ἀναβαίνω

From the study of John 10:1

Range of meaning

Anabainō: go up, ascend, climb (also 'go up' to Jerusalem or the temple, John 2:13; 7:8–14). Allachothen: 'from another place, from some other direction'. It is rare: this is its only New Testament use, and it also appears in 4 Maccabees 1:7.

Against the English

KJV/BSB/WEB 'climbs (up) some other way'; YLT 'going up from another side'; NLT 'sneaks over the wall'. NLT spells out the picture well, but it turns 'from elsewhere' into a specific act.

Used elsewhere in the period

For 'going up' meaning scaling a wall, compare Joel 2:7, 9 in the Greek Old Testament, where invaders 'go up' walls and enter houses 'like a thief' (ὡς κλέπτης), the same pairing of climbing and stealing.

From the study of Matthew 5:1

Range of meaning

ἀναβαίνω means to go up or climb: up a mountain, up to Jerusalem or the temple, onto a boat, up to heaven. ὄρος covers mountain, hill and upland country. It translates the Hebrew har, which is equally broad.

Against the English

KJV 'a mountain' drops the Greek article. NIV and NLT 'mountainside' are realistic about the geography but lose the set phrase 'the mountain'. BSB, ESV, NASB and WEB keep 'the mountain'.

How it drifted

An English reader pictures a towering peak. The Galilean 'mountain' is a hill above the lake. The weight of the phrase comes from what it echoes, not from how high the hill is.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Old Testament uses almost exactly this wording for Moses: 'Moses went up to the mountain of God' (Exod 19:3), 'he went up into the mountain' (Exod 24:18), 'he went up to Mount Sinai' (Exod 34:4). Matthew uses the same phrase again in 14:23 and 15:29. Notably, 15:29 also has Jesus going up the mountain and sitting there. Mountains mark key moments in Matthew: the temptation (4:8), the transfiguration (17:1), the Mount of Olives discourse (24:3) and the final commission on 'the mountain' in Galilee (28:16).

From the study of Acts 3:1

Range of meaning

To go up or ascend. It is the set phrase for going to Jerusalem or the temple, as in the Psalms of Ascent (Pss 120–134, 'songs of the goings-up').

Against the English

'Went up' (KJV) loses the imperfect tense, which shows action in progress: 'were going up'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Septuagint Psalm 121(122):4: 'there the tribes go up'. Luke 18:10: 'two men went up to the temple to pray'. Luke 2:42.