Greek word · G397

ἀνατρέφω

anatrephō

to bring up

To bring up, rear, nurture, especially a child from infancy. Used of feeding and raising (Acts 7:20, Moses nursed in his father's house; 7:21, Pharaoh's daughter 'brought him up as her own son').

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

What it means

ἀνα-τρέφω

[in LXX: Wisdom of Solomon 7:4 B, 4Ma.10:2 4Mac 11:15 א* ;]

to nurse up, nourish, educate, bring up: Luke 4:16, WΗ, mg., Acts 7:20-21 22:3.†

(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 22:3

Range of meaning

To bring up, rear, nurture, especially a child from infancy. Used of feeding and raising (Acts 7:20, Moses nursed in his father's house; 7:21, Pharaoh's daughter 'brought him up as her own son').

Against the English

BSB 'raised', KJV/WEB/YLT 'brought up'. NLT 'brought up and educated here in Jerusalem under Gamaliel' merges the upbringing and the training.

Used elsewhere in the period

Acts 7:20–22 uses the same three-step sequence for Moses: born (egennēthē), brought up (anethrepsato), educated (epaideuthē). W. C. van Unnik showed that this birth / upbringing / education pattern is a common way of presenting a life in Greek biography (for example in Philo and Plutarch).

Similar words

Where it appears

Acts · 3

  1. Acts 7:20 ἀνετράφη was brought up

    At that time Moses was born, and he was beautiful in the sight of God. For three months he was nurtured in his father’s house.

  2. Acts 7:21 ἀνεθρέψατο brought up

    When he was set outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.

  3. Acts 22:3 ἀνατεθραμμένος brought up

    “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but raised in this city. I was educated at the feet of Gamaliel in strict conformity to the law of our fathers. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.

    Here: Perfect participle: 'having been raised (from childhood)'. The word usually describes a child's nurture and upbringing, so it claims that Jerusalem, not Tarsus, shaped him.

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