Greek word · G339
ἀνακαθίζω
anakathizō
to sit up
'To sit up' from lying down. The verb is rare in the New Testament and common in Greek medical writers for a sick person sitting up in bed, a sign of recovery.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
ἀνα-καθ-ίζω
(see: καθίζω);
1. trans., to set up.
2. Intrans., to sit up: Luke 7:15 (WH, mg., ἐκάθισεν), Acts 9:40 (frequently in medical writings: MM, VGT, see word).
† (AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
'To sit up' from lying down. The verb is rare in the New Testament and common in Greek medical writers for a sick person sitting up in bed, a sign of recovery.
- Against the English
All versions have 'sat up'. They lose only the link with Luke 7:15, the sole other New Testament use.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Luke 7:15: the dead son of the widow of Nain 'sat up' (ἀνεκάθισεν) when Jesus spoke. The word appears often in Hippocratic and Galenic medical texts, and also in non-medical Greek prose. H. J. Cadbury showed that this kind of vocabulary does not prove Luke was a physician, since educated writers in general used it.
Where it appears
Luke · 1
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Luke 7:15 ἀνεκάθισεν sat up
And the dead man sat up and began to speak! Then Jesus gave him back to his mother.
Acts · 1
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Acts 9:40 ἀνεκάθισεν. she sat up.
Then Peter sent them all out of the room. He knelt down and prayed, and turning toward her body, he said, “Tabitha, get up!” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter, she sat up.
Here: 'She sat up', a rare verb that Greek medical writers used for a patient sitting up in bed. In the New Testament it appears only here and in Luke 7:15, where the widow's dead son at Nain 'sat up'.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.