Greek word · G4816

συλλέγω

syllegō

to collect

To gather, collect, pick up; used of harvesting produce and of collecting things for keeping or for destruction.

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

συλ-λέγω

[in LXX chiefly for לָקַט ;]

to bring together, collect, gather up: with accusative of thing(s), Matthew 13:28-30; pass., Matthew 13:40; with accusative, before ἀπό, Matthew 7:16; id. before ἐκ, Matthew 13:41, Luke 6:44; before εἰς, Matthew 13:48.†

(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 7:16

Range of meaning

To gather, collect, pick up; used of harvesting produce and of collecting things for keeping or for destruction.

Against the English

'Gather' (KJV, BSB, ESV, WEB) is accurate. NIV 'pick' is also fine. The unnamed 'they' is rendered 'men' (KJV), 'people' (NIV), 'you' (WEB) or turned into a passive 'are grapes gathered' (BSB, ESV). All are legitimate ways of rendering a general 'one'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Matthew reuses the verb in the harvest parables of judgment: servants ask whether to 'gather' the weeds (13:28–30). At the end of the age angels 'will gather out of his kingdom all causes of sin and all who do lawlessness' (13:41). Fishermen 'gather the good into containers' (13:48).

From the study of Matthew 13:41

Range of meaning

To gather together, collect or pick, as with fruit (7:16, 'do people gather grapes from thorns?'), fish (13:48) or weeds. It is an ordinary farming and household verb.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'gather out' is literal. BSB/NIV 'weed out' makes the parable's picture explicit. NLT 'remove' is clear but loses the harvest image.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used in the parable itself for collecting the darnel (vv. 28, 29, 30, 40). In 13:48 the fishermen 'gather' the good fish into containers. Zephaniah 1:2–3, which this verse echoes, opens with God's repeated 'I will utterly gather/sweep away' ('asof 'asef).

From the study of Matthew 13:28

Range of meaning

To collect, gather up, pick. Used for harvesting fruit, gathering stones or wood, and collecting things into one place.

Against the English

KJV, WEB and ESV say "gather." BSB and NIV say "pull them up." "Pull up" gets the physical action right (v. 29 speaks of uprooting) but hides the word's links to the rest of the chapter.

Used elsewhere in the period

Matthew 7:16 ("Do people gather grapes from thornbushes?"). Then in this chapter: 13:29, 30 ("gather the weeds first"), 40 ("as the weeds are gathered and burned"), 41 ("the angels will gather out of his kingdom all causes of stumbling"), and 48 (fishermen gathering the good fish).

Where it appears

Matthew · 7

  1. Matthew 7:16 συλλέγουσιν do they gather

    By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?

    Here: Present tense, 'they gather', with an unnamed general 'they' (= people, harvesters). It describes ordinary harvest work, the picking and collecting of produce.

  2. Matthew 13:28 συλλέξωμεν we shall gather

    ‘An enemy did this,’ he replied. So the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

    Here: "Should we gather (them) up?" In context this means pulling the weeds out of the crop. It is the same verb used for the reapers' work at harvest (v. 30) and the angels' work at the end of the age (vv. 40–41).

  3. Matthew 13:29 συλλέγοντες gathering

    ‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them.

  4. Matthew 13:30 συλλέξατε do gather

    Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’”

    Here: The same verb the slaves used in v. 28-29 ('shall we go and gather them?'). What they were told not to do now is done, but by other hands and at the right time.

  5. Matthew 13:40 συλλέγεται is gathered

    As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

  6. Matthew 13:41 συλλέξουσιν they will gather

    The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness.

    Here: 'They will gather up'. It is the same harvest verb used for collecting the weeds in vv. 28–30 and 40, so the explanation keeps the farm picture: pulling weeds out of a crop.

  7. Matthew 13:48 συνέλεξαν they collected

    When it was full, the men pulled it ashore. Then they sat down and sorted the good fish into containers, but threw the bad away.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 6:44 συλλέγουσιν do they gather

    For each tree is known by its own fruit. Indeed, figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor grapes from brambles.

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