In Heb 2:14, we read:
Forasmuch
then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, he also himself likewise
took part of the same; that through death he might destroy him that had the
power of death, that is, the devil (see this article by Tom Farrar on the Satanology of Hebrews)
"Destroy" here is καταργήσῃ, the third
person singular subjunctive aorist active of καταργεω. Commenting on the use of καταργεω in in literature outside the New
Testament, Scott J. Hafemann noted that:
The use of καταργεω in the ancient world apart from the New
Testament and the literature dependent upon it is rare. A search of the term καταργ. in the literature from the 4th cent. BC to
the 4th cent. AD provided by the Thesaurus Linguae Graecae Project at the
University of California, Irvine, produced over 1300 occurrences of the verb.
Of these occurrences, only 16 are found in literature outside the NT and its
circle of influence. . . . . The vast majority of the other references are
dependent either by allusion or quotation on Paul’s writings, especially his
statements in Rom. 3:3, 31; 6:6; 1 Cor. 1:28; 2:6; 15:24, 26; Eph. 2:15, and 2
Thess. 2:8. This is not surprising in that of the 27 times the verb appears in
the NT, 25 are found in the Pauline corpus. The only exceptions are Luke 13:7
and Hebrews 2:14. . . . There is little, if any doubt concerning the semantic
field encompassed by the active forms of the verb καταργεω in these non-Christian sources. In Euripides
(5th cent. BC), The Phoenician Maidens 753, the verb occurs
metaphorically in the phrase οπως αν μη καταργωμεν χερα with the meaning
“that (my hands” might not loiter.” Ctesias (5th-4th. cent. BC) also uses the
active form metaphorically to refer to the easy way in which one walks a path,
i.e., “abolishes the way” (καταργεις προς την οδον) in Fragmenta 688 F.69.7. Polybius, Fragmenta 176 employs
κατηρωηκεναι in tandem with καταπροιεσθαι (“to throw away,” or “to abandon”), clearly
indicating its semantic value. The lexicographer Julius Pollux (2nd.
cent. AD) lists it as related to αργεω (“to be unemployed,” “do nothing,” “be idle,” etc.) and within the same
semantic range as υπερβαλλεσθαι (“to put off,” “to postpone”) and εκλελυσθαι (“to set free,” “to relax,” “to make an end
of”). In the same way, Apollonius (1st-2nd. cent. AD), in his lexicon to Homer,
uses the active participle form of the verb in his identification of Hermes are
the one who destroys or abolishes (καταργουντα) the monster Argos. And finally, in Porphyry’s (3rd. cent. AD) De
antro nympharum 35.9, (οπουδασαντα καταργησαι is used as a
parallel description for the attempt to “blind” (τυφλωσαντα) the senses of this life in an attempt to
free oneself. The phrase can thus be rendered, “earnestly endeavoring to
abolish” in a way that also points forward to the on-going effects of such an
act. The use of καταργεω in these ways is
confirmed by its use in non-literature sources. And with the LXX, the verb
occurs four times, three of which are active (2 Esdras 4:21, 23; 5:5; for the
passive use, cf. 2 Esdras 6:8). In each case it refers to “rendering inactive”
those men who were engaged in rebuilding the temple in Jerusalem, as evidenced
by its parallel use with αργεω(“to be/make idle”) in 2 Esdras 4:24 to describe the effect of this
cessation: τοτε ηργησεν το εργον οικου του θεου του εν Ιερουσαλημ και ην αργουν εως δευτερου ετους την βασιλειας Δαρειου του βασιλεως Περσων. The few ancient sources that we do have
outside the Christian sphere, including the LXX, thus all testify to the
meanings “put to an end,” “abolish” or “destroy” as adequate equivalents of καταργεω. (Scott J. Hafemann, Paul, Moses, and the
History of Israel: The Letter/Spirit Contrast and the Argument from Scripture
in 2 Corinthians 3 [Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 1995], 301,
302-3)
