Greek word · G1627

ἐκφέρω

ekpherō

to bring/carry out

To carry or bring something out of a place. It was used in particular of carrying the dead out of the house to the grave. The related noun ekphora was the standard Greek word for a funeral procession. It could also mean "to produce" (as land produces a crop).

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἐκ-φέρω

[in LXX chiefly for יָצָא hi. ;]

1. to carry out, bring out: with accusative of thing(s), Luke 15:22, 1 Timothy 6:7; with accusative of person(s), Mark 8:23, Acts 5:15; of the dead for burial (cf. κομίζω), Acts 5:6, 9-10.

2. to bring forth;

(a) of women (Hipp., Arist., al.);

(b) of the ground (Hdt.): Hebrews 6:8.†

(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 1 Timothy 6:7

Range of meaning

To carry or bring something out of a place. It was used in particular of carrying the dead out of the house to the grave. The related noun ekphora was the standard Greek word for a funeral procession. It could also mean "to produce" (as land produces a crop).

Against the English

"Carry out" (BSB, WEB, KJV) and "take out" (NIV, ESV, NASB) are both accurate. What English loses is the matched pair εἰσ-φέρω / ἐκ-φέρω, "carry in / carry out", and the funeral sense of the second verb.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Acts 5:6, 9 and 10 the same verb is used for the young men carrying out the bodies of Ananias and Sapphira for burial. Classical Greek and the papyri use ekphora for the funeral procession. The Greek Old Testament (LXX) uses ekpherō for carrying things out of a house or camp.

From the study of Acts 5:9

Range of meaning

To carry or bring out. Used specifically for carrying a dead body out of the house for burial; the related noun ἐκφορά was the standard Greek term for a funeral procession.

Against the English

'Carry you out' in all versions is accurate. English readers may simply miss that the verb itself already says 'funeral'.

Used elsewhere in the period

LSJ lists the funeral sense for ἐκφέρω and ἐκφορά in classical Greek (for example, Plato's Laws on funeral regulations). In this passage it is used three times: v. 6 for Ananias, v. 9 in Peter's prediction, v. 10 for Sapphira.

Where it appears

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 8:23 ἐξήνεγκεν he brought

    So He took the blind man by the hand and led him out of the village. Then He spit on the man’s eyes and placed His hands on him. “Can you see anything?” He asked.

    Here: "He brought [him] out." The verb often means "carry out," but Mark regularly uses forms of pherō ("bring") for bringing people to Jesus (8:22 uses pherousin). Here it means Jesus personally took him out, not that he carried him.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 15:22 ἐξενέγκατε do bring out

    But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.

    Here: 'Bring out', from inside the house or the storeroom. Like the other commands in the verse, it is an aorist imperative: a single, decisive action to be done now.

Acts · 4

  1. Acts 5:6 ἐξενέγκαντες having carried [him] out

    Then the young men stepped forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.

  2. Acts 5:9 ἐξοίσουσίν they will carry out

    “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord?” Peter replied. “Look, the feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”

    Here: Future: 'they will carry out'. In Greek this was the standard word for carrying a corpse out for burial. It is a prediction stated as fact, the same verb used of Ananias in v. 6 (ἐξενέγκαντες) and of her in v. 10.

  3. Acts 5:10 ἐξενέγκαντες having carried out

    At that instant she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.

  4. Acts 5:15 ἐκφέρειν to bring out

    As a result, people brought the sick into the streets and laid them on cots and mats, so that at least Peter’s shadow might fall on some of them as he passed by.

    Here: Present infinitive. The action is repeated: people kept carrying the sick out. The sick could not walk, so relatives and neighbours carried them.

1 Timothy · 1

  1. 1 Timothy 6:7 ἐξενεγκεῖν to carry out

    For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot carry anything out of it.

    Here: "To carry out". It mirrors "carried in" exactly. Greek readers knew this verb as the word for carrying a dead body out to burial, so the picture of death sits quietly inside it.

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 6:8 ἐκφέρουσα [That] bringing forth

    But land that produces thorns and thistles is worthless, and its curse is imminent. In the end it will be burned.

    Here: A present participle with no article of its own. It describes the same land as verse 7 ("the land that drinks the rain"), now with the other possible outcome: "but if it keeps bringing forth…". The present tense pictures land that habitually yields this crop, not one stray weed.

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