ἐπέρχομαι

ἐπιπορεύομαι epiporeúomai · G1975 · to come to, to arrive

Both describe arriving or coming to a destination through motion. ἐπιπορεύομαι (epiporeúomai, G1975) emphasizes continued travel resulting in reaching a place, while ἐπέρχομαι (epérchomai, G1904) encompasses broader arrival scenarios including events supervening or influences coming upon someone. The rarer ἐπιπορεύομαι (epiporeúomai, G1975) appears in contexts of physical journey completion, while ἐπέρχομαι (epérchomai, G1904) extends to figurative arrivals and occurrences.

ἐφίστημι ephístēmi · G2186 · to stand by, to stand at, to be near

Both verbs describe coming upon or arriving at a location or situation, and both can be used for hostile approaches or attacks. They are used where events supervene or arrive upon someone, whether in neutral circumstances of physical arrival or in hostile contexts of assault.

ἥκω hḗkō · G2240 · to come to, to reach, to arrive

Both verbs express arrival or occurrence, but ἐπέρχομαι distinctively conveys the sense of coming upon or supervening (often with implications of suddenness, attack, or influence overtaking someone), whereas ἥκω more straightforwardly denotes having arrived or being present without this overtaking nuance.

κατεφίστημι katephístēmi · G2721 · to attack, to assault

Both describe hostile approach or attack. κατεφίστημι (attested once) specifically denotes rushing upon or standing against in assault, while ἐπέρχομαι covers a broader range of arrival or occurrence events, including but not limited to hostile attack.

בּוֹא bôwʼ · H935 · to come in, to go, to arrive, to reach

Greek ἐπέρχομαι specifically emphasizes the spatial/temporal sense of 'coming upon' or 'supervening' (arrival from outside or above), while Hebrew בּוֹא is the general motion verb 'to come/enter' without inherent directional emphasis, though both share core semantics of arrival and occurrence.

עָבַר ʻâbar · H5674 · to pass, to pass by, to pass on

עָבַר (ʻâbar, H5674) עָבַר denotes physical crossing/passing over or through a boundary or territory, while ἐπέρχομαι (epérchomai, G1904) ἐπέρχομαι emphasizes arrival or coming upon (often suddenly or from above), with both sharing the semantic domain of spatial movement toward/into a location but differing in the directionality and manner of approach.

To happen to, to come upon, to overtake13.119

This verb describes an event or circumstance overtaking a person unexpectedly, used of Jesus' warning that the day of judgment will come upon all who live on the face of the earth — "it will come upon all those who live on the face of all the earth" (Luke 21:35).

To come to, to arrive15.83

It also describes the Holy Spirit's arrival upon a person, used of the angel Gabriel's announcement to Mary that the Holy Spirit will come upon her — "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you" (Luke 1:35), and of Jesus' promise that the disciples will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon them — "you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you" (Acts 1:8).

To attack, to assault39.47

It also describes a hostile assault by a stronger opponent, used of Jesus' illustration of a strong man attacking and overpowering an armed man guarding his house — "when someone stronger than he attacks him and overpowers him" (Luke 11:22).

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.