ἀπο-στᾰσία G0646
apostasy, rebellion against God, abandonment of faith
A technical religious term denoting formal abandonment of faith or rebellion against God. In Acts 21:21, Paul is falsely accused of teaching Jews to commit apostasy from Moses. In 2 Thessalonians 2:3, Paul warns that the day of the Lord will not come until 'the apostasy' occurs. While classical Greek used it broadly for political rebellion or physical departure, biblical usage narrows it to religious defection. The Septuagint already employed it for rebellion against God, establishing its theological freight before the New Testament.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Both occurrences carry severe theological weight - abandoning the covenant (Acts 21:21) or eschatological rebellion (2 Thess 2:3). The definite article in 2 Thessalonians ('the apostasy') suggests a specific, recognizable end-times revolt. Remarkably, all four target languages simply transliterate the Greek term rather than translate it, indicating 'apostasy' has become a fixed technical term in Christian theology across linguistic boundaries. 2×
AR["الارْتِدادُ", "ٱرْتِدَادًا"]·ben["ত্যাগ", "ধর্মত্যাগ"]·DE["ἀποστασία", "ἀποστασίαν"]·EN["apostasy"]·FR["apostasie", "ἀποστασία"]·heb["נְטִיָּה", "שְׁמַד"]·HI["त्याग", "विद्रोह"]·ID["kemurtadan"]·IT["apostasia"]·jav["murtad", "pambrontak"]·KO["배교가", "배교를"]·PT["apostasia"]·RU["отступление", "отступлению"]·ES["apostasía"]·SW["kuasi", "uasi"]·TR["döneklik"]·urd["برگشتگی"]
Related Senses
G4102 1. faith, trust, belief (239×)G4100 1. believe / have faith in (233×)H0982 1. trust in, rely on (105×)H3988a 1. reject, refuse (56×)G4103 1. faithful, trustworthy, reliable (54×)H0530 1. faithfulness, fidelity, reliability (47×)H0539 1. believe, accept as true (42×)H3985 1. refuse, be unwilling (41×)H0539 2. faithful, trustworthy, sure (39×)H8582 1. lead astray, cause to err (22×)H2623 1. faithful ones / saints (community) (21×)G0571 1. unbelieving, unbeliever (20×)G3982 1. be persuaded or convinced (19×)H8582 2. go astray, err morally (19×)G4105 1. to deceive, lead astray (18×)G3982 2. trust or have confidence in (17×)H2186a 1. reject, spurn (Qal) (16×)H3988a 2. despise, scorn (14×)G3982 3. persuade or convince someone (13×)G4103 2. believing, a believer (13×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἀπο-στᾰσία, ἡ, late form for ἀπόστασις, defection, revolt, variant in Refs 1st c.BC+; especially in religious sense, rebellion against God, apostasy, LXX+NT __2 departure, disappearance, Refs 6th c.AD+ __3 distinguishing, with genitive, Refs 6th c.AD+ __4 distance, Refs 3rd c.BC+