Greek word · G4310

προπάσχω

propaschō

to suffer before

To suffer beforehand, to have already undergone something painful.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

to suffer first or beforehand , (Herdotus Historicus), etc.: to be ill-treated before , ὑπό τινος (Thucydides):—;also, ἀγαθὸν πρ. (Xenophon Historicus) (ML)

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 1 Thessalonians 2:2

Range of meaning

To suffer beforehand, to have already undergone something painful.

Against the English

KJV "had suffered before"; BSB "had already endured suffering." Accurate in all major versions.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used only here in the NT. It occurs in classical and Hellenistic Greek (e.g. Herodotus, Thucydides) for prior injuries or experiences.

Where it appears

1 Thessalonians · 1

  1. 1 Thessalonians 2:2 προπαθόντες having previously suffered

    As you are aware, we had already endured suffering and shameful treatment in Philippi. But in the face of strong opposition, we were bold in our God to speak to you the gospel of God.

    Here: "Having already suffered." The prefix pro- (before) points back to Philippi, just before they came to Thessalonica. The participle carries a sense of "although": although we had just suffered, we still spoke.

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