ἀναλύω

From the study of Philippians 1:23

Range of meaning

Literally 'to loose up, unloose, untie.' In use: to cast off (a ship from its moorings); to break camp; to break up and leave (a meal or gathering); to return; and by extension, gently, to die ('to depart'). The related noun ἀνάλυσις means 'departure, dissolution.'

Against the English

'Depart' (all major versions) is a fair equivalent, since English also uses 'depart' and 'the departed' for death. What it loses is the concrete picture of loosening ties: untying a boat, pulling up tent pegs, taking leave.

How it drifted

Not a drift so much as a flattening. The vivid physical metaphor became an abstract English verb.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke 12:36 (the master 'returns' from the wedding feast); 2 Tim 4:6 ('the time of my departure [ἀνάλυσις] has come'), of Paul's coming death. LXX: Wisdom 2:1 ('no one has been known to return [ἀναλύσας] from Hades'); 2 Macc 8:25; 9:1 (armies withdrawing); Tobit 2:9; Judith 13:1. 1 Clement 44:5 (late 1st c.) calls presbyters' deaths a 'fruitful and complete departure [ἀνάλυσιν].' Military writers such as Polybius use it for breaking camp. Lightfoot's commentary already noted both the military and the nautical pictures.

From the study of Luke 12:36

Range of meaning

Literally "to loosen, unloose, untie." From that come extended uses: to cast off a ship's moorings, to break camp, to break up and leave a gathering, so to depart or to return. In the NT it occurs only here and in Phil 1:23, where Paul longs "to depart" (i.e., to die) and be with Christ.

Against the English

English versions rightly translate it "return" (KJV, BSB, WEB) or "come home". What English cannot keep is the picture of the master breaking away from the feast, untying himself from the celebration so he can go home.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Jewish writings of the period it means departing or returning: e.g., 2 Macc 9:1 (Antiochus had "withdrawn" from Persia in disorder), 2 Macc 8:25, 12:7, 15:28; Judith 13:1; Wisdom 2:1 (no one is known to have "returned" from Hades). The noun analysis is used for Paul's coming death in 2 Tim 4:6. Lexicons (BDAG, LSJ) list "depart, return" for this kind of use.

From the study of 2 Maccabees 9:1

Range of meaning

Literally 'to loosen back' or 'undo'. Its uses include unloosing moorings and setting sail, striking camp and marching off, departing, returning from somewhere (Luke 12:36, 'return from the wedding feast'), and, as a softened way of speaking, departing this life (Phil 1:23).

Against the English

KJV and Brenton's 'came … out of' sounds like a plain arrival. WEB's 'retreated' keeps the military sense of pulling back.

Used elsewhere in the period

Polybius and other Hellenistic historians use it for armies breaking camp. Elsewhere in 2 Maccabees it means 'return' (e.g. 8:25; 12:7; 15:28). In Luke and Paul it means 'return' and 'depart'.