Greek word · G4872

συναναβαίνω

synanabainō

to ascend with

"To go up together with." It combines σύν (with), ἀνά (up) and βαίνω (go). In Jewish usage, going "up" to Jerusalem was the stock way to describe travel to the city, especially pilgrimage, because Jerusalem stands on high ground and holds the temple.

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

What it means

συν-ανα-βαίνω

[in LXX for עָלָה ;]

to go up with: with dative of person(s), before εἰς, with accusative loc., Mark 15:41, Acts 13:31.†

(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 Acts 13:31

Range of meaning: "To go up together with." It combines σύν (with), ἀνά (up) and βαίνω (go). In Jewish usage, going "up" to Jerusalem was the stock way to describe travel to the city, especially pilgrimage, because Jerusalem stands on high ground and holds the temple.
Against the English: BSB "accompanied" and NIV "travelled with" keep the companionship but lose the "up", the pilgrim journey to the holy city. KJV, WEB, YLT and ESV keep "came up with".
Used elsewhere in the period: The word is rare in the New Testament. Its only other use is Mark 15:41, for the women "who came up with him to Jerusalem". In the LXX it appears for going up together (e.g., Gen 50:7, 9, Joseph's company going up to bury Jacob; Exod 12:38). Luke builds the middle of his Gospel around Jesus' journey up to Jerusalem (Luke 9:51–19:28), and Luke 23:49, 55 mentions women "who had followed him from Galilee".

From the study of Mark 15:41

Range of meaning: To go up together with someone; built on ἀναβαίνω, "go up", the normal word for travelling up to Jerusalem (which sits high in the hill country) and especially for pilgrimage to the temple at the festivals.
Against the English: "Came up with him" (KJV, WEB, YLT, BSB) is accurate; the pilgrim overtone of "going up" is lost on readers who do not know the idiom.
Used elsewhere in the period: The Septuagint uses ἀναβαίνω for going up to Jerusalem and the sanctuary, and the 'Songs of Ascents' (Psalms 120–134) were associated with pilgrim travel. In Mark 10:32–33 Jesus and his followers are "on the road, going up to Jerusalem" and he says, "We are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over." Acts 13:31 uses this same compound for "those who came up with him from Galilee to Jerusalem, who are now his witnesses".

Where it appears

Mark · 1

Mark 15:41 συναναβᾶσαι having come up

These women had followed Jesus and ministered to Him while He was in Galilee, and there were many other women who had come up to Jerusalem with Him.

Here: "Having gone up together with" him. "Going up" is the standard term for the pilgrimage climb to Jerusalem; the prefix "with" (syn-) stresses they shared the journey with Jesus.

Acts · 1

Acts 13:31 συναναβᾶσιν having come up with

and for many days He was seen by those who had accompanied Him from Galilee to Jerusalem. They are now His witnesses to our people.

Here: Literally "those who went up together with". Going "up" to Jerusalem was the usual phrase for the pilgrim journey to the city on its hill. Mark 15:41 uses the same verb for the Galilean women "who came up with him to Jerusalem", so the group is not limited to the Twelve.

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