Apagcho (ἀπάγχω) means to strangle or hang oneself. This word appears only once in the NT — in the account of Judas Iscariot's death after his betrayal of Jesus. It is a stark, clinical term for the act of self-destruction that followed Judas's remorse.
Matthew 27:5 records: 'And throwing down the pieces of silver into the temple, he departed, and he went and hanged himself.' The parallel in Acts 1:18 describes his death differently ('falling headlong he burst open') — the two accounts are often reconciled by suggesting the rope broke or the body fell after death. The theological significance of Judas's death is profound: his remorse (metamelomai — a different word than metanoia, suggesting regret without repentance) led not to restoration but to destruction. Contrast with Peter, whose denial also produced bitter weeping — but whose sorrow led to restoration. The difference between Judas and Peter is not the gravity of sin but the direction of their grief: Judas fled from God; Peter turned back.
The death of Judas by apagcho stands as one of Scripture's most solemn warnings. His remorse was real but not redemptive — it did not lead him to the cross for mercy but away from it in shame. The question of Judas has challenged theologians for centuries: was his betrayal inevitable? Was he irrecoverably lost? What is clear from Scripture is that his end was the fruit of freely chosen wickedness, and that even the greatest sin — betraying the Son of God — could have been forgiven had he sought it (Matthew 12:31 excludes only the final hardening of the heart against the Spirit, not individual acts of betrayal).