Greek word · G4911

συνεφίστημι

synephistēmi

to attack

Literally 'to set/stand upon together with.' Used without an object, it means to rise up together, join in an attack.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

συν-εφ-ίστημι

to place over. Pass.,

1. to stand over (Thuc.).

2. to rise together: before κατά, with genitive of person(s) (against), Acts 16:22.†

(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 16:22

Range of meaning

Literally 'to set/stand upon together with.' Used without an object, it means to rise up together, join in an attack.

Against the English

'Rose up together' (KJV, WEB, YLT) keeps the 'together' (syn-). 'Joined in the attack' (BSB, ESV, NIV) brings out that the crowd joined the slave owners' assault already under way (v. 19).

Used elsewhere in the period

Used only here in the New Testament. It is rare elsewhere, and its intransitive sense of 'rising up together' is the one that fits here (per BDAG).

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 16:22 συνεπέστη rose up together

    The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered that they be stripped and beaten with rods.

    Here: The crowd 'stood up together upon' Paul and Silas. It joins the slave-girl's owners (v. 19) in a mob attack. This is its only use in the New Testament.

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