Greek word · G387

ἀναστατόω

anastatoō

to cause trouble

To unsettle, disturb, throw into confusion; in public life, to stir up revolt or incite sedition. The word comes from anastatos, "driven from home, uprooted" (used of people forced out of a ruined city), so its basic picture is upheaval and disorder, not improvement.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀνα-στατόω, ῶ

(ἀνάστατος, driven from home; ἀνίστημι), [in LXX: Daniel 7:23 (דּוּשׁ;* also in Aq., and in π. (see Deiss., LAE, 80 f.; MM, VGT, see word),]

to stir up, excite, unsettle: with accusative;

(a) to tumult and sedition: Acts 17:6 21:38;

(b) by false teaching: Galatians 5:12 (see Milligan, NTD, 73 f.).†

(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 Acts 17:6

Range of meaning

To unsettle, disturb, throw into confusion; in public life, to stir up revolt or incite sedition. The word comes from anastatos, "driven from home, uprooted" (used of people forced out of a ruined city), so its basic picture is upheaval and disorder, not improvement.

Against the English

KJV's "turned the world upside down" is a strong, vivid idiom, and in 1611 "turn upside down" meant overthrow or ruin (as in 2 Kings 21:13 KJV, wiping a dish and turning it upside down). Modern English hears "turned the world upside down" as transformation, often admiring. YLT's "put the world in commotion" and renderings like "caused trouble all over the world" or "upset the world" keep the hostile, disorderly sense better.

How it drifted

The KJV phrase became a slogan for the church's power to change society. As the idiom softened in English toward 'revolutionised' or 'transformed', readers heard a compliment where the Greek had a criminal charge.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the NT: Acts 21:38 (the Egyptian "who stirred up a revolt"), Galatians 5:12 ("those who are unsettling you"). The verb is rare in literature but turns up in papyri: in the well-known letter of the boy Theon (P.Oxy. 119, 2nd–3rd c. AD) his mother says "he upsets me (anastatoi me); take him away!", and in a letter of AD 41 (BGU 1079) it describes someone causing upheaval. Moulton–Milligan and BDAG give "disturb, trouble, upset; incite to revolt."

From the study of Galatians 5:12

Range of meaning

To unsettle, upset, disturb; to stir up, throw into turmoil; to incite to revolt. Literally "to make someone get up and move" (from anastatos, "driven from home, uprooted").

Against the English

KJV "trouble," WEB "disturb," ESV "unsettle," BSB "agitating," YLT "unsettling." "Trouble" and "disturb" now sound mild, like annoyance; the Greek carries the weight of overturning and sedition.

How it drifted

In 1611 "trouble" was a stronger word (to agitate, throw into disorder); it has softened in modern use to mean "bother."

Used elsewhere in the period

Acts 17:6: Paul's companions are accused as men who have "turned the world upside down" (anastatōsantes). Acts 21:38: the Egyptian who "stirred up a revolt" (anastatōsas). In a 2nd/3rd-century papyrus letter (P.Oxy. 119), a sulky boy named Theon tells his father his mother complains "he upsets me" (anastatoi me): showing the word was also everyday Greek for throwing someone into a state.

Where it appears

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 17:6 ἀναστατώσαντες having upset

    But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, “These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here,

    Here: The core of the charge: "the ones who have thrown into turmoil / stirred up sedition across." It is a hostile, political word: the same verb describes the Egyptian rebel who "stirred up a revolt" (Acts 21:38).

  2. Acts 21:38 ἀναστατώσας having led a revolt

    “Aren’t you the Egyptian who incited a rebellion some time ago and led four thousand members of the Assassins into the wilderness?”

Galatians · 1

  1. Galatians 5:12 ἀναστατοῦντες upsetting

    As for those who are agitating you, I wish they would proceed to emasculate themselves!

    Here: Present participle: "those who keep overturning/unsettling." A stronger word than "bother": it is used for stirring up a city or a revolt (Acts 17:6; 21:38). Paul paints the agitators as people turning the communities upside down.

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