Greek word · G1998

ἐπισυντρέχω

episyntrechō

to run together

To run together toward a place, to converge on it. Both prefixes (epi-, “upon”; syn-, “together”) add to the plain verb “run.”

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἐπι-συν-τρέχω

to run together again: Mark 9:25 (see Swete, in l).†

(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 Mark 9:25

Range of meaning

To run together toward a place, to converge on it. Both prefixes (epi-, “upon”; syn-, “together”) add to the plain verb “run.”

Against the English

BSB says “had come running”; KJV and WEB say “came running together”; NLT turns it into “the crowd of onlookers was growing.”

Used elsewhere in the period

It appears nowhere else in the New Testament and is rare in Greek literature generally (BDAG cites only a handful of later examples). Mark uses the simpler syntrechō in 6:33.

Where it appears

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 9:25 ἐπισυντρέχει was running together

    When Jesus saw that a crowd had come running, He rebuked the unclean spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” He said, “I command you to come out and never enter him again.”

    Here: A rare word with two prefixes: people are converging, running together onto the spot. Greek keeps the present tense of what was seen (“is running together”), and English turns it into “was running” or “had come running.”

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