Greek word · G1865
ἐπαθροίζομαι
epathroizomai
to collect/crowd
To gather in addition, to crowd together on top of or toward something. It builds on athroizō, “to assemble.”
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
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 gather in addition, to crowd together on top of or toward something. It builds on athroizō, “to assemble.”
- Against the English
KJV “gathered thick together” and YLT “crowding together upon him” keep the picture. Most modern versions flatten it to “increasing.”
- Used elsewhere in the period
Found nowhere else in the New Testament. Lexicons (BDAG) cite it from later Greek prose such as Plutarch for gathering more and more people or forces.
Where it appears
Luke · 1
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Luke 11:29 ἐπαθροιζομένων being pressed around together
As the crowds were increasing, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.
Here: Found only here in the New Testament. The present tense shows the crowd still growing, more and more people packing in on top of those already there. The bigger the audience, the sharper the warning.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.