Greek word · G1339

διΐστημι

diistēmi

to pass

Transitive: to set apart, separate. Intransitive (the second aorist used here): to stand apart, move away, go a little distance; of time, to pass or elapse. Only Luke uses it in the NT: Luke 22:59 ('about an hour having passed'), Acts 27:28 ('going a little farther'), and here.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

δι-ίσπημι

(Rec. διΐσ), [in LXX: Ezekiel 5:1 (חָלַק pi.), Proverbs 17:9 (פָּרַד hi.), etc. ;]

to set apart, separate; of time (or space), to make an interval, intervene: διαστάσης ὥρας μιᾶς, Luke 22:59; βραχὺ διαστήσαντες, Acts 27:28. In pass., mid. and 2 aor., pf. and plpf. act., to part, withdraw: Luke 24:51.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Luke 24:51

Range of meaning

Transitive: to set apart, separate. Intransitive (the second aorist used here): to stand apart, move away, go a little distance; of time, to pass or elapse. Only Luke uses it in the NT: Luke 22:59 ('about an hour having passed'), Acts 27:28 ('going a little farther'), and here.

Against the English

KJV and YLT 'was parted from them' sounds passive, as if he were pulled away. The Greek form is active: he moved off. BSB 'left them' and WEB 'withdrew' are closer. ESV/NASB 'parted from them' is a fair middle ground.

How it drifted

KJV-era 'was parted' used an older English idiom ('to be parted' = to depart), which modern readers easily hear as a passive.

Used elsewhere in the period

Classical and Hellenistic Greek use the intransitive forms for separating or standing apart (BDAG s.v.). Luke's other uses are about distance in space or time, not anything miraculous.

Where it appears

Luke · 2

  1. Luke 22:59 διαστάσης when was elapsing

    About an hour later, another man insisted, “Certainly this man was with Him, for he too is a Galilean.”

  2. Luke 24:51 διέστη He was separated

    While He was blessing them, He left them and was carried up into heaven.

    Here: Aorist active with no object: 'he stood apart, moved off from them'. It marks the moment distance opens up between Jesus and the disciples, as one single event.

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 27:28 διαστήσαντες having gone farther

    They took soundings and found that the water was twenty fathoms deep. Going a little farther, they took another set of soundings that read fifteen fathoms.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.