Greek word · G2600

κατάβασις

katabasis

descent

A descent: the act of going down, or a downward road or slope.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

κατα-βαρύνω

[in LXX: 2 Kings 13:25 14:26 (כָּבַד), Joel 2:8, Sirach 8:15 * ;]

= καταβαρέω: pass., Pres. ptcp., Mark 14:40.†

(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 Sirach 46:6

Range of meaning

A descent: the act of going down, or a downward road or slope.

Against the English

KJV: 'in the descent [of Beth-horon]', with the bracket supplying the place. WEB: 'on the slope'. Brenton (as supplied): 'by their falling', which loses the place reference altogether and turns a geographical word into a description of the enemy collapsing.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek Joshua 10:11 has 'in the descent of Beth-horon' (en tē katabasei Baithōrōn). The Hebrew of Joshua is be-morad Bet-ḥoron, and the Hebrew of Sirach has be-morad, 'on the descent'. In Luke 19:37 the word is used of the descent of the Mount of Olives.

Where it appears

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 19:37 καταβάσει descent

    And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen:

    Here: The downhill slope of the road where it crosses the Mount of Olives toward the Kidron Valley. This is where Jerusalem and the Temple suddenly come into full view, which is why v. 41 says 'he saw the city.' The word occurs only here in the New Testament.

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