ἀναβολή
postponement, delay, putting off
Definition
The Greek noun ἀναβολή means a 'postponement,' 'delay,' or 'putting off.' It denotes an intentional act of deferring or suspending a decision, action, or event to a later time. In its single New Testament occurrence in Acts 25:17, it refers to the legal delay or postponement of a judicial hearing until the accused could face his accusers. There are no other biblical passages where the meaning differs, as it appears only once.
Biblical Usage
ἀναβολή is used only once in the New Testament, in Acts 25:17. Here, the Roman governor Festus explains to King Agrippa that, following Roman legal custom, he did not make a 'delay' (ἀναβολή) in Paul's case but brought him before the court the next day after the accusers arrived. The context is entirely judicial, describing the procedural avoidance of postponement in a legal trial.
Etymology
Derived from the verb ἀναβάλλω (anaballō, G306), meaning 'to put off' or 'defer,' which combines the prefix ἀνά (ana, 'up' or 'again') and βάλλω (ballō, 'to throw'). Thus, ἀναβολή literally conveys the idea of 'throwing up' or 'putting off' to a later time, emphasizing deliberate deferral.
Semantic Range
While ἀναβολή itself is not a theologically loaded term, its single use in Acts 25:17 highlights the Roman legal system's emphasis on timely justice, which providentially allowed Paul to present his defense and ultimately appeal to Caesar. Understanding this term enriches reading by showing how God used procedural diligence to advance Paul's mission to Rome, fulfilling his calling to testify before rulers (Acts 9:15).
In the Greco-Roman world, ἀναβολή was a common term in legal, administrative, and everyday contexts for postponement. In Acts 25:17, it reflects Roman legal principles that valued a prompt hearing to prevent indefinite detention without trial, contrasting with arbitrary delays common in some other judicial systems of the era.
βραδυτής (bradytēs, G1022) — slowness, sluggishness (more about inherent delay or tardiness, not deliberate postponement); ὑπερθέσεις (hyperthenes, G1950) — a putting off or delay (used in a similar sense but not in the NT); μέλλησις (mellēsis, G3195) — a being about to do, implying impending action rather than deferral.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Dodson Greek-English Lexicon, a concise public-domain resource suitable for introductory word study. Brief glosses are supplemented by STEPBible TBESG data (CC BY 4.0). For advanced research, standard scholarly references include BDAG (Danker, 3rd ed.) and LSJ.
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