Greek word · G395

ἀνατολή

anatolē

east

(1) The rising of a heavenly body, especially the sun, so 'dawn'; (2) the direction of sunrise, 'the east' (Matt 2:1–2, 'from the east'); (3) in the Greek Old Testament, a sprouting or shoot, because it translates Hebrew ṣemaḥ, 'Branch' or 'Sprout,' a title for the coming Davidic king (Jer 23:5;...

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀνατολή, -ῆς, ἡ

(ἀνατέλλω), [in LXX chiefly for מִזְרָח קָדִים ;]

1. a rising: of light, Luke 1:78.

2. the sun-rising, the east (MM, VGT, see word): Matthew 2:2, 9, Revelation 21:13; ἀ. ἡλίου, Revelation 7:2 16:12 (WΗ, p1.); pl., Matthew 2:1 8:11 24:27, Luke 13:29.†

(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 1:78

Range of meaning

(1) The rising of a heavenly body, especially the sun, so 'dawn'; (2) the direction of sunrise, 'the east' (Matt 2:1–2, 'from the east'); (3) in the Greek Old Testament, a sprouting or shoot, because it translates Hebrew ṣemaḥ, 'Branch' or 'Sprout,' a title for the coming Davidic king (Jer 23:5; Zech 3:8; 6:12, 'a man whose name is Anatolē').

Against the English

'Dayspring' (KJV), 'Sunrise' (NASB, ESV), 'Dawn' (BSB), 'rising sun' (NIV), 'morning light' (NLT). All of these capture the light image. None can also carry the 'Branch' echo that a reader of the Greek Old Testament might hear.

How it drifted

Not really a drift. 'Dayspring' is simply archaic English for daybreak, kept alive by Advent hymns.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Jer 23:5; Zech 3:8; 6:12 (Branch). Num 24:17: 'a star shall rise (anatelei) out of Jacob.' Mal 3:20 [4:2 Eng.]: 'the sun of righteousness shall rise (anatelei).' Isa 60:1–3 (light rising on Zion). Philo, Confusion of Tongues 62–63, comments on 'Anatolē' as a name in Zech 6:12, which shows that Jews of the period read it as a title.

From the study of Matthew 2:1

Range of meaning

Anatolē means 'a rising.' It is used of the sun or stars, and also of plants springing up. From that comes 'the place of sunrise,' the east. The plural anatolai is the standard idiom for 'the east' (compare 8:11, 'from east and west'). The singular in 2:2 and 2:9, en tē anatolē, may mean 'in the east' or 'at its rising.'

Against the English

Every major version says 'from the east,' which is correct. What English loses is the 'rising' image, which links this word to the star's rising in 2:2 and to Old Testament language about a rising star or a sprouting 'Branch.'

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament, Balaam, a seer 'from the mountains of the east' (Num 23:7), predicts that 'a star will rise (anatelei) out of Jacob' (Num 24:17). Jews of the period read this oracle as messianic (Dead Sea Scrolls: Damascus Document 7.18–21; 4Q175; and later Simon bar Kosiba was nicknamed 'Son of the Star'). In Greek Zechariah 6:12 the promised 'Branch' is called Anatolē, 'Rising.' Isaiah 60:1–3 has nations coming to Israel's rising light.

From the study of Revelation 7:2

Range of meaning

Anatolē means 'a rising': of the sun or stars, and so 'the east' (Matt 2:1–2, 'we saw his star at its rising'; Matt 8:11, 'from east and west'). In the Septuagint, Anatolē also translates the Hebrew tsemach, 'Branch' or 'Shoot', a title for the coming royal figure (Jer 23:5; Zech 3:8; 6:12). Luke 1:78 plays on both senses: 'the Dawn from on high'.

Against the English

BSB, KJV and NIV give 'east', which is accurate as a direction but drops the sunrise picture. WEB 'sunrise' and YLT 'rising of the sun' keep it.

Used elsewhere in the period

The full phrase 'rising of the sun' is common in the Septuagint for the east (e.g. Isa 41:25; Mal 1:11). In Ezekiel 43:2 the glory of the God of Israel comes back to the temple 'from the way of the east'. The garden of Eden was planted 'in the east' (Gen 2:8). Revelation 16:12 uses the same phrase for 'the kings from the rising of the sun', a threatening direction associated with the Euphrates frontier and the Parthian empire.

Where it appears

Matthew · 5

  1. Matthew 2:1 ἀνατολῶν east

    After Jesus was born in Bethlehem in Judea, during the time of King Herod, Magi from the east arrived in Jerusalem,

    Here: Literally 'risings,' where the sun rises, so 'the east.' From Judea that means the lands beyond the Jordan and the desert: Arabia, Babylonia, Parthia/Persia. The plural is the normal idiom for 'the east.' In 2:2 the singular will come back in connection with the star.

  2. Matthew 2:2 ἀνατολῇ east

    asking, “Where is the One who has been born King of the Jews? We saw His star in the east and have come to worship Him.”

    Here: The word for the rising of a sun or star, and by extension the east, where heavenly bodies rise. Singular, and right after a star, it most likely means 'at its rising'.

  3. Matthew 2:9 ἀνατολῇ east

    After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen in the east went ahead of them until it stood over the place where the Child was.

    Here: Literally 'a rising (up)'. It is used for the rising of the sun or stars, and from that for 'the east', where they rise. Here it most likely means the star's rising: when it first came up over the horizon.

  4. Matthew 8:11 ἀνατολῶν east

    I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

    Here: The word is plural: literally "the risings", where the sun comes up. It stands for the far east of the known world.

  5. Matthew 24:27 ἀνατολῶν east

    For just as the lightning comes from the east and flashes as far as the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man.

    Here: Literally "risings": where the sun comes up, the eastern horizon. The plural is the usual idiom for "the east."

Luke · 2

  1. Luke 1:78 ἀνατολὴ [the] Sunrise

    because of the tender mercy of our God, by which the Dawn will visit us from on high,

    Here: 'Rising,' especially the sun's rising, and so the dawn or the east. It is the subject of the verb: the Rising will visit us. In the Greek Old Testament the same word also translates the messianic title 'Branch' (Jer 23:5; Zech 3:8; 6:12), so a messianic figure is very likely in view.

  2. Luke 13:29 ἀνατολῶν east

    People will come from east and west and north and south, and will recline at the table in the kingdom of God.

    Here: Literally 'risings', meaning the places where the sun comes up. The plural is the normal Greek way to say 'the east', and it suggests every land toward the dawn.

Revelation · 3

  1. Revelation 7:2 ἀνατολῆς [the] rising

    And I saw another angel ascending from the east, with the seal of the living God. And he called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:

    Here: Literally 'the rising', the place where the sun comes up, so 'the east'. Here the picture of sunrise is still alive because 'of the sun' follows.

  2. Revelation 16:12 ἀνατολῆς rising

    And the sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up to prepare the way for the kings of the East.

    Here: Literally "rising", the place where the sun comes up, so "east". It names a compass direction, not a particular people.

  3. Revelation 21:13 ἀνατολῆς [the] east

    There were three gates on the east, three on the north, three on the south, and three on the west.

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