Greek word · G1530
εἰσπηδάω
eispēdaō
to rush into
To leap or spring into a place, to rush in. It is made from εἰς ('into') and πηδάω ('to leap, jump'). It describes sudden, energetic movement (LSJ, BDAG s.v.).
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
εἰσ-πηδάω, -ῶ
[in LXX: Amos 5:19 (בּוֹא), Da TH Sus 1:26* ;]
to spring in, rush in: Acts 14:14 (Rec.), Acts 16:29 (for exx. from π., see MM, Exp., xii).†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
To leap or spring into a place, to rush in. It is made from εἰς ('into') and πηδάω ('to leap, jump'). It describes sudden, energetic movement (LSJ, BDAG s.v.).
- Against the English
KJV, WEB and YLT have 'sprang in', which keeps the image of jumping. BSB and most modern versions have 'rushed in', which keeps the speed but loses some of the bodily force.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Its only secure New Testament use is here. In Acts 14:14 the later Byzantine manuscripts read εἰσεπήδησαν, but the better-attested reading there is ἐξεπήδησαν ('rushed out'). The Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, LXX) uses it at Amos 5:19 for a man who bursts into his house to escape danger. Classical Greek writers use it for rushing into a building or a fight.
Where it appears
Acts · 1
-
Acts 16:29 εἰσεπήδησεν he rushed in
Calling for lights, the jailer rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
Here: He leaped or burst into the cell. It is a vivid word for sudden, headlong movement, and this is its only certain use in the New Testament.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.