Greek word · G4064

περιφέρω

peripherō

to carry (around)

To carry about, carry from place to place, bear around. In the passive it means to be carried around or swept about (Eph 4:14, 'carried about by every wind of teaching'). In Mark 6:55 it is used of carrying the sick around on mats.

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

What it means

περι-φέρω

[in LXX: Ecclesiastes 7:8 (7) (הָלַל po.), al. ;]

to carry about: Mark 6:55, 2 Corinthians 4:10. Pass., metaphorically: Ephesians 4:14.†

(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 2 Corinthians 4:10

Range of meaning

To carry about, carry from place to place, bear around. In the passive it means to be carried around or swept about (Eph 4:14, 'carried about by every wind of teaching'). In Mark 6:55 it is used of carrying the sick around on mats.

Against the English

'Carry around' (BSB, NIV) and 'bearing about' (KJV) are accurate. 'Carrying' alone (ESV, WEB) loses the 'around', the sense that this goes with them everywhere.

Used elsewhere in the period

A common verb in the Septuagint and other Greek writing for physically carrying something from place to place. Some interpreters link it to the procession image of 2:14, where God 'leads us in triumph'. That link is possible but not certain.

Where it appears

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 6:55 περιφέρειν to carry about

    and ran through that whole region, carrying the sick on mats to wherever they heard He was.

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 4:10 περιφέροντες, carrying around,

    We always carry around in our body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be revealed in our body.

    Here: Present participle: continually carrying it with them from place to place. The dying goes everywhere the travelling apostles go. Grammatically it continues the chain of participles in vv. 8–9.

Ephesians · 1

  1. Ephesians 4:14 περιφερόμενοι being carried about

    Then we will no longer be infants, tossed about by the waves and carried around by every wind of teaching and by the clever cunning of men in their deceitful scheming.

    Here: 'Carried round and round', 'swung about'. Waves heave the boat up and down, and the wind spins it in circles. The verb is passive: these people are moved by something else and do not steer.

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