Greek word · G4870

συνακολουθέω

synakoloutheō

to accompany

To follow along with, go in someone's company, accompany. It is the ordinary verb 'follow' (akoloutheō) with 'with' (syn-) added to the front.

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

What it means

συν-ακολουθέω, -ῶ

[in LXX: 2Ma.2:4 2Mac 2:6 * ;]

to follow along with, accompany: with dative of person(s), Mark 14:51, Luke 23:49; before μετά, with genitive of person(s), Mark 5:37.†

(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 Mark 5:37

Range of meaning

To follow along with, go in someone's company, accompany. It is the ordinary verb 'follow' (akoloutheō) with 'with' (syn-) added to the front. In the New Testament it appears only three times: here, Mark 14:51 (the young man 'following along with him' at the arrest) and Luke 23:49 (the women who had followed with him from Galilee).

Against the English

'Follow' (KJV, WEB) and 'accompany' (BSB, NASB) both fit. 'Accompany' is closer to the 'with' built into the word. Because 'follow' in church language often means discipleship, some readers may hear more in it than the physical going-along described here.

Used elsewhere in the period

It is used in ordinary Greek for going along with someone, as an escort, a companion or an attendant (BDAG s.v.). Mark's plain verb akoloutheō is his usual word for following Jesus as a disciple (1:18; 2:14; 8:34). The compound here has a more physical sense.

From the study of Luke 23:49

Range of meaning

'To follow along with, accompany, go with someone.' The prefix συν- ('with') stresses company rather than mere following. It is rare in the New Testament: only Mark 5:37, Mark 14:51 and here.

Against the English

KJV/BSB/NIV 'followed'. WEB 'followed with'. NASB 'accompanied'. 'Followed' is accurate but can lose the 'with' and sound like walking behind. 'Accompanied' brings out the companionship.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Mark 5:37 Jesus allowed no one to 'accompany' him except Peter, James and John, a privileged inner group. Luke 8:1–3 describes the same women 'with him' (σὺν αὐτῷ) along with the Twelve, providing for the group 'out of their own means'. (BDAG s.v. συνακολουθέω)

Where it appears

Mark · 2

  1. Mark 5:37 συνακολουθῆσαι to follow

    And He did not allow anyone to accompany Him except Peter, James, and John the brother of James.

    Here: This means to go along together with someone. Here it is physical: walking with Jesus to Jairus's house. It shares its root with Mark's discipleship verb 'follow', but the point here is who gets to come along, not who is a disciple.

  2. Mark 14:51 συνηκολούθει was accompanying

    One young man who had been following Jesus was wearing a linen cloth around his body. They caught hold of him,

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 23:49 συνακολουθοῦσαι having followed

    But all those who knew Jesus, including the women who had followed Him from Galilee, stood at a distance watching these things.

    Here: 'Who were accompanying him' or 'who travelled with him'. The verb has a 'with-' prefix, and the present tense describes what these women habitually did: they were his travelling companions. They did not merely tag along behind.

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