The Greek word τελευτή, teleute occurs only once in the New Testament and refers to the physical death of Herod (Matt. 2:15). It has no bearing on annihilationism or eternal conscious torment due to its singular usage in reference to physical death only.
- Greek word: τελευτή, teleute
- Meaning: death
- Strong’s #: G5054
- Frequency: 1 occurrence
Summary of the meaning of the Greek word teleute, death, in all verses where it occurs in the New Testament.
- Physical death, 1 occurrence
- Matt. 2:15
| TABLE OF ALL NEW TESTAMENT USAGES OF TELEUTE, τελευτή | ||
| Address | Verse | Meaning |
| Matt. 2:15 | “He remained there until the death of Herod. This was to fulfill what had been spoken by the Lord through the prophet: ‘OUT OF EGYPT I CALLED MY SON.'” | Physical death |
Dictionaries and Lexicons consulted
- τελευτή teleutḗ; gen. teleutḗs, fem. noun from teléō (5055), to accomplish or complete something. An end, figurative for death. In Matt. 2:15, the end of life, death, decease (Sept.: Gen. 27:2; Josh. 1:1; Judg. 1:1).
- Zodhiates, Spiros. The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament. Chattanooga, TN: AMG Publishers, 2000.
- τελευτάω; τελευτή, ῆς f: (figurative extensions of meaning of τελευτάω ‘to end’ and τελευτή ‘end,’ not occurring in the NT) to come to the end of one’s life, as a euphemistic expression for death—‘to die, death.’
- Louw, Johannes P., and Eugene Albert Nida. Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament: Based on Semantic Domains. New York: United Bible Societies, 1996.
- τελευτή [teleute /tel·yoo·tay/] n f. From 5053; GK 5463; AV translates as “death” once. 1 the end of life, decease, death.
- Strong, James. Enhanced Strong’s Lexicon. Woodside Bible Fellowship, 1995.
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