θᾰνᾰτ-όω G2289
Put to death, kill, execute (active); be put to death, suffer death, be mortified (passive).
The Greek verb thanatoo derives from thanatos ('death') and means to cause someone to die. Its 11 NT occurrences split between active and passive voice, and the split tells a story. In the active, human agents conspire to kill: the Sanhedrin seeks to 'put Jesus to death' (Matt 26:59; 27:1), and Jesus warns that 'brother will deliver brother over to death' (Matt 10:21). The passive shifts focus to the sufferer: Christ was 'put to death in the flesh' (1 Pet 3:18), believers are 'being put to death all day long' (Rom 8:36), and Paul extends the metaphor — believers 'died to the law through the body of Christ' (Rom 7:4). Spanish matar versus muerto, and German toeten versus getoetet, consistently preserve this voice distinction.
Senses
1. put to death (active) — To put to death, kill, or execute — the active sense in which human agents deliberately cause the death of another person. This sense (7 occurrences) is concentrated in the Synoptic passion narratives and eschatological warnings: the Sanhedrin seeks false testimony to 'put him to death' (Matt 26:59), the morning council resolves 'to put him to death' (Matt 27:1), and Jesus prophesies familial betrayal unto death (Matt 10:21; Mark 13:12; Mark 14:55). Spanish matar/hicieran morir, French mettre à mort, and German toeten all deploy active-voice killing vocabulary. Luke 21:16 extends the warning to the disciples themselves: 'they will put some of you to death.' The word choice is deliberate — thanatoo implies an executed judicial or conspiratorial act, not accidental death or battlefield killing. 7×
AR["تُمِيتُونَ", "سَيُمِيتُونَهُمْ", "يُميتونَ", "يُميتونَهُم", "يُمِيتُوا", "يُمِيتُوهُ"]·ben["তোমরা-মৃত্যু-দাও", "মারবে", "মৃত্যুদণ্ড-দেয়", "মেরে-ফেলবে", "মেরে-ফেলার", "হত্যা-করবে"]·DE["toeten", "tötet"]·EN["they-might-put-to-death", "they-will-put-to-death", "to-put-to-death", "will-put-to-death", "you-put-to-death"]·FR["mettre-à-mort"]·heb["יְמִית-וּ", "יְמִיתוּם", "יָמִיתוּ", "לְ-הָמִית", "תָּמִיתוּ"]·HI["मरवाएँगे", "मरवाने-को", "मार-डालें", "मार-डालेंगे", "मारते-हो"]·ID["akan-membunuh", "kamu-matikan,", "membunuh", "mereka-akan-membunuh", "mereka-bunuh"]·IT["mettere-a-morte"]·jav["badhé-mejèhi", "mejahi", "sami-badhe-mejahi", "tiyang-tiyang-badhé-mejahi"]·KO["좽게-하리라", "좽이려고", "죽이려고", "죽이리라", "죽이면", "죽일-것이다"]·PT["matarão", "matassem", "matá-lo", "mortificais,", "os-matarão"]·RU["предадут-смерти", "предать-смерти", "умертвят"]·ES["hicieran-morir", "matar", "mataran", "matarán", "matáis"]·SW["kumwua", "mnaua", "wamuue", "watawaua"]·TR["öldürecekler", "öldüreler", "öldürmek", "öldürüyorsanız"]·urd["مار-ڈالیں", "مارتے-ہو", "ماریں-گے", "مروائیں-گے", "موت-دینا"]
2. be put to death (passive) — To be put to death, suffer death at others' hands, or be mortified — the passive voice in which the subject is the one who dies or undergoes a death-like transformation. This sense (4 occurrences) carries both literal and metaphorical force: Christ was 'put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit' (1 Pet 3:18), forming a perfect passive pair with zoopoieo; Paul quotes Psalm 44:22, 'for your sake we are being put to death all day long' (Rom 8:36), applying martyrdom language to ongoing Christian suffering; and 2 Cor 6:9 describes the apostolic paradox of 'being put to death yet behold we live.' Most intriguingly, Rom 7:4 uses the passive metaphorically — believers 'were put to death to the law through the body of Christ' — extending physical death vocabulary into the realm of spiritual liberation. Spanish muerto/siendo matados and German getoetet preserve the passive grammatical form. 4×
AR["أُمِتُّمْ", "مُماتينَ", "مُماتًا", "نُمَاتُ"]·ben["আমরা-মৃত্যু-দেওয়া-হই", "মৃত্যু-হলে", "মৃত্যুবরণ-করে", "হত্যাকৃত;"]·DE["toeten"]·EN["being-put-to-death", "having-been-put-to-death", "we-are-being-put-to-death", "were-put-to-death"]·FR["mettre-à-mort"]·heb["הוּמַתֶּם", "מוּמָת", "מוּמָתִים", "מוּמָתִים-אֲנַחְנוּ"]·HI["मार-डाला-गया", "मारे-गए", "मारे-जाते-हुए", "मारे-जाते-हैं-हम"]·ID["dibunuh", "dimatikan", "kami-dibunuh", "telah-dimatikan"]·IT["mettere-a-morte", "thanatōtheis"]·jav["dipun-pejahi;", "dipunpatekaken", "kang-dipunpejahi", "kita-dipunpejahi"]·KO["우리가-죽임-당하나이다", "좽임-당하는", "죽음을-당하였다", "죽임을-당하셨으나"]·PT["fostes-mortos", "morto", "sendo-mortos", "somos-entregues-à-morte"]·RU["умерщвлены-были", "умерщвляемся", "умерщвляемые", "умерщвлённый"]·ES["fuisteis-muertos", "muerto", "siendo-matados", "somos-muertos"]·SW["akiuawa", "mlifanywa-kufa", "tunauawa", "wanaouawa;"]·TR["öldürüldünüz", "öldürülen", "öldürülmüş", "öldürülüyoruz"]·urd["مارا-گیا", "مارے-جاتے-ہوئے", "مارے-گئے", "ہم-مارے-جاتے-ہیں"]
Related Senses
H7200 1. Qal: to see, perceive (1257×)G4771 2. you (singular address) (1077×)H8085 1. Qal: hear, perceive aurally (921×)H0859a 1. you (2nd person masculine singular pronoun) (743×)H0398 1. eat (consume food) (697×)H4191 1. die (Qal: natural/general death) (645×)G3708 1. see, perceive visually (419×)G0191 1. hear, perceive sound (360×)H???? 3. (352×)G3708 2. behold, look (exclamatory) (256×)H7272 1. foot (body part) (236×)H8354 1. drink, consume liquid (209×)H3205 1. Qal active: bear/give birth (female subject) (204×)H3205 2. Qal active: beget/father (male subject) (198×)H2421 1. Qal: live, be alive (177×)H8085 2. Qal: listen, heed, pay attention (172×)H2416a 1. alive, living (state/attribute) (146×)H2416e 1. life, lifespan, lifetime (145×)G2198 1. be alive, have life (133×)H8193 1. lip, lips (body part) (123×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
θᾰνᾰτ-όω, future -ώσωRefs 4th c.BC+, etc.: perfect τεθανάτωκα Refs 1st c.BC+:—passive, future -ωθήσομαιLXX: future middle in passivesense θανατώσοιτο Refs 5th c.BC+: aorist 1 ἐθανατώθην Refs 5th c.BC+: perfect τεθανάτωμαι Refs 2nd c.BC+:—put to death, τινα Refs 5th c.BC+; especially of the public executioner, Refs 5th c.BC+ Phld.[same place]:— passive, to be made dead, NT; ὁ -ωθείς the murdered…