What does ἐξαλείφω (exaleíphō) mean in the Bible?
Exaleiphō means to wipe away, wipe out, or blot out. Its five governed uses take four different objects.
Greek · G1813
ἐξαλείφω
To blot out
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ἐξαλείφω G1813
Pronunciation exaleíphō
What does ἐξαλείφω (exaleíphō) mean in the Bible?
Exaleiphō means to wipe away, wipe out, or blot out. Its five governed uses take four different objects.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐξαλείφω (G1813) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1813?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include having canceled (1), He will wipe away (1), I will never blot out (1), may be wiped away (1), will wipe away (1).
Where does ἐξαλείφω (exaleíphō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Acts 3:19. Its strongest book concentrations include Revelation (3), Acts (1), Colossians (1).
Are there verse guides for ἐξαλείφω (exaleíphō)?
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
What This Word Actually Means
Exaleiphō means to wipe away, wipe out, or blot out. Its five governed uses take four different objects. Acts 3:19 speaks of sins being wiped away as Peter calls hearers to repent and turn back. Colossians 2:14 describes the record of debt that stood against us as canceled or blotted out and taken away through the cross. Revelation 3:5 records Christ's promise that He will never blot the overcomer's name from the Book of Life.
Revelation 7:17 and 21:4 promise that God will wipe every tear from His people's eyes, with the latter setting the promise in the new creation where death, mourning, crying, and pain are no more. The shared removal image does not make sin, a debt record, a name, and tears interchangeable. Each object, agent, grammar, and context determines whether the passage concerns forgiveness, cross-won cancellation, assurance, or final comfort.
How the Bible Uses It
The five governed G1813 uses apply wiping or blotting imagery to sins, a hostile debt record, a name, and tears.
- Acts.3.19
Repent, then, and turn back, so that your sins may be wiped away,
Peter joins repentance and turning with the purpose that sins may be wiped away.
- Col.2.14
Having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!
The hostile record is canceled and removed through the cross in Paul's account of God's action in Christ.
- Rev.3.5
And I will never blot out his name from the Book of Life, but I will confess his name before My Father and His angels.
The negative promise assures the overcomer that Christ will not blot out the person's name.
- Rev.21.4
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the former things have passed away.
God's wiping of tears belongs to the new-creation removal of death, mourning, crying, and pain.
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 having canceled 1× Colossians 2:14
He will wipe away 1× Revelation 21:4
I will never blot out 1× Revelation 3:5
may be wiped away 1× Acts 3:19
will wipe away 1× Revelation 7:17
Show sample aligned rows
Acts 3:19 ἐξαλειφθῆναι to may be wiped away Verb - Aorist Infinitive Passive Colossians 2:14 ἐξαλείψας to having canceled Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular Revelation 3:5 ἐξαλείψω to I will never blot out Verb - Future Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular Revelation 7:17 ἐξαλείψει to will wipe away Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Revelation 21:4 ἐξαλείψει to He will wipe away Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Acts 3:19
Aligned rows 5
Books represented 3
Acts 1 Colossians 1 Revelation 3
Source forms
ἐξαλείψει 2x exaleipsei Revelation 7:17, Revelation 21:4
ἐξαλειφθῆναι 1x exaleiphthēnai Acts 3:19
ἐξαλείψας 1x exaleipsas Colossians 2:14
ἐξαλείψω 1x exaleipsō Revelation 3:5
Parsing patterns
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2x Revelation 7:17, Revelation 21:4
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Passive 1x Acts 3:19
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x Colossians 2:14
Verb - Future Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular 1x Revelation 3:5
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Let each passage identify what God removes and when the promise reaches its fullness.
- Offer Revelation's comfort without implying that faithful believers should no longer grieve now.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that every G1813 use refers to forgiveness.
- Do not claim that repentance earns the wiping away of sins.
- Do not claim that God has already removed every experience of grief before the new creation.
Key Verse and Form Guides
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Removal or erasure of something permanently, often of sins or names in divine judgment or mercy.
Source Gloss
to blot out
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Acts 3:19 Verb Aorist Passive Infinitive
ἐξαλειφθῆναι exaleifqhnai
I wipe away, obliterate
Read verse exaleiyav
I wipe away, obliterate
Read verse Revelation 3:5 Verb First Person Singular Future Active Indicative
ἐξαλείψω exaleiyw
I wipe away, obliterate
Read verse Revelation 7:17 Verb Third Person Singular Future Active Indicative
ἐξαλείψει exaleiyei
I wipe away, obliterate
Read verse Revelation 21:4 Verb Third Person Singular Future Active Indicative
ἐξαλείψει exaleiyei
I wipe away, obliterate
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.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 3 Aligned forms 5 Tenses Future, Aorist Voices Active, Passive
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 3×
Future Active Rev 7:17 · Rev 21:4 · Rev 3:5 3×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Aorist Passive Acts 3:19 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
future 3 aorist 2
Voice
active 4 passive 1
Mood
indicative 3 infinitive 1 participle 1
NT Occurrences
Acts 3:19 ἐξαλειφθῆναι aorist passive infinitive infinitive Colossians 2:14 ἐξαλείψας aorist active participle participle Revelation 3:5 ἐξαλείψω future active indicative prospective Revelation 7:17 ἐξαλείψει future active indicative prospective Revelation 21:4 ἐξαλείψει future active indicative prospective
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)
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
To blot out or erase completely.
Showing 1 selected witness from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἐξαλείφω is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
The imagery emphasizes full forgiveness and removal of guilt. Acts 3:11-26
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
G1813 gives Scripture a concrete removal image while requiring careful attention to its object. Sins are wiped away in Peter's call to repent and turn, a hostile record is canceled and nailed to the cross, the overcomer's name is promised secure, and God wipes tears from His people's eyes. These are related through the verb but not identical in doctrine or timing.
Acts should not become salvation by meritorious repentance, Colossians should not be detached from the cross, and Revelation 3:5 should not be converted from promise into speculation about erasure procedures. The tear promises offer real hope now, yet Revelation 21 locates the total end of death, mourning, crying, and pain in the new creation. Preaching can therefore unite forgiveness, assurance, and comfort while allowing each passage to define its own object and horizon.
Anchor passage
Acts.3.19
Doctrinal connections
- Acts 3:17-26 joins repentance, wiped-away sins, refreshing, restoration, and the promised Messiah.
- Colossians 2:13-15 joins forgiveness, canceled debt, the cross, and defeated rulers and authorities.
- Revelation 3:5 gives the overcomer a promise of white garments, an unblotted name, and Christ's confession.
- Revelation 7:17 joins the Lamb's shepherding, living water, and God's wiping of tears.
- Revelation 21:1-5 locates complete comfort within God's new creation and dwelling with His people.
The forms include an aorist passive infinitive, an aorist active participle, and future active indicatives. Object and polarity distinguish sins being wiped, a record canceled, a name not blotted, and tears wiped away.
From Old to New Testament
Psalmic and prophetic blotting and comfort language provide direct background where the New Testament passages echo or cite it. The local objects and contexts still govern the resulting claim.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain