Greek word · G3327

μεταβαίνω

metabainō

to depart

To go or pass from one place to another, to move across, to change location or state (BDAG).

Appears 12 times in 11 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

μετα-βαίνω

[in LXX: Wisdom of Solomon 7:27 19:19, 2Ma.6:1 2Mac 6:9 2Mac 6:24 * ;]

to pass over from one place to another : Matthew 17:20, Luke 10:7; with reference to the point of departure only, to withdraw, depart: Matthew 8:34 11:1 12:9 15:29, John 7:3, Acts 18:7; of removal from this life, ἐκ τ. κότμου πρὸς τ. Πατέρα, John 13:1; metaphorically, ἐκ τ. θανάτου εἰς τ. ζωήν, John 5:24, 1 John 3:14.†

(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 John 13:1

Range of meaning

To go or pass from one place to another, to move across, to change location or state (BDAG).

Against the English

'Depart' (KJV, WEB) and 'leave' (BSB) are accurate but flat. They can sound like simply going away. The Greek pictures a crossing from one realm into another, and YLT's 'remove' keeps the sense of transfer.

Used elsewhere in the period

John 5:24 and 1 John 3:14 use the same verb for 'passing from death into life.' Writers of Jesus' time understood Passover as a 'passing over': Josephus explains pascha as hyperbasia, 'passing over' (Antiquities 2.313), and Philo calls the feast diabatēria, the 'crossing-over festival' (Special Laws 2.145–147).

From the study of 1 John 3:14

Range of meaning

To go or pass from one place to another, to move on, to move house. Figuratively, to change from one state or condition to another (BDAG).

Against the English

"Passed from death to life" is accurate, but in modern English "passed" can suggest "passed away" or "passed a test". The Greek pictures a change of location: a migration from one country to another.

How it drifted

No real drift. The risk is that the spatial picture fades.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Gospels it is used of literally moving from place to place (Matt 8:34; Luke 10:7, "do not move from house to house"; John 7:3; 13:1, Jesus "passing" from this world to the Father). John 5:24 is almost word for word the same: "has passed (μεταβέβηκεν) out of death into life". That is the source of this phrase in the shared Johannine tradition.

From the study of John 5:24

Range of meaning

To go from one place to another, move over, migrate, change location; figuratively, to pass from one state to another.

Against the English

KJV 'is passed'; BSB, NIV 'has crossed over'; WEB, ESV, NASB 'has passed'. 'Crossed over' best keeps the spatial picture. 'Passed' is fine but in modern English can suggest 'passed away' or 'passed a test'.

Used elsewhere in the period

John 7:3: 'leave here [metabēthi] and go to Judea'. John 13:1: 'to depart out of this world to the Father'. 1 John 3:14 repeats this verse's thought almost word for word: 'we know that we have passed [metabebēkamen] out of death into life, because we love the brothers'.

Where it appears

Matthew · 6

  1. Matthew 8:34 μεταβῇ He may depart

    Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.

    Here: To move from one place to another. They are not asking him to vanish, only to move on out of their territory. The form is a one-time action: go, and be done.

  2. Matthew 11:1 μετέβη He departed

    After Jesus had finished instructing His twelve disciples, He went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

    Here: 'He moved on from that place to another.' The focus shifts to Jesus himself going out, while the Twelve's own trip is never narrated.

  3. Matthew 12:9 μεταβὰς having departed

    Moving on from there, Jesus entered their synagogue,

    Here: 'Having moved on.' It means changing location, going from one place to the next. The past-tense participle describes a finished move before the main verb: he left the fields and then came to the synagogue.

  4. Matthew 15:29 μεταβὰς having departed

    Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down.

    Here: Literally 'having crossed over' or 'having changed place'. It marks Jesus leaving the region of Tyre and Sidon (15:21), Gentile territory on the Phoenician coast. Matthew uses the same verb for Jesus' movements in 11:1, 12:9 and 15:29.

  5. Matthew 17:20 μετάβα μεταβήσεται· do move, it will move;

    “Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

    Here: A short command, 'Move!' (aorist imperative, a single decisive order). It has the same commanding form as an exorcism, where the demon is ordered out.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 10:7 μεταβαίνετε do move

    Stay at the same house, eating and drinking whatever you are offered. For the worker is worthy of his wages. Do not move around from house to house.

    Here: Present-tense prohibition: do not keep moving your lodging. It means changing where you stay, not going door to door to preach.

John · 3

  1. John 5:24 μεταβέβηκεν has passed

    Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not come under judgment. Indeed, he has crossed over from death to life.

    Here: Perfect tense: a completed move whose result still stands, 'has crossed over and is now on the other side'. The word pictures changing location, as in moving house or crossing a border.

  2. John 7:3 μετάβηθι do depart

    So Jesus’ brothers said to Him, “Leave here and go to Judea, so that Your disciples there may see the works You are doing.

  3. John 13:1 μεταβῇ He may depart

    It was now just before the Passover Feast, and Jesus knew that His hour had come to leave this world and return to the Father. Having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the very end.

    Here: To move from one place or state to another. It pictures crossing over rather than simply 'leaving.' Coming right after 'Passover', the word may echo the idea of crossing over.

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 18:7 μεταβὰς having departed

    So Paul left the synagogue and went next door to the house of Titus Justus, a worshiper of God.

1 John · 1

  1. 1 John 3:14 μεταβεβήκαμεν we have passed

    We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death.

    Here: To move from one place to another, to change residence. The perfect tense means a move made in the past whose result still holds: we crossed over and now live on the other side.

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