Greek word · G383

ἀνασείω

anaseiō

to incite

Literally to shake up or shake back and forth, as one shakes something to disturb it. In political settings it means to stir up, agitate or incite a crowd to unrest.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀνα-σείω

[in Aq.: 1Ki.26:19, Job 2:3; Aq., Sm.: Isaiah 36:18 * ;]

1. to shake out, shake back, move to and fro (Thuc., a1.).

2. In late writers (Diod., al.; see MM, VGT, see word), to stir up; metaphorically, to excite: τ. ὄχλον, Mark 15:11; τ. λαόν, Luke 23:5.†

(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 23:5

Range of meaning

Literally to shake up or shake back and forth, as one shakes something to disturb it. In political settings it means to stir up, agitate or incite a crowd to unrest.

Against the English

Nearly all versions have 'stirs up' (NLT 'causing riots'). 'Stirs up' is accurate, but today it can sound mild, as in 'stirring up interest'. In this court it is a charge of fomenting public disorder.

How it drifted

The English phrase has softened over time. The Greek has the sharper sense of political agitation.

Used elsewhere in the period

Greek historians such as Diodorus Siculus and Dionysius of Halicarnassus use it of agitators rousing crowds. In Mark 15:11 the chief priests are the ones who ἀνέσεισαν ('stirred up') the crowd to ask for Barabbas, which is the same verb. Luke does not use it there, but readers of both Gospels notice the irony: the accusers do exactly what they charge Jesus with.

Where it appears

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 15:11 ἀνέσεισαν stirred up

    But the chief priests stirred up the crowd to have him release Barabbas to them instead.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 23:5 ἀνασείει He stirs up

    But they kept insisting, “He stirs up the people all over Judea with His teaching. He began in Galilee and has come all the way here.”

    Here: Literally 'shakes up'. The word was used for agitating a crowd into unrest. In a Roman governor's court it is a political charge that he is a troublemaker who destabilizes the populace. The present tense presents it as an ongoing pattern: 'he keeps stirring up'.

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