Greek word · G4879

συναπάγω

synapagō

to lead away with

To lead or carry away along with someone. In the passive, to be carried away together with, to be swept along. Figuratively, to be drawn into someone else's course, and from there to adapt yourself to them.

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

What it means

συν-απ-άγω

[in LXX: Exodus 14:6 (לָקַח) * ;]

to lead away with or together (Ex, l.with). Pass., metaphorically (as συμπεριφέρομαι, see LS, see word), to be carried away with: with dative, Galatians 2:13, 2 Peter 3:17; of accommodating one­self to (EV, condescend to) things or persons (on the meaning, see ICC, in I.; Field, Notes, 163), Romans 12:16.†

(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 Romans 12:16

Range of meaning

To lead or carry away along with someone. In the passive, to be carried away together with, to be swept along. Figuratively, to be drawn into someone else's course, and from there to adapt yourself to them.

Against the English

KJV "condescend to" meant in 1611 to come down willingly to someone's level. Today it suggests looking down on them. BSB, ESV and WEB "associate with" is accurate but flat and misses the sense of being drawn along. YLT "with the lowly going along" comes closest.

How it drifted

"Condescend" moved from "stoop graciously, accommodate yourself" (its meaning in early modern English) to "behave in a patronising, superior way" (the usual meaning today, according to the Oxford English Dictionary).

Used elsewhere in the period

In its only other New Testament uses the verb is negative. In Gal 2:13 even Barnabas "was carried away (συναπήχθη)" by the hypocrisy of others. In 2 Pet 3:17 believers are warned not to be "carried away with the error of the lawless". Both are passive forms of this verb.

From the study of 2 Peter 3:17

Range of meaning

To lead or carry away along with. In the passive: to be swept along with, carried off together with others.

Against the English

KJV 'led away with' and YLT 'together with ... being led away' keep the 'with'. BSB/NIV 'carried away by' lose the sense of company and stress the force.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Galatians 2:13 'even Barnabas was carried away (synapēchthē) by their hypocrisy', a respected believer swept along by others' behaviour. In Romans 12:16 the active sense is 'associate with the lowly'. Jude 24 has the opposite hope: God 'able to guard (phylaxai) you from stumbling'.

From the study of Galatians 2:13

Range of meaning

'To lead away together with', 'to carry off along with'. In the passive it means 'to be swept along, carried away with'. It can be neutral ('be drawn along with', 'associate with', Rom 12:16) or negative ('be carried away by error', 2 Pet 3:17).

Against the English

'Led astray' (BSB, NIV, ESV) brings in the moral idea of straying from the right path, which is fair from Paul's point of view. 'Carried away' (KJV, WEB, NASB, YLT) keeps the literal picture of being swept along by others' momentum.

Used elsewhere in the period

2 Peter 3:17 uses the same passive form with a dative: 'carried away by the error of the lawless'. Romans 12:16 uses it positively of being drawn toward lowly people. In Greek of the period it is used of being swept along with a crowd or a group.

Where it appears

Romans · 1

  1. Romans 12:16 συναπαγόμενοι. going along.

    Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but associate with the lowly. Do not be conceited.

    Here: Literally "being carried off along with". Here it means letting yourself be drawn into the company and concerns of the lowly and going where they go. Elsewhere in the New Testament the same verb means being swept away by bad influence. Here Paul uses that pull in a good direction.

Galatians · 1

  1. Galatians 2:13 συναπήχθη was carried away

    The other Jews joined him in his hypocrisy, so that by their hypocrisy even Barnabas was led astray.

    Here: Passive: 'was swept away along with'. The picture is of being carried off by a current or by a crowd. It hints that Barnabas was pulled along by pressure more than he chose a new conviction.

2 Peter · 1

  1. 2 Peter 3:17 συναπαχθέντες having been led away

    Therefore, beloved, since you already know these things, be on your guard so that you will not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure standing.

    Here: 'Swept off together with': being carried along by a current or a crowd. The same verb describes Barnabas being 'carried away' by others' hypocrisy (Galatians 2:13). The prefix 'with' stresses being pulled along by the company one keeps.

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