Greek word · G4045

περιπίπτω

peripiptō

to fall upon

'To fall around, fall into, fall among'; to come upon something unexpectedly and end up surrounded by it, usually something unwelcome.

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

What it means

περι-πίπτω

[in LXX: Ruth 2:3, 2 Samuel 1:6 (קָרָה), Proverbs 11:5 (נָפַל), Dan LXX 2:9, 2Ma.6:13 2Mac 9:7 2Mac 9:21 2Mac 10:4 * ;]

1. to fall around.

2. to fall in with, light upon, come across: with dative, λῃσταῖς, Luke 10:30; πειρασμοῖς, James 1:2; before εἰς, Acts 27:41.†

(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 James 1:2

Range of meaning

'To fall around, fall into, fall among'; to come upon something unexpectedly and end up surrounded by it, usually something unwelcome.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'fall into' keeps the picture. BSB/NASB 'encounter', ESV 'meet', and NIV 'face' are smoother but lose the sense of being caught off guard and hemmed in.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke 10:30, the man who 'fell among robbers'; Acts 27:41, the ship that 'struck' a sandbar. In ordinary Greek it is common for falling into misfortune, illness or danger.

Where it appears

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 10:30 περιέπεσεν fell among

    Jesus took up this question and said, “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him, beat him, and went away, leaving him half dead.

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 27:41 περιπεσόντες Having fallen

    But the ship struck a sandbar and ran aground. The bow stuck fast and would not move, and the stern was being broken up by the pounding of the waves.

    Here: To run into something without meaning to. The crew were heading for the beach (v.40) and hit an obstacle they had not seen. Luke uses the same verb for the man who 'fell among' robbers (Luke 10:30).

James · 1

  1. James 1:2 περιπέσητε you may fall into

    Consider it pure joy, my brothers, when you encounter trials of many kinds,

    Here: To fall into something unplanned and find it all around you. The same verb describes the traveller who 'fell among robbers' (Luke 10:30). The trials are not sought out; they ambush you.

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