Mark 16:18). Such scenes underline the earthy realism of the Gospels and Acts; people actually carried things, and the Spirit-inspired writers chose this everyday verb to narrate those tasks. Yet the routine soon becomes theological: the same word portrays Simon of Cyrene “carrying His cross” (Mark 15:21), binding the mundane labor of a passer-by to the cosmic purpose of redemption. Miraculous Healings and Evidential Sign-Acts When Jesus heals paralytics He commands, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go home” (Matthew 9:6; Mark 2:11; John 5:8). The lifted mat gives visible proof that the hidden miracle has indeed occurred. Luke records that onlookers were “filled with awe and glorified God” (Luke 5:25). The verb therefore functions as a narrative hinge: what was formerly immovable is now carried away, demonstrating Messiah’s authority over both sickness and sin. The Discipleship Call to Bear the Cross Jesus issues a solemn invitation: “If anyone would come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow Me” (Luke 9:23). Here the verb links costly self-denial with sustained obedience. The call repeats in Matthew 16:24 and Mark 8:34, emphasizing that discipleship is not a one-time decision but a lifelong bearing of Christ’s reproach. Taking Away Sin and Condemnation John’s testimony reaches its pinnacle: “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!” (John 1:29). Later John affirms, “You know that He appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin” (1 John 3:5). In both cases the verb encapsulates the substitutionary work of Christ—He does not merely lift the burden, He removes it entirely. Paul echoes the theme: the record of debt “He took it away, nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:14). Judicial and Eschatological Removal Crowds in Luke 23:18 and Acts 22:22 scream, “Away with him!” demanding the removal of Jesus and later Paul. The same cry reappears in Revelation 18:21 when a mighty angel “picked up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea,” picturing final judgment on Babylon. Thus the verb can signify divine or human expulsion, foreshadowing God’s ultimate separation of righteousness from evil. Spiritual Conflict and Victory In the parable of the sower “the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts” (Luke 8:12). Conversely, Christ declares, “No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord” (John 10:18). The vocabulary of taking and not taking frames the cosmic struggle: Satan strives to snatch life-giving seed, but cannot seize the life of the Good Shepherd. Ministerial Service and Practical Charity Believers are exhorted to “carry” material needs: the disciples “took away” twelve baskets of fragments (Mark 6:43); the servants at Cana “filled them to the brim” then “drew some out” (verb implied, John 2:8). Deacons in Acts 6 will later “take care” of food distribution, continuing the pattern that ministry often begins with the humble removal or transport of tangible goods. The Pattern of Apostolic Suffering and Deliverance When an enraged mob drags Paul from the temple, soldiers “carried him” to safety (Acts 21:35). Eutychus is “picked up dead” but restored to life (Acts 20:9-12). The verb records both peril and preservation, reminding readers that servants of Christ may be removed from danger yet never from divine purpose. Pastoral and Ethical Exhortations Paul warns the Corinthians that unrepentant immorality must “be removed from your midst” (1 Corinthians 5:2). By the same token, believers are told, “Let all bitterness and wrath … be taken away from you” (Ephesians 4:31). Moral purity requires decisive action; sin and rancor must be lifted out of the community as surely as leaven from dough. Theological Summary Scripture employs this single verb to portray the lifting of burdens, the bearing of the cross, the removal of sin, the excision of evil, and the final overthrow of wickedness. From mats raised in Galilean villages to a stone hurled into apocalyptic seas, the word traces a redemptive arc: what humanity cannot carry, Christ bears; what humanity cannot discard, Christ removes; and what Christ removes, God remembers no more. Englishman's Concordance Matthew 4:6 V-FIA-3PGRK: ἐπὶ χειρῶν ἀροῦσίν σε μή NAS: YOU'; and 'ON [their] HANDS THEY WILL BEAR YOU UP, SO KJV: thee up, lest at any time INT: in [their] hands will they bear up you lest Matthew 9:6 V-AMA-2S Matthew 9:16 V-PIA-3S Matthew 11:29 V-AMA-2P Matthew 13:12 V-FIP-3S Matthew 14:12 V-AIA-3P Matthew 14:20 V-AIA-3P Matthew 15:37 V-AIA-3P Matthew 16:24 V-AMA-3S Matthew 17:27 V-AMA-2S Matthew 20:14 V-AMA-2S Matthew 21:21 V-AMP-2S Matthew 21:43 V-FIP-3S Matthew 24:17 V-ANA Matthew 24:18 V-ANA Matthew 24:39 V-AIA-3S Matthew 25:28 V-AMA-2P Matthew 25:29 V-FIP-3S Matthew 27:32 V-ASA-3S Mark 2:3 V-PPM/P-AMS Mark 2:9 V-AMA-2S Mark 2:11 V-AMA-2S Mark 2:12 V-APA-NMS Mark 2:21 V-PIA-3S Mark 4:15 V-PIA-3S Strong's Greek 142 |
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