Abarim Publications' online Biblical Greek Dictionary
ριπτω
The verb ριπτω (rhipto) means to throw, cast or hurl. In the classics this verb is used in every general way, from tossing about in a fever to throwing off weaponry, pesty tenants from one's estate or a fortune from one's heaving purse. In the New Testament, this verb also expresses a "downcast" or depressed state of mind.
Our verb ριπτω (rhipto) stems from a more basic verb ρεπω (rhepo), to sink or lower, which is thought to relate to the English verb to warp (and perhaps to rip), the German werfen and the Dutch werpen (both meaning to throw), which are ultimately of Proto-Indo-European extraction. Still, since the Greek alphabet is an adaptation of the Hebrew one, and certainly came with a slew of seminal terms, our Greek verb ριπτω (ripto) may very well not be European at all and have instead come to pass from an exposure to the Hebrew verb רפה (rapa), to lower or sink down.
Our verb ριπτω (rhipto) is used 7 times in the New Testament, see full concordance, and from it derive:
- Together with the preposition επι (epi) meaning on or upon: the verb επιρριπτω (epirrhipto), meaning to cast upon (Luke 19:35 and 1 Peter 5:7 only).
- The noun ριπη (rhipe), which expresses a brief and sudden flick, fling, hurl or toss. In the classics this word may describe the flight of a flung spear, the strike of a bird's wings, a gust of passion, or a brisk sweep of the thieving northern wind Boreas. And it may describe the blink of an eye, which is how it is used in the New Testament (1 Corinthians 15:52 only).
- The noun ριπις (ripis), which described a fan for ladies to cool themselves with, or for servants to raise a fire with. This noun is not used in the New Testament, but from it derives:
- The verb ριπιζω (rhipizo), meaning to fan. In the classics this verb is used nearly exclusively in the context of fires (and warm ladies), but in the New Testament this verb occurs in James 1:6 only, where it describes oceanic waves being fanned up by the wind, albeit as a metaphor for a fretting brother.
- The verb ριπτεω (rhipteo), which is a variant of the parent verb and means the same (poets gratefully used this variant to make their metres align). It occurs in the New Testament in Acts 22:23 only, but it's not clear why Luke resorted to this variant. Spiros Zodhiates (The Complete Wordstudy Dictionary) declares that this variant expresses repetition, and that the men of Jerusalem repeatedly tossed their garments in the air, which, knows Zodhiates, "was customary in theatres and other assemblies".