προῆγεν

proágō

went before

To lead forward or lead on ahead; to cause to go before oneself or others. In extended senses: to be ahead of, to precede in order, rank, place, or time, often in relation to processions, messengers, events, or persons. Can also mean to bring out for appearance or judgment.

G4254

Matthew 2:9 · Word #16

Lexicon G4254

Lemmaπροάγω
Transliterationproágō
Strong'sG4254
DefinitionTo lead forward or lead on ahead; to cause to go before oneself or others. In extended senses: to be ahead of, to precede in order, rank, place, or time, often in relation to processions, messengers, events, or persons. Can also mean to bring out for appearance or judgment.

Morphology V IMPF ACT IND 3P SG All morphology codes

Part of Speech V — Verb — An action or state of being
Tense IMPF — Imperfect — Continuous or repeated past action
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 SG — Singular — One

Common Translation

Phrasewent before
Literalwas-leading-before

Lexical Info

Lemmaπροάγω
Strong'sG4254

SIBI-P1 Translation G4254-13

was leading ahead

Morphological NotesVerb; imperfect tense (past ongoing), active voice, indicative mood, 3rd person singular.
Rendering RationaleThe imperfect active indicative, 3rd singular, denotes ongoing past action. "Was leading ahead" preserves the root sense of leading forward or before (προ- + ἄγω) and reflects the continuous aspect of the imperfect tense.

View full lexicon entry for G4254 →

SILEX v2

SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)

went before

Same as P1No — adjusted for context
Rationale'Was leading ahead' is too awkward; 'went before' is the natural contextual rendering for the narrative movement of the star ahead of them, per common translators and the SILEX definition.