Greek word · G4313

προπορεύω

proporeuō

to travel before

To go on ahead, lead the way, walk in front of someone. ἐνώπιον means 'in the sight of' or 'before the face of'.

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

What it means

προ-πορεύω

[in LXX chiefly for הָלַךְ, also for עָבַר, etc. ;]

to make to go before. Pass. and mid., to go before: Luke 1:76, Acts 7:40" (LXX) ,†

(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 Luke 1:76

Range of meaning

To go on ahead, lead the way, walk in front of someone. ἐνώπιον means 'in the sight of' or 'before the face of'.

Against the English

'Go before the Lord' can sound like 'appear before the Lord', as though standing in his presence. The Greek means walking out in front of him on the road, like an advance runner.

Used elsewhere in the period

There are only two New Testament uses: here and Acts 7:40, which quotes Exodus 32:1 LXX, 'make us gods who will go before us'. In Deuteronomy 1:30 LXX the Lord himself is 'the one who goes before you'. The image echoes Malachi 3:1 LXX, 'I send my messenger, and he will survey the way before my face (πρὸ προσώπου μου)'. Luke 1:17 says the same thing in other words: 'he will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah'.

Where it appears

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 1:76 προπορεύσῃ you will go

    And you, child, will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on before the Lord to prepare the way for Him,

    Here: The picture is of someone who walks ahead of a traveller or a procession. In the Greek Old Testament this verb describes what goes ahead of God's people on the march (Exod 32:1). John walks out in front of the Lord's arrival.

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 7:40 προπορεύσονται will go before

    They said to Aaron, ‘Make us gods who will go before us! As for this Moses who led us out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has happened to him.’

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