Exploring the Meaning of Koluo in Greek

κωλύω means “to prevent,” describing actions that block, restrain, or stand in the way of a person’s access or participation. In the passages where it appears here, it ranges from direct verbal prohibition to practical hindrance, from stopping children and would-be disciples to obstructing baptism or withholding what another asks.

Occurrences

Matthew 19:14 — But Jesus said, “Allow the little children, and don’t forbid them to come to me; for the Kingdom of Heaven belongs to ones like these.”

Here κωλύω names the act of preventing children from approaching Jesus. The command “don’t forbid them to come to me” frames prevention as an obstacle placed between the children and Jesus, and Jesus’ reply treats that obstacle as incompatible with the Kingdom’s welcome for “ones like these.”

Mark 9:38 — John said to him, “Teacher, we saw someone who doesn’t follow us casting out demons in your name; and we forbade him, because he doesn’t follow us.”

In this report, κωλύω is a deliberate attempt to stop an outsider’s activity: casting out demons “in your name.” The stated reason—“because he doesn’t follow us”—shows prevention used as boundary enforcement, aiming to halt ministry done under Jesus’ name by someone outside the disciples’ immediate group.

Mark 9:39 — But Jesus said, “Don’t forbid him, for there is no one who will do a mighty work in my name, and be able quickly to speak evil of me.

Jesus counters the disciples’ prevention with “Don’t forbid him,” redirecting what counts as a legitimate reason to stop someone. The clause that follows anchors Jesus’ refusal to prevent in what that person is doing: “a mighty work in my name,” which Jesus ties to the improbability of rapid hostility (“quickly to speak evil of me”). κωλύω thus marks an action Jesus explicitly disallows in this situation.

Mark 10:14 — But when Jesus saw it, he was moved with indignation, and said to them, “Allow the little children to come to me! Don’t forbid them, for God’s Kingdom belongs to such as these.

Here κωλύω again concerns children being blocked from coming to Jesus, but with heightened emotional force: Jesus “was moved with indignation.” The prevention is treated not as a minor misstep but as something that provokes a strong reaction. The paired commands (“Allow…” / “Don’t forbid…”) contrast opening access with preventing access, and the rationale again points to the Kingdom’s character.

Luke 6:29 — To him who strikes you on the cheek, offer also the other; and from him who takes away your cloak, don’t withhold your coat also.

In this ethical instruction, κωλύω appears as “don’t withhold,” portraying prevention as holding something back when someone takes or asks. The scenario is concrete: after a cloak is taken, the disciple is not to prevent the taking of “your coat also.” Prevention here is not stopping someone from approaching but resisting an impulse to block loss or to restrict what another obtains from you.

Luke 9:49 — John answered, “Master, we saw someone casting out demons in your name, and we forbade him, because he doesn’t follow with us.”

Luke’s account parallels the earlier report: κωλύω is the attempt to stop a person “casting out demons in your name.” The reason is slightly rephrased—“because he doesn’t follow with us”—again showing prevention motivated by group alignment. The focus remains the same: an action intended to halt what another is doing under Jesus’ name.

Luke 9:50 — Jesus said to him, “Don’t forbid him, for he who is not against us is for us.”

Jesus answers with a direct prohibition of prevention: “Don’t forbid him.” This time the explanation is a maxim of allegiance: “he who is not against us is for us.” κωλύω thus marks a mistaken blockage based on a misread of loyalty; Jesus insists the disciples must not prevent the man’s work when the larger stance is supportive rather than hostile.

Luke 11:52 — Woe to you lawyers! For you took away the key of knowledge. You didn’t enter in yourselves, and those who were entering in, you hindered.”

Here κωλύω is “you hindered,” describing obstruction in the sphere of access to “the key of knowledge.” The lawyers both fail to enter (“You didn’t enter in yourselves”) and actively prevent others who are in the process of entering (“those who were entering in”). Prevention is depicted as interfering with movement already underway, blocking people at the threshold rather than merely refusing them help.

Luke 18:16 — Jesus summoned them, saying, “Allow the little children to come to me, and don’t hinder them, for God’s Kingdom belongs to such as these.

In this scene, κωλύω is “don’t hinder them,” again set against welcoming access: “Allow the little children to come to me.” The emphasis is on interference with approach—hindrance that keeps children from reaching Jesus. As in the other child scenes, the Kingdom rationale interprets prevention as contradicting the very reality Jesus announces.

Luke 23:2 — They began to accuse him, saying, “We found this man perverting the nation, forbidding paying taxes to Caesar, and saying that he himself is Christ, a king.”

In the accusation against Jesus, κωλύω is presented as “forbidding paying taxes to Caesar.” Here prevention is cast as a politically charged prohibition: stopping a civic action. Whether or not the charge is true is not argued in the sentence; the word functions within the accusation to depict Jesus as someone who prevents compliance with Caesar by prohibiting tax payment.

Acts 8:36 — As they went on the way, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “Behold, here is water. What is keeping me from being baptized?”

In this travel narrative, κωλύω appears as “What is keeping me from being baptized?” Prevention is imagined as a possible barrier to an intended act, posed as a question at the moment “they came to some water.” The eunuch identifies the necessary condition (“here is water”) and asks whether any remaining obstacle exists that would prevent baptism, treating κωλύω as the category of disqualifying hindrance.

Acts 10:47 — “Can anyone forbid these people from being baptized with water? They have received the Holy Spirit just like us.”

Here κωλύω is a public, communal question: “Can anyone forbid these people from being baptized with water?” Prevention would take the form of someone stopping their baptism, presumably by refusing permission or blocking the action. The reason given—“They have received the Holy Spirit just like us”—presses the community toward non-prevention: the shared reception becomes the argument against placing a barrier at the water.

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, “to prevent” is shown in several social and practical shapes. In the Gospels, κωλύω frequently concerns restricting access to Jesus or to ministry done in his name. In the child scenes (Matthew 19:14; Mark 10:14; Luke 18:16), prevention is an interference with approach: children are being kept back from coming to Jesus, and Jesus reverses the blockage by commanding access (“Allow…”) and explicitly rejecting hindrance (“don’t forbid… / don’t hinder…”). Prevention there is not abstract; it is embodied in who gets near Jesus and who is pushed away.

In the exorcism scenes (Mark 9:38–39; Luke 9:49–50), κωλύω is the disciples’ attempt to stop someone else’s action because he is not part of their circle. The same verb that could keep children back is used to police the boundaries of authorized action. Jesus’ replies redefine the situation so that prevention becomes the wrong move: the person is acting “in my name,” and the disciples are told not to obstruct that work. In both accounts, κωλύω thus highlights the temptation to turn group identity into a barrier and the corrective that removes that barrier in this case.

Luke 11:52 expands the idea of prevention beyond interpersonal gatekeeping to institutional obstruction. The lawyers “took away the key of knowledge,” fail to enter, and then hinder those already “entering in.” κωλύω here is interference with progress—blocking people at the point of entry. The picture is of an active obstruction that affects others’ movement, not merely the obstructer’s own refusal.

In Luke 6:29 the verb is applied to possessions: “don’t withhold your coat also.” Prevention is reframed as withholding—holding something back rather than stopping someone from moving forward. The instruction assumes a situation of loss or taking and forbids a defensive kind of prevention, calling instead for a posture that does not block the other person’s taking.

Luke 23:2 shows prevention used as an accusation with political implications: “forbidding paying taxes to Caesar.” Here κωλύω is an alleged prohibition set against an established authority, and the word’s force lies in portraying Jesus as someone who would prevent a public, expected action. The verb thus can characterize both wrongful hindrance (as in the charge) and, in other contexts, misguided hindrance by well-meaning insiders (as with the disciples).

In Acts 8:36 and Acts 10:47, κωλύω is tied to baptism and to the question of eligibility and communal permission. The eunuch asks what would “keep” him from baptism when water is present; later, the question is whether anyone can “forbid these people” from being baptized with water, with their reception of the Holy Spirit offered as the decisive consideration. In both scenes, κωλύω frames baptism as an act that could be blocked by some barrier—social, religious, or procedural—and the narrative presses toward removing that barrier rather than maintaining it.

Imagery

The repeated commands “Allow…” alongside “don’t forbid… / don’t hinder…” give κωλύω a vivid spatial feel: people being kept back, stopped at a boundary, or obstructed as they are “entering in.” The same verb can also describe a hand closing on what it will not release (“don’t withhold your coat also”) or a community deciding whether it will stop someone from entering the water for baptism. In these scenes, prevention is never merely an inner attitude; it takes shape in concrete actions that either block or open the way.

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).