What does ἐάω (eáō) mean in the Bible?
This Greek word can describe allowing something to happen or leaving something alone. Its use does not by itself tell us whether an action is approved.
Greek · G1439
ἐάω
To allow
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ἐάωG1439
Pronunciationeáō
What does ἐάω (eáō) mean in the Bible?
This Greek word can describe allowing something to happen or leaving something alone. Its use does not by itself tell us whether an action is approved.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐάω (G1439) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1439?
The BSB source-word alignment has 11 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include [and] let (1), [and] would not allow (1), allowed [him] (1), have let (1), let (1).
Where does ἐάω (eáō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 24:43. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (7), Luke (2), 1 Corinthians (1), Matthew (1).
What This Word Actually Means
This Greek word can describe allowing something to happen or leaving something alone. Its use does not by itself tell us whether an action is approved. Acts 14:16 says that God allowed the nations to go their own ways, while the surrounding speech calls people away from worthless things to the living Creator. Permission in that account is not moral endorsement.
The subject also matters. In Acts 16:7 the Spirit of Jesus does not permit a proposed journey; in Acts 19:30 disciples do not allow Paul to enter a dangerous assembly. First Corinthians 10:13 speaks of God's faithful limit and provision amid temptation, followed by a command to flee idolatry. It should not be recast as a promise that no suffering will ever overwhelm a person's felt capacity. Paul describes precisely such overwhelming affliction in Second Corinthians 1:8-9. Careful reading distinguishes the promise about temptation from a slogan that leaves sufferers ashamed of needing help.
source_lexiconPassage contextCanonical parallel
How the Bible Uses It
God's patience toward the nations, the Spirit's direction, human protective restraint, a promise amid temptation, and a mistaken bystander's conclusion all use allowance language with distinct speakers and circumstances.
- 1Cor.10.13
No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; He will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, He will also provide an escape, so that you can stand up under it.
God's faithfulness and provision are stated amid warnings against overconfidence and idolatry. The following command to flee requires a response; the promise does not invite remaining deliberately exposed to temptation.
- Acts.14.16
In past generations, He let all nations go their own way.
The nations' permitted ways are described within a call to turn to the living Creator. The following verse's witness of rain and food prevents reading permission as divine absence or approval.
- Acts.16.7
And when they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not permit them.
The Spirit of Jesus does not permit the proposed journey toward Bithynia. The later Macedonian vision supplies narrative direction; ordinary obstacles are not thereby made equivalent to this stated revelation.
- Acts.19.30
Paul wanted to go before the assembly, but the disciples would not allow him.
Disciples restrain Paul's desired entry into a confused, hostile assembly. Provincial friends also warn him, so the narrative gives practical concern a place alongside the apostle's desire to speak.
- Acts.28.4
When the islanders saw the creature hanging from his hand, they said to one another, “Surely this man is a murderer. Although he was saved from the sea, Justice has not allowed him to live.”
The islanders conclude that Justice will not allow Paul to live, but their interpretation changes after he suffers no harm. Their accusation is reported speech, not the narrator's verdict that Paul is a murderer.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It[and] let1×Acts 23:32
[and] would not allow1×Luke 4:41
allowed [him]1×Acts 28:4
have let1×Matthew 24:43
let1×Acts 14:16
No more1×Luke 22:51
set1×Acts 27:32
they left [them]1×Acts 27:40
will not let1×1 Corinthians 10:13
would not allow1×Acts 19:30
would not permit1×Acts 16:7
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 24:43εἴασενtohave letVerb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularLuke 4:41εἴαto[and] would not allowVerb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularLuke 22:51ἘᾶτεtoNo moreVerb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person PluralActs 14:16εἴασενtoletVerb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularActs 16:7εἴασενtowould not permitVerb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularActs 19:30εἴωνtowould not allowVerb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person PluralActs 23:32ἐάσαντεςto[and] letVerb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine PluralActs 27:32εἴασανtosetVerb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person PluralActs 27:40εἴωνtothey left [them]Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person PluralActs 28:4εἴασενtoallowed [him]Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 24:43
Aligned rows11
Books represented4
Matthew1Luke2Acts71 Corinthians1
Source forms
εἴασεν4xeiasenMatthew 24:43, Acts 14:16, Acts 16:7, Acts 28:4
εἴων2xeiōnActs 19:30, Acts 27:40
ἐάσαντες1xeasantesActs 23:32
ἐάσει1xeasei1 Corinthians 10:13
Ἐᾶτε1xEateLuke 22:51
εἴα1xeiaLuke 4:41
εἴασαν1xeiasanActs 27:32
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular4xMatthew 24:43, Acts 14:16, Acts 16:7, Acts 28:4
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural2xActs 19:30, Acts 27:40
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural1xActs 27:32
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural1xActs 23:32
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular1x1 Corinthians 10:13
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular1xLuke 4:41
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural1xLuke 22:51
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Receive practical warnings about danger without requiring someone to prove faith by entering an unsafe situation.
- Offer overwhelmed people support and appropriate help rather than telling them their distress disproves God's faithfulness.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that God never permits suffering beyond a person's felt capacity; Second Corinthians 1:8 explicitly describes affliction beyond Paul's ability.
- Do not claim that surviving danger validates bystanders' moral diagnoses; Acts 28 shows their accusation changing when their expectation fails.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. to allow
Source Gloss
to allow
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
13 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 24:43Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
εἴασεeiasen
I allow, permit, leave
Read verseLuke 4:41Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Active Indicative
εἴαeia
I allow, permit, leave
Read verseLuke 22:51Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Imperative
Ἐᾶτεeate
I allow, permit, leave
Read verseActs 5:38Verb Second Person Plural Aorist Active Imperative
ἐάσατεeasate
I allow, permit, leave
Read verseActs 14:16Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
εἴασεeiasen
I allow, permit, leave
Read verseActs 16:7Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
εἴασενeiasen
I allow, permit, leave
Read verseActs 19:30Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
εἴωνeiwn
I allow, permit, leave
Read verseActs 23:32Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἐάσαντεςeasantev
I allow, permit, leave
Read verseActs 27:32Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
εἴασανeiasan
I allow, permit, leave
Read verseActs 27:40Verb Third Person Plural Imperfect Active Indicative
εἴωνeiwn
I allow, permit, leave
Read verseActs 28:4Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
εἴασεν.eiasen
I allow, permit, leave
Read verse1 Corinthians 10:13Verb Third Person Singular Future Active Indicative
ἐάσειeasei
I allow, permit, leave
Read verseRevelation 2:20Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Indicative
ἐᾷςeav
I allow, permit, leave
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 11 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist6imperfect3future1present1
Voice
active11
Mood
indicative9participle1imperative1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 24:43εἴασενaorist active indicativecompletedLuke 4:41εἴαimperfect active indicativebackgroundLuke 22:51Ἐᾶτεpresent active imperativeimperativeActs 14:16εἴασενaorist active indicativecompletedActs 16:7εἴασενaorist active indicativecompletedActs 19:30εἴωνimperfect active indicativebackgroundActs 23:32ἐάσαντεςaorist active participleparticipleActs 27:32εἴασανaorist active indicativecompletedActs 27:40εἴωνimperfect active indicativebackgroundActs 28:4εἴασενaorist active indicativecompleted1 Corinthians 10:13ἐάσειfuture active indicativeprospective
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Word Origins
ἐάω is of uncertain origin - no further derivation.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Paul wants to enter the assembly in Acts 19:30, but the disciples do not allow him. The surrounding account describes a city in uproar, endangered companions, and many people who do not even understand why they have gathered. Friends among the provincial officials also send warnings. This is a concrete scene of others taking the danger seriously.
The passage offers no reason to treat their restraint as lesser faith than Paul's willingness to appear. It can help a community hear protective counsel without dismissing it as cowardice. That application must remain proportionate: the narrative does not promise that every warning is infallible or that believers will always avoid harm. It shows that zeal and a desire to speak do not remove the need to listen to people who recognize immediate danger. Responsible help can include preventing an action, not merely encouraging it.
Anchor passage
Acts.19.30
Doctrinal connections
- First Corinthians 10:12-14 joins God's faithfulness with a warning against overconfidence and the command to flee idolatry.
- Acts 14:15-17 distinguishes God's past allowance from His call to turn and His continuing witness through provision.
- Acts 16:7-10 narrates specific direction from the Spirit and a subsequent vision without offering a formula for interpreting every delay.
- Acts 19:29-32 places protective restraint within public turmoil, allowing the disciples' concern to be heard on its stated terms.
- Acts 28:4-6 exposes the islanders' changing moral judgments about Paul, warning readers against endorsing every character's explanation.
- Second Corinthians 1:8-9 openly describes affliction beyond Paul's strength and dependence on the God who raises the dead.
Allowing and leaving belong to the attested lexical range; Acts 27:40 uses the word when anchors are left in the sea. These uses do not create a technical term for divine approval. Who permits or prevents an action, and how the narrator evaluates it, must be learned from the passage.
From Old to New Testament
Psalm 104:13-15 praises God for watering the earth and providing crops and food. Acts 14:15-17 likewise identifies the living Creator through His gifts of rain, fruitful seasons, and food while calling people away from worthless worship. This thematic connection concerns divine provision; it does not make allowance a synonym for moral approval or claim an exact quotation of the psalm.
Passage contextPastoral application