Greek word · G3693

ὄπισθεν

opisthen

after

Behind or after, in space or time. It is close to opisō, the word used in 'come after me', the language of following a teacher.

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ὄπισθεν

adv. of place, [in LXX chiefly for אָחוֹר, אַחַר ;]

behind, after: Matthew 9:20, Mark 5:27, Luke 8:44, Revelation 4:6 5:1. As prep. with genitive: Matthew 15:23, Luke 23:26, Revelation 1:10 (WH, mg.).†

(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 Luke 23:26

Range of meaning

Behind or after, in space or time. It is close to opisō, the word used in 'come after me', the language of following a teacher.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'after Jesus' and BSB/YLT 'behind Jesus' are both accurate. 'Behind' keeps the physical picture more clearly.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke 8:44: the woman comes up 'behind' Jesus (opisthen). Luke 9:23: 'If anyone would come after (opisō) me… let him take up his cross'. Luke 14:27: 'whoever does not carry (bastazei) his own cross and come after (opisō) me cannot be my disciple'. Mark 15:21 and Matt 27:32 do not have this phrase.

Where it appears

Matthew · 2
  1. Matthew 9:20 ὄπισθεν behind [Him]

    Suddenly a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak.

    Here: Used here as an adverb, 'from behind'. Mark 5:27 says she was 'in the crowd'. Coming from behind means she means to touch him without being seen or speaking to him.

  2. Matthew 15:23 ὄπισθεν after

    But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

    Here: "Behind". She is following the group along the road and shouting at their backs. The picture is physical: a public scene that will not go away.

Mark · 1
  1. Mark 5:27 ὄπισθεν behind [Him]

    When the woman heard about Jesus, she came up through the crowd behind Him and touched His cloak.

Luke · 2
  1. Luke 8:44 ὄπισθεν behind [Him]

    She came up behind Jesus and touched the fringe of His cloak, and immediately her bleeding stopped.

  2. Luke 23:26 ὄπισθεν behind

    As the soldiers led Him away, they seized Simon of Cyrene on his way in from the country, and they put the cross on him to carry behind Jesus.

    Here: 'Behind' Jesus. Only Luke has this detail. It puts Simon in the position of a follower who carries a cross behind Jesus, echoing Jesus' words in Luke 9:23 and 14:27.

Revelation · 2
  1. Revelation 4:6 ὄπισθεν. behind.

    And before the throne was something like a sea of glass, as clear as crystal. In the center, around the throne, were four living creatures, covered with eyes in front and back.

    Here: On the back as well. Nothing is behind them where they cannot see. Front-and-back is a way of saying everywhere and in every direction.

  2. Revelation 5:1 ὄπισθεν, on [the] back,

    Then I saw a scroll in the right hand of the One seated on the throne. It had writing on both sides and was sealed with seven seals.

    Here: Used here as an adverb ("on the back"), though the source tags it as a preposition. Writing on the back of a scroll was unusual and suggests contents so full they overflow onto the outside, as with Ezekiel's scroll (Ezek 2:10).

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