Greek word · G398

ἀναφαίνω

anaphainō

to appear

In the active voice, 'to make appear' or 'bring to light'. In the passive, 'to appear' or 'come into view' (Luke 19:11: the kingdom was about to 'appear'). Sailors used the active with land as its object: you 'raise' or 'bring up' a coast when it rises above the horizon as you approach.

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

What it means

ἀνα-φαίνομαι

[in LXX for צָדַק hi., גָּלַשׁ ;]

to bring to light, make to appear: ἀναφάναντες τ. Κύπρον, i.e. having sighted C.: Acts 21:3 WH; pass., to appear, be made manifest: Luke 19:11

(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 21:3

Range of meaning

In the active voice, 'to make appear' or 'bring to light'. In the passive, 'to appear' or 'come into view' (Luke 19:11: the kingdom was about to 'appear'). Sailors used the active with land as its object: you 'raise' or 'bring up' a coast when it rises above the horizon as you approach.

Against the English

KJV and YLT say 'discovered Cyprus'. Modern versions say 'sighted' or 'came in sight of'. 'Sighted' is accurate. 'Discovered' now suggests finding something for the first time, which is not what is meant.

How it drifted

In 1611 'discover' still meant 'uncover' or 'reveal', which is why the KJV used it. Since then the word has narrowed to 'find out for the first time'.

Used elsewhere in the period

The form ἀναφάναντες has an α where classical Attic Greek would have η (ἀναφήναντες). This is a known feature of Hellenistic Greek, noted in BDF §72. The sailing sense of 'making land appear' is found in Greek writing about sea travel and is listed in BDAG. A comparable English expression is to 'raise' a coastline.

Where it appears

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 19:11 ἀναφαίνεσθαι.¶ to appear.

    While the people were listening to this, Jesus proceeded to tell them a parable, because He was near Jerusalem and they thought the kingdom of God would appear imminently.

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 21:3 ἀναφάναντες Having sighted

    After sighting Cyprus and passing south of it, we sailed on to Syria and landed at Tyre, where the ship was to unload its cargo.

    Here: A sailors' expression: 'having raised Cyprus', meaning the island came up over the horizon as they approached. The subject is 'we', the travellers, so the land is pictured as something their own sailing brings into view.

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