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G355 · Greek · New Testament
ἀναλόω
Analoō
Verb
To consume, use up, destroy

Definition

The Greek verb analoō (ἀναλόω) means "to consume," "to use up," or "to destroy" — to spend something completely so that nothing remains. From ana (up, thoroughly) + aloō (to destroy), it conveys total consumption. The word appears in the New Testament in Luke 9:54 (the disciples wanting fire to "consume" the Samaritans) and Galatians 5:15 (believers "devouring" one another in conflict).

Usage & Theological Significance

The two uses of analoō in the New Testament both serve as warnings against destructive impulses — one explicitly rebuked by Jesus, the other warned against by Paul. James and John's request to "call fire down from heaven to consume them" (the Samaritans who rejected Jesus) reflects an Elijah-pattern response — but Jesus rebuked them, declaring "You do not know what spirit you are of." The kingdom of God does not advance through destructive judgment on those who reject it (at least not yet) but through patient proclamation. Paul's warning in Galatians 5:15 — "if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another" — shows that the same destructive energy turned inward tears communities apart. Analoō in both cases describes an energy that must be redirected toward love.

Key Bible Verses

Luke 9:54 And when his disciples James and John saw it, they said, 'Lord, do you want us to tell fire to come down from heaven and consume them?'
Galatians 5:15 But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another.
2 Thessalonians 2:8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming.
Hebrews 12:29 for our God is a consuming fire.
Luke 9:56 For the Son of Man came not to destroy people's lives but to save them.

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