Greek word · G2001

ἐπισχύω

epischyō

to insist

Built from ἐπί ('upon, in addition') and ἰσχύω ('be strong'). Used transitively, it means to strengthen or make stronger. Used intransitively, as here, it means to grow stronger or to gain force. From there it comes to mean pressing a point forcefully, insisting.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἐπ-ισχύω

[in LXX: Sirach 29:1, 1Ma.6:6 * ;]

1. to make stronger (Sir, l.with).

2. to grow stronger; metaphorically, be more urgent: Luke 23:5.†

(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 23:5

Range of meaning

Built from ἐπί ('upon, in addition') and ἰσχύω ('be strong'). Used transitively, it means to strengthen or make stronger. Used intransitively, as here, it means to grow stronger or to gain force. From there it comes to mean pressing a point forcefully, insisting.

Against the English

BSB 'kept insisting', WEB 'insisted', YLT 'were the more urgent', KJV 'were the more fierce'. 'Insisted' gets the general sense but loses the picture of mounting force. KJV's 'more fierce' keeps the intensifying but can suggest rage more than pressure.

How it drifted

No real drift. The issue is only that English cannot give both the literal 'grew stronger' and the courtroom sense 'pressed their case' in one word.

Used elsewhere in the period

Rare in the Bible. This is its only New Testament use. The Septuagint uses it in the sense of strengthening or growing strong (for example Sirach 29:1, of strengthening a neighbour with one's hand). BDAG gives 'grow strong' and, for this verse, 'insist'.

Where it appears

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 23:5 ἐπίσχυον they were insisting

    But they kept insisting, “He stirs up the people all over Judea with His teaching. He began in Galilee and has come all the way here.”

    Here: It literally means 'they grew stronger' or 'they put on more force'. The imperfect tense (an ongoing action in the past) shows a pressure that kept building. They pushed harder and harder rather than making one statement. This is the only place the verb appears in the New Testament.

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