Ballo is, quite simply, “to throw, cast”. There are a few places out of more than 130 occurrences where it comes away somewhat from precisely this meaning, but always it preserves something of the vigour associated with the basic idea.
“Put up (ballo) thy sword into the sheath” (John 18:11) suggests a decisive end to violence. “Except I put (ballo) my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust (ballo) my hand into his side, I will in no wise believe,” declared Thomas, showing his emphatic resolution by the strength of his language (John 20:25). Sick people are spoken of as lying (ballo) on a bed” (Matthew 8:6,14; 9:2). “Laid low” would probably be a good modern equivalent.
The real interest in this word is in the astonishing tribe of compound words which it has spawned, all of them showing something of the vigour and energy of their forebear. There seems to be hardly a preposition in the language that ballo has no affinity for.
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Author: Harry Whittaker
Keywords: Cast, cast out, casting out, diabolos, thrust, toss, throw
Bible reference(s): 2 Corinthians 4:9, 3 John 1:10, Acts 20:14, Acts 24:22, Acts 4:15, Hebrews 11:19, Hebrews 9:9, Isaiah 60:5, John 18:11, John 20:25, Joshua 7:8, Luke 10:2, Luke 14:31, Luke 16:1, Luke 19:43, Luke 20:19, Luke 24:17, Mark 1:12, Mark 14:72, Matthew 13:52, Matthew 7:4, Matthew 8:6, Proverbs 6:5, Psalms 78:21, Revelation 11:2, Ruth 2:16
Source: “Cast,” Word Studies.
Page indexed by: inWORD Bible Software.