Greek word · G4022

περιέρχομαι

perierchomai

to go around

"To go around": to travel about from place to place, or to wander. It can be neutral (Paul's travels, Acts 28:13) or mildly negative ("going around from house to house," 1 Tim 5:13; "went about in sheepskins," Heb 11:37).

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

What it means

περι-έρχομαι

[in LXX chiefly for סָבַב ;]

to go about (as an itinerant): Acts 19:13 28:13 (περιελόντες, WH, R, mg.), Hebrews 11:37; τ. οἰκίας, from house to house: 1 Timothy 5:13.†

(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 19:13

Range of meaning

"To go around": to travel about from place to place, or to wander. It can be neutral (Paul's travels, Acts 28:13) or mildly negative ("going around from house to house," 1 Tim 5:13; "went about in sheepskins," Heb 11:37).

Against the English

"Itinerant" (BSB, WEB) is accurate. The KJV's "vagabond" meant "wandering" in 1611, but today it suggests a homeless tramp or a rogue.

How it drifted

"Vagabond" comes from Latin vagabundus, "wandering" (the Vulgate has circumeuntibus, "going around"). The meaning "disreputable vagrant" came to dominate later.

Used elsewhere in the period

Travelling sellers of charms and rites were a familiar type. Plato speaks of begging priests and seers who "go to rich men's doors" offering spells and bindings (Republic 364b–c), and Juvenal mocks a Jewish woman who reads dreams for small coins (Satire 6.542–47).

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 19:13 περιερχομένων itinerant

    Now there were some itinerant Jewish exorcists who tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those with evil spirits. They would say, “I command you by Jesus, whom Paul proclaims.”

    Here: "Going around": travelling from place to place. These are travelling practitioners who move between towns and offer their services, not settled members of the local synagogue.

1 Timothy · 1

  1. 1 Timothy 5:13 περιερχόμεναι going about

    At the same time they will also learn to be idle, going from house to house and being not only idle, but also gossips and busybodies, discussing things they should not mention.

    Here: A present participle for repeated movement: making the rounds, circulating. The same verb describes the wandering Jewish exorcists in Acts 19:13.

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 11:37 περιῆλθον they wandered

    They were stoned, they were sawed in two, they were put to death by the sword. They went around in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, oppressed, and mistreated.

    Here: 'They went about' or 'wandered'. It describes a homeless life on the move with no settled home or protection. This leads into v. 38's deserts, mountains and caves.

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