Greek word · G5260

ὑποβάλλω

hypoballō

to instigate

Literally 'to put or throw under'. Every non-literal use carries the idea of something done covertly, 'from underneath'.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ὑπο-βάλλω

[in LXX: ??Daniel 3:9 A, I Esther 2:18 * ;]

to throw or put under. Metaphorical,

(a) to subject, submit;

(b) to suggest, whisper, prompt;

(with) to suborn (see Field, Notes, 113), instigate: with accusative of person(s), Acts 6:11.†

(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 6:11

Range of meaning

Literally 'to put or throw under'. Classical and Hellenistic Greek used it for: putting something underneath; secretly substituting (it was the standard word for passing off a fake or swapped baby); prompting or feeding lines to a speaker; and, in legal and political settings, planting people to make an accusation or give testimony on someone else's behalf. Every non-literal use carries the idea of something done covertly, 'from underneath'.

Against the English

KJV/YLT 'suborned' is exact: in English law, to suborn is to induce someone to give false testimony. But most modern readers no longer know the word. WEB/NASB 'secretly induced', ESV 'secretly instigated' and NIV 'secretly persuaded' keep the hidden element. BSB 'prompted' is accurate in a narrow sense (feeding words to someone), but on its own it does not convey how underhand the act was.

Used elsewhere in the period

Its only use in the New Testament. BDAG gives 'instigate (secretly), suborn', and cites Greek historians (e.g. Appian) who use it for putting up accusers. LSJ lists 'substitute by stealth' and 'suggest, prompt' among the main senses. Luke's own context settles the meaning: verse 13 calls these men 'false witnesses' (martyras pseudeis).

Where it appears

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 6:11 ὑπέβαλον they suborned

    Then they prompted some men to say, “We heard Stephen speak words of blasphemy against Moses and against God.”

    Here: Literally 'to throw/put under'. Here: to plant people behind the scenes and feed them what to say. It describes an underhand, staged accusation, not an honest complaint. The only use of this verb in the New Testament.

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