Greek word · G3346

μετατίθημι

metatithēmi

to transport

The verb means to move something from one place to another, transfer, remove, or change. The middle form can mean to change sides or desert (Galatians 1:6). Acts 7:16 uses it for bodies carried to Shechem. The word says relocated. It does not say which way or where to.

Appears 6 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

μετα-τίθημι

[in LXX: Genesis 5:24 (לָקַח), Deuteronomy 27:17, al. (סוּג hi.), Sirach 44:16, 2Ma.7:24, al ;]

1. to transfer to another place: with accusative, pass., Hebrews 11:5 (LXX); before εἰς, Acts 7:16

2. to change: with accusative, pass., Hebrews 7:12; before εἰς, figuratively, i.e. to make one thing a pretext for another, χάριν εἰς ἀσέλγειαν, Jude 1:4. Mid., to change oneself, pass over: before ἀπό and εἰς, Galatians 1:6 (cf. 2Mac, l.with).†

(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 Hebrews 11:5

Range of meaning: The verb means to move something from one place to another, transfer, remove, or change. The middle form can mean to change sides or desert (Galatians 1:6). Acts 7:16 uses it for bodies carried to Shechem. The noun metathesis means a transfer, removal, or change: Hebrews uses it for the "change" of the law that goes with a change of priesthood (7:12) and the "removal" of created things that can be shaken (12:27). The word says relocated. It does not say which way or where to.
Against the English: KJV/YLT "translated" was accurate in 1611, when it meant "carried across." Today it misleads, because people hear "put into another language." BSB, ESV and NASB have "taken up," and NLT "taken up to heaven," which add an upward direction or a destination the Greek does not state. WEB's "taken away" is closest to the verb.
How it drifted: English "translate" comes from Latin translatus, "carried across," the word the Vulgate used here (translatus est… transtulit… translationem). The physical sense, as in moving a bishop to another see or moving relics, survived into the KJV era (compare KJV Colossians 1:13, "translated us into the kingdom") and has since faded.
Used elsewhere in the period: Greek Genesis 5:24: μετέθηκεν αὐτὸν ὁ θεός. Sirach 44:16: Enoch "pleased the Lord and was transferred (μετετέθη)". Wisdom 4:10–11 describes an unnamed righteous man, usually taken to be Enoch, who "was transferred" and "snatched away" while living among sinners. Philo (On Abraham 17–19) reads Enoch's metathesis as a moral change, a turning to a better life. Sirach 44:16 likewise calls Enoch "an example of repentance." Josephus says Enoch "withdrew to the divine" and that no death of his is recorded (Antiquities 1.85).

From the study of Galatians 1:6

Range of meaning: Active: to move, transfer, or change something (Heb 7:12 'change of priesthood'; Heb 11:5 Enoch 'taken up'). Middle: to change your own position, change your mind, go over to another side, defect.
Against the English: KJV/YLT 'removed' sounds passive, as if someone moved them. BSB/ESV/NIV/NASB 'deserting' gets the sense of switching loyalty. The present tense ('you are deserting') is kept by most modern versions and matters: the defection is underway, not finished.
How it drifted: KJV 'removed' meant 'moved away' in 1611, but today it suggests being taken away by someone else. The Greek points to a choice they are making.
Used elsewhere in the period: 2 Maccabees 7:24 uses it of the king urging a Jewish boy to 'turn from his ancestral ways' (metathemenon apo tōn patriōn), i.e. apostasy. Dionysius of Heraclea, who left the Stoics for the Epicureans, got the nickname ho Metathemenos, 'the Turncoat' (Diogenes Laertius 7.166). Polybius and others use it for changing political or military allegiance.

From the study of Acts 7:16

Range of meaning: To move something from one place to another. It can also mean changing allegiance (Gal 1:6, 'deserting') or altering something (Heb 7:12, a change of the law). In Heb 11:5 it is used of Enoch being 'taken up'.
Against the English: 'Carried over' (KJV, YLT) or 'brought back / carried back' (WEB, BSB). 'Back' is a fair addition, since the patriarchs came from Canaan.
Used elsewhere in the period: Used of moving bodies or relics in later Greek. In the Septuagint, Gen 5:24 (Enoch). Elsewhere in the New Testament: Gal 1:6; Heb 7:12; 11:5; Jude 4.

Where it appears

Acts · 1

Acts 7:16 μετετέθησαν they were carried over

Their bones were carried back to Shechem and placed in the tomb that Abraham had bought from the sons of Hamor at Shechem for a price he paid in silver.

Here: 'They were moved over.' The verb means changing an object's location, which here means carrying the dead from Egypt to Canaan. Greek does not say 'bones' or 'bodies'; English versions add that.

Galatians · 1

Galatians 1:6 μετατίθεσθε you are deserting

I am amazed how quickly you are deserting the One who called you by the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel—

Here: The present tense describes something still going on: 'you are in the act of defecting'. Its form usually means they are doing it to themselves, so it is their own choice, not something that just happened to them. The word was used for soldiers or politicians changing sides and for people who abandoned their philosophical school.

Hebrews · 3

Hebrews 7:12 μετατιθεμένης When is being changed

For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed as well.
Hebrews 11:5 μετετέθη μετέθηκεν was translated, took up

By faith Enoch was taken up so that he did not see death: “He could not be found, because God had taken him away.” For before he was taken, he was commended as one who pleased God.

Here: "Was transferred / moved elsewhere." The passive implies God as the one acting, and the quotation that follows says so outright. The verb names a change of place. It does not say "up" and it does not say where.

Jude · 1

Jude 1:4 μετατιθέντες changing

For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Here: 'Changing it over into': moving something to a different place, or turning it into something else. The present tense describes an ongoing practice. They keep converting grace into its opposite.

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