ἐπέστησαν
ephístēmi
stood by
To stand over, to come up to, or to approach with emphasis or immediacy. In its primary sense, ἐφίστημι denotes the act of standing at or by someone or something, often with the implication of arrival, imminent action, or attentive presence. Contextually, it can mean to come upon suddenly (often with a sense of confrontation or surprise), to appear before (in a neutral or official capacity), or to stand by (in a supportive or observant manner). In military, judicial, or narrative contexts, it may specifically refer to approaching, confronting, attacking, or presenting oneself before a person or group.
Luke 24:4 · Word #13
Lexicon G2186
| Lemma | ἐφίστημι |
| Transliteration | ephístēmi |
| Strong's | G2186 |
| Definition | To stand over, to come up to, or to approach with emphasis or immediacy. In its primary sense, ἐφίστημι denotes the act of standing at or by someone or something, often with the implication of arrival, imminent action, or attentive presence. Contextually, it can mean to come upon suddenly (often with a sense of confrontation or surprise), to appear before (in a neutral or official capacity), or to stand by (in a supportive or observant manner). In military, judicial, or narrative contexts, it may specifically refer to approaching, confronting, attacking, or presenting oneself before a person or group. |
Morphology V AOR ACT IND 3P PL
All morphology codes
| Part of Speech | V — Verb — An action or state of being |
| Tense | AOR — Aorist — Simple occurrence, often past |
| Voice | ACT — Active — The subject performs the action |
| Mood | IND — Indicative — States a fact or reality |
| Person | 3P — 3rd person — The one spoken about ("he/she/it/they") |
| Number | PL — Plural — More than one |
Common Translation
| Phrase | stood by |
| Literal | stood-by-[aorist indicative active 3rd plural] |
Lexical Info
| Lemma | ἐφίστημι |
| Strong's | G2186 |
SIBI-P1 Translation G2186-02
they stood over
| Morphological Notes | Verb; aorist tense (simple past), active voice, indicative mood, 3rd person plural. |
| Rendering Rationale | The aorist active indicative third plural denotes a completed action in past time: "they stood over." This rendering preserves the compound sense of ἐπί (upon/over) with ἵστημι (to stand), emphasizing arrival and nearness without importing contextual nuance. |
View full lexicon entry for G2186 →
SILEX v2
SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)
stood by
| Same as P1 | No — adjusted for context |
| Rationale | 'They stood over' is unnatural for narrative action here; 'stood by' is the idiomatic context-aware rendering of ἐπέστησαν with a dative object. |