Greek word · G528

ἀπαντάω

apantaō

to meet

To meet or encounter someone. It can be friendly (going out to greet) or hostile (going out to face an enemy in battle).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀπαντάω, -ῶ

[in LXX chiefly for פָּגַע ;]

1. to go to meet.

2. to meet; with dative: Mark 14:13, Luke 17:12 (WH, mg., ὑπ-; in Rec. frequently as see1. for ὑπ-, which see).†

(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 1 Maccabees 12:25

Range of meaning

To meet or encounter someone. It can be friendly (going out to greet) or hostile (going out to face an enemy in battle).

Against the English

All the versions use 'met'. That is accurate, but modern English 'met' can sound neutral or by chance. Here it is a deliberate move to confront an army.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used of military confrontation throughout the Septuagint historical books (often for Hebrew qaraʾ / liqraʾt, 'to go to meet') and in 1 Maccabees (e.g. 1 Macc 11:15, 68).

From the study of Mark 14:13

Range of meaning

To meet, to come toward someone, to encounter. It can be friendly or hostile, by chance or by arrangement.

Against the English

"Will meet you" is accurate. In this context the sense is "will come your way" rather than "will greet you" or "will have an appointment with you."

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament it is used of the ten lepers who "met" Jesus (Luke 17:12, with variant forms). The related noun apantēsis was used for a formal welcoming party (Matt 25:6; 1 Thess 4:17). That technical sense belongs to the noun and should not be read into this verb.

Where it appears

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 14:13 ἀπαντήσει will meet

    So He sent two of His disciples and told them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jug of water will meet you. Follow him,

    Here: "Will meet." A confident prediction in the future tense: the man will come toward them. Jesus states it as certain.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 17:12 ἀπήντησαν met

    As He entered one of the villages, He was met by ten lepers. They stood at a distance

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