ἐγείρω
egeírō
G1453 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
to cause to rise or stand up; to awaken or arouse from sleep, rest, or inactivity; to bring to life or restore to activity. In physical contexts, refers to rousing someone from sleep or a state of rest, causing to stand, or raising to an upright position. In biological or figurative contexts, used of restoring the sick, raising the dead, or bringing to renewed life or vigor. In extended or metaphorical uses, can indicate awakening feelings, stirring to action, or bringing something into public view or prominence.
Semantic Range
to waken from sleep, to rouse from rest or inactivity, to raise up physically, to cause to stand, to restore to health or life, to raise from the dead, to bring into prominence or public activity, to stir up emotion or attention
Root / Etymology
From the root ἐγερ- or ἐγειρ-, the verb ἐγείρω is formed by regular verbal derivation. It is possibly related to the base of ἀγείρω (to gather), but this connection is uncertain and not universally accepted by modern lexicographers.
Historical & Contextual Notes
Attested from classical Greek onwards, ἐγείρω has a broad semantic range connected to movement from a passive or inactive state into activity or uprightness. In the Septuagint, it frequently translates Hebrew roots meaning 'to raise' or 'to lift.' In the New Testament, its most characteristic usage is the act of raising someone from the dead, especially in reference to the resurrection of Jesus (e.g., Matt 28:6; 1 Cor 6:14) or others (e.g., Jairus' daughter, Lazarus). However, it also appears frequently in everyday senses such as waking from sleep (Matt 1:24; Acts 12:7) or rousing to action (as in stirring up feelings, e.g., Luke 1:69). English translations often render it as 'raise,' 'arise,' 'awaken,' or 'stand up,' but these renderings sometimes fail to capture the full dynamic sense of movement from passivity or death to vigorous activity or life. In Hellenistic and Koine Greek, it became an especially important term in discussions of new life and resurrection, but its non-theological senses remained in use throughout.
Translation Consistency
“Raise” is the most natural, versatile transitive verb that covers the primary SILEX senses—causing to stand or come up, restoring to life or health, and bringing into prominence or activity. It matches the dominant Biblical usage (most occurrences rendered as “raised”) and reads naturally across contexts (physical lifting, rousing from inactivity, and resurrection), supporting the consistency requirement.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
probably akin to the base of ἀγορά (through the idea of collecting one's faculties); to waken (transitively or intransitively), i.e. rouse (literally, from sleep, from sitting or lying, from disease, from death; or figuratively, from obscurity, inactivity, ruins, nonexistence):--awake, lift (up), raise (again, up), rear up, (a-)rise (again, up), stand, take up.
Root Family
ἐγείρω (egeirō) — to wake, to rise, to raise, to arouse
Word Forms
30 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G1453-11 |
ἤγειρεν | egeiren | V AOR ACT IND 3P SG |
raised | he raised up | he raised up | 21 |
G1453-22 |
ἠγέρθη | egerthe | V AOR PASS IND 3P SG |
was raised | was raised up | was raised up | 20 |
G1453-23 |
ἐγερθεὶς | egertheis | V AOR PASS PTCP NOM M SG |
having arisen | having been raised | having arisen | 13 |
G1453-08 |
ἔγειρε | egeire | V PRS ACT IMP 2P SG |
arise | Rise up | Raise up | 13 |
G1453-02 |
ἐγήγερται | egegertai | V PRF PASS IND 3P SG |
has been raised | has been raised up | has been raised up | 9 |
G1453-16 |
ἐγείρονται | egeirontai | V PRS PASS IND 3P PL |
are raised | are being raised | they are being raised | 9 |
G1453-13 |
ἐγείρηται | egeiretai | V PRS PASS SUBJ 3P SG |
it is raised | may be raised up | may rise up | 7 |
G1453-27 |
ἐγερθήσεται | egerthesetai | V FUT PASS IND 3P SG |
will rise | he/she/it will be raised | will be raised | 6 |
G1453-24 |
ἐγερθῆναι | egerthenai | V AOR PASS INF |
I have been raised | to be raised up | to be raised up | 5 |
G1453-28 |
ἐγερθήσονται | egerthesontai | V FUT PASS IND 3P PL |
will arise | they will be raised | they will be raised | 4 |
Occurrences in Scripture
141 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G1453-23 |
Matthew 1:24 | ἐγερθεὶς | egertheis | V AOR PASS PTCP NOM M SG |
having arisen | having been raised | having arisen |
G1453-23 |
Matthew 2:13 | ἐγερθεὶς | egertheis | V AOR PASS PTCP NOM M SG |
Get up | having been raised | Rise up |
G1453-23 |
Matthew 2:14 | ἐγερθεὶς | egertheis | V AOR PASS PTCP NOM M SG |
having arisen | having been raised | having arisen |
G1453-23 |
Matthew 2:20 | ἐγερθεὶς | egertheis | V AOR PASS PTCP NOM M SG |
arise | having been raised | having arisen |
G1453-23 |
Matthew 2:21 | ἐγερθεὶς | egertheis | V AOR PASS PTCP NOM M SG |
having arisen | having been raised | having arisen |
G1453-03 |
Matthew 3:9 | ἐγεῖραι | egeirai | V AOR ACT INF |
to raise up | to raise up | to raise up |
G1453-22 |
Matthew 8:15 | ἠγέρθη | egerthe | V AOR PASS IND 3P SG |
she arose | was raised up | was raised up |
G1453-04 |
Matthew 8:25 | ἤγειραν | egeiran | V AOR ACT IND 3P PL |
woke | they raised up | they woke |
G1453-23 |
Matthew 8:26 | ἐγερθεὶς | egertheis | V AOR PASS PTCP NOM M SG |
he got up | having been raised | having been raised |
G1453-08 |
Matthew 9:5 | ἔγειρε | egeire | V PRS ACT IMP 2P SG |
arise | Rise up | Raise up |