κατακρημνίζω

I cast down headlong

Definition

Katakrēmnizō means to throw someone down from a height, specifically over a cliff or precipice, with the intent to kill or severely injure. It carries the forceful sense of a violent, public execution attempt. In its single New Testament occurrence in Luke 4:29, it describes the attempted murder of Jesus by the people of Nazareth, who sought to hurl him down from the brow of the hill on which their town was built. The word emphasizes the sudden, headlong nature of the fall and the lethal intent behind the action.

Biblical Usage

This verb is used only once in the New Testament, in Luke 4:29. It describes the violent reaction of the Nazarenes after Jesus preached in their synagogue, claiming the prophecy of Isaiah was fulfilled in him. The context is one of mob justice and attempted execution, as the crowd, filled with wrath, drives Jesus out of town to throw him off a cliff. This single usage paints a vivid picture of intense rejection and a sudden, violent threat to Jesus's life early in his ministry.

Etymology

Derived from the preposition κατά (kata), meaning 'down' or 'against,' combined with a verb related to κρημνός (krēmnos), meaning 'a steep bank, cliff, or precipice.' The compound literally means 'to cast down over a cliff.' It is a forceful, descriptive term built from common Greek roots to specify a particular kind of violent action.

Semantic Range

This word is theologically significant as it captures the first explicit, violent rejection of Jesus in Luke's Gospel, foreshadowing the cross. The attempt to 'cast him down headlong' contrasts sharply with Satan's temptation for Jesus to throw himself down from the temple (Luke 4:9), highlighting the difference between demonic testing and human hostility. Understanding this specific Greek term enriches the reading of Luke 4 by emphasizing the seriousness of the rejection—it was not merely expulsion but an attempted lynching, revealing the depth of offense Jesus's message caused in his own hometown.

In the ancient Greco-Roman and Jewish world, throwing someone from a height was a known method of mob violence or execution. For the Jewish audience in Luke, this action may have evoked the punishment prescribed in the Law for certain offenses (e.g., 2 Chronicles 25:12). The cultural context shows this was not a random act of violence but a serious, communal attempt at capital punishment, underscoring the gravity of the crowd's rejection of Jesus's claims.

βάλλω (ballō, G906) — a general verb meaning 'to throw' or 'cast,' without the specific connotation of a precipice. ἀποκτείνω (apokteinō, G615) — means 'to kill,' a general term for causing death, lacking the specific method described by katakrēmnizō.

Word Details

Scripture References