Exploring the Meaning of Exaleipho in Greek

ἐξαλείφω expresses the act of blotting out, an image applied to sins, a written record, a name in a book, and even tears. It appears in Acts, Colossians, and Revelation in settings that range from repentance and the cross to final comfort in God’s presence.

Root and Related Words

ἐξαλείφω is connected with ek (ἐκ), “out from,” and aleipho (ἀλείφω), “to anoint.”

Occurrences

“Repent therefore, and turn again, that your sins may be blotted out, so that there may come times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord,” (Acts 3:19)

Here ἐξαλείφω is tied to a moral and relational problem—“your sins”—and presents their removal as something that follows repentance and turning back. The wording frames the blotting out as decisive: what is dealt with is not merely overlooked but removed from view, and the verse links this to “times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.” Within the sentence, the blotting out functions as the clearing away that makes room for the refreshment described, so the verb contributes the picture of guilt being erased rather than simply carried forward.

“wiping out the handwriting in ordinances which was against us. He has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.” (Colossians 2:14)

In Colossians, ἐξαλείφω is applied to something written—“the handwriting in ordinances”—and that written thing is characterized as “against us.” The verse then piles up complementary actions: it is wiped out, “taken…out of the way,” and “nail[ed]…to the cross.” The verb therefore contributes the image of a record being canceled and removed from effective opposition. The scene is not private emotion but a public, objective obstacle being dealt with; the “handwriting” is treated as something that can stand in the way until it is wiped out.

“He who overcomes will be arrayed in white garments, and I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life, and I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels.” (Revelation 3:5)

Revelation 3:5 uses ἐξαλείφω in a promise stated as a strong negation: “I will in no way blot his name out of the book of life.” The verb sits in a context of recognition and belonging—white garments, a recorded name, and a public confession “before my Father, and before his angels.” By invoking the possibility of a name being blotted out, the verse draws on the concrete notion of a written register; by denying that action for “he who overcomes,” it portrays security and permanence in that register. The word thus contributes to the scene by setting blotting out as the opposite of acknowledged inclusion.

“for the Lamb who is in the middle of the throne shepherds them and leads them to springs of life-giving waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:17)

In Revelation 7:17 the verb moves from books and records to bodily experience: God “will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” The surrounding lines place the action within a setting of care and guidance: the Lamb “shepherds them” and “leads them to springs of life-giving waters.” ἐξαλείφω here contributes a gentle but thorough image—tears are not merely stopped; they are wiped away from the face itself. The scene is personal and tender, matching the shepherding language, and the comprehensiveness of “every tear” emphasizes total relief in the presence of the one who leads and provides.

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes. Death will be no more; neither will there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain, any more. The first things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

Revelation 21:4 repeats the same action toward tears, but sets it within a wider transformation: “Death will be no more,” and “mourning,” “crying,” and “pain” also cease, because “The first things have passed away.” In this setting ἐξαλείφω is the opening act of a new order of life; wiping away tears is placed at the head of a list of disappearances that define the passage from “the first things” to what follows. The verb supplies a vivid, intimate sign of the broader change described—an outward gesture that corresponds to the end of the experiences that produce tears.

Sense and Usage

Across these five passages, ἐξαλείφω consistently operates on something that can be pictured as present and then removed. In Acts 3:19 the object is “sins,” treated as something that can be erased in response to repentance and turning. Colossians 2:14 places the action on “the handwriting in ordinances,” which stands “against us,” so the blotting out has the feel of canceling an accusatory document and clearing it from the path—reinforced by “taken it out of the way.” Revelation 3:5 keeps the register imagery but shifts it to identity and belonging: a “name” can be blotted out of “the book of life,” and the promise is that this will not happen to the overcomer, paired with open confession of that name in a heavenly audience.

The two later uses in Revelation show the same verb stretching naturally from written records to visible traces of grief. “Wipe away every tear from their eyes” presents tears as something that can be removed completely, and the repetition of “every tear” (Revelation 7:17; 21:4) gives the action a comprehensive scope. In Revelation 7:17 this wiping away stands alongside shepherding and leading to “springs of life-giving waters,” so the verb participates in a pastoral scene of care. In Revelation 21:4 it becomes a threshold image: tears are wiped away, and then the verse lists what will be “no more,” anchoring the wiping away within the passing of “the first things.” Taken together, the usages show the verb working in both juridical and personal registers—cancellation of what stands against, preservation of a name’s standing, and removal of the signs of sorrow.

Imagery

The passages draw on ordinary, concrete acts—erasing writing and wiping a face—to speak about realities that are otherwise hard to picture. In Colossians 2:14 the imagery is of a hostile record dealt with so decisively that it is “nail[ed]…to the cross,” while in Revelation 7:17 and 21:4 the same verb turns toward a quiet gesture of comfort: God wiping away tears. Revelation 3:5 holds both sides together by picturing a name secure in “the book of life” and confessed openly, as opposed to being erased. Acts 3:19 gathers the theme into a call and promise: when sins are blotted out, “times of refreshing” come “from the presence of the Lord.”

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).