Greek word · G4351

προσκυλίω

proskyliō

to roll before

To roll (κυλίω) something up to or against (πρός) something else. In the New Testament it occurs only here and in Mark 15:46. Matthew 28:2 uses the opposite, ἀποκυλίω, "roll away."

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 30, 2026

What it means

προσ-κυλίω

to roll up, roll to: with accusative and dative, Matthew 27:60; accusative before ἐπί, Mark 15:46.†

(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 Matthew 27:60

Range of meaning: To roll (κυλίω) something up to or against (πρός) something else. In the New Testament it occurs only here and in Mark 15:46. Matthew 28:2 uses the opposite, ἀποκυλίω, "roll away."
Against the English: "Rolled a great stone to the door" (KJV), "across the entrance" (BSB), "against the door" (WEB). All are fine. What English readers add is the picture of a perfectly round, wheel-like stone running in a carved track, familiar from art and from visits to show tombs.
How it drifted: Paintings, Easter imagery, and visible disc-stone tombs in Jerusalem (e.g., the so-called Tomb of Herod's Family) have made the wheel-shaped stone the standard picture. The verb itself does not require a disc.
Used elsewhere in the period: LXX Gen 29:2-10: a "great stone" (λίθος μέγας) covers a well's mouth and is "rolled" off. LXX Josh 10:18: "roll great stones against the mouth of the cave" to shut kings inside. LXX Dan 6:17 (Theodotion's Greek version): a stone is put over the mouth of the lions' den and sealed, a close parallel to Matt 27:66. In a survey of more than 900 Second Temple tombs around Jerusalem, Amos Kloner found only a few with round rolling stones. Most were closed with square, plug-shaped blocking stones.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

Matthew 27:60 προσκυλίσας having rolled

and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut into the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away.

Here: "Having rolled (it) up against." The prefix pros- means "toward, against": the stone was moved into place over the opening. The participle comes before the main verb, so the stone was set in place first and then he left.

Mark · 1

Mark 15:46 προσεκύλισεν he rolled

So Joseph bought a linen cloth, took down the body of Jesus, wrapped it in the cloth, and placed it in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. Then he rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb.

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