Word

ἐπιστρέφω

epistréphō · G1994 · Greek · 36 occurrences

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Meanings

to return to, to go back to, to turn around

To return to a point or area where one has been before, with probable emphasis on turning about

Examples
Matthew 12:44 “Then it says, ‘I will return to my house from which I came’; and when it comes, it finds it unoccupied, swept, and put in order.
Matthew 24:18 “And whoever is in the field must not turn back to get his cloak.
Mark 5:30 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power from Him had gone out, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?”
to turn to, to come to believe, to come to accept

To change one’s belief, with focus upon that to which one turns

Examples
Acts 3:19 “Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord;
Acts 9:35 And all who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.
Acts 14:15 and saying, “Men, why are you doing these things? We are also men, of the same nature as you, preaching the gospel to you, to turn from these useless things to a living God, who MADE THE HEAVEN AND THE EARTH AND THE SEA, AND EVERYTHING THAT IS IN THEM.
to cause to change belief, to cause to turn to

To cause a person to change belief, with focus upon that to which one turns

Examples
Luke 1:16 “And he will turn many of the sons of Israel back to the Lord their God.
Acts 26:18 to open their eyes so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been sanctified by faith in Me.’
James 5:20 let him know that the one who has turned a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death and cover a multitude of sins.
to change one’s ways, to turn to God, repentance

To change one’s manner of life in a particular direction, with the implication of turning back to God

Examples
Matthew 13:15 FOR THE HEART OF THIS PEOPLE HAS BECOME DULL, WITH THEIR EARS THEY SCARCELY HEAR, AND THEY HAVE CLOSED THEIR EYES, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT SEE WITH THEIR EYES, HEAR WITH THEIR EARS, UNDERSTAND WITH THEIR HEART, AND RETURN, AND I WOULD HEAL THEM.’
Mark 4:12 so that WHILE SEEING THEY MAY SEE, AND NOT PERCEIVE, AND WHILE HEARING, THEY MAY HEAR, AND NOT UNDERSTAND, OTHERWISE THEY MIGHT RETURN AND IT WOULD BE FORGIVEN THEM.”
Luke 22:32 but I have prayed for you, that your faith will not fail; and you, when you have turned back, strengthen your brothers.”
to make well-disposed toward, to make friendly toward, to cause to become acceptable

(An idiom, literally: to turn hearts to) To cause a change of attitude in a positive and acceptable direction

Examples
Luke 1:17 “And it is he who will go as a forerunner before Him in the spirit and power of Elijah, TO TURN THE HEARTS OF FATHERS BACK TO THEIR CHILDREN, and the disobedient to the attitude of the righteous, to make ready a people prepared for the Lord.”
to turn around, to turn toward

To turn around to or toward

Examples
Mark 5:30 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in Himself that power from Him had gone out, turned around in the crowd and said, “Who touched My garments?”
Mark 8:33 But turning around and seeing His disciples, He rebuked Peter and said, “Get behind Me, Satan; for you are not setting your mind on God’s purposes, but on man’s.”
John 21:20 Peter turned around and saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them—the one who also had leaned back on His chest at the supper and said, “Lord, who is the one who is betraying You?”

How it’s used In 7 roles

Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.

the word studied the word it goes with

Who or what does itSubject

36 occurrences in 14 groups

Not stated (participle) 10
Not stated: they 4
Not stated (infinitive) 4
ἀγρόςfield, countryside 3
Not stated: you (more than one) 3
Not stated: he, she or it 3
Other words · 8 groups that occur once or twice (9) 9

What it acts on, or what is saidObject

8 occurrences in 9 groups

Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (9) 9

To or for whomIndirect object

1 occurrences in 1 groups

πνεῦμαspirit 1

With prepositionsPrepositional phrases

22 occurrences in 20 groups

ἐπίon+ κύριοςLord 3
Other words · 19 groups that occur once or twice (22) 22

With adverbsAdverbs

7 occurrences in 8 groups

μήnot 3
νῦνnow 2
ἑπτάκιςseven times 1
ὁμοίωςlikewise, in the same way 1
ὀπίσωbehind 1
πάλινagain, and, also 1

What it doesIt is the subject

1 occurrences in 1 groups

σώζωto save, to deliver 1

What is done to itIt is the object

2 occurrences in 2 groups

λέγωto say 1
ἀπαγγέλλωto tell 1

When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.

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.

In the other Testament 2 words

שׁוּב shûwb · H7725 · to turn around, to turn (someone) around: שׁוּב (shûwb, H7725) is the standard Hebrew verb for physical and moral return or reverting, and it serves as the primary Septuagint source term for ἐπιστρέφω (epistréphō, G1994) across the core semantic range of turning back, returning, or reverting.
פָּנָה pânâh · H6437 · to turn, to turn around, to follow (one's own) interests: Greek ἐπιστρέφω and Hebrew פָּנָה share the core directional sense of 'turning' (physically or metaphorically toward/away), with פָּנָה emphasizing the physical act of turning one's face/attention toward something and ἐπιστρέφω carrying stronger connotations of returning or reverting to a prior state, particularly in moral/spiritual contexts.

Semantic domains 6 entries

To return to, to go back to, to turn around15.90: In Luke 2:39, after completing everything required by the Law, Jesus' parents “returned to Galilee, to their own city of Nazareth” — a physical going back to a place.
To turn around, to turn toward16.13: In Mark 5:30, Jesus, perceiving that power had gone out from Him, “turned around in the crowd” to look for the woman who had touched Him — a bodily turning to face another direction.
To make well-disposed toward, to make friendly toward, to cause to become acceptable25.95: In Luke 1:17, John the Baptist's ministry is described as one that will “turn the hearts of fathers back to their children,” making estranged hearts well-disposed toward one another again.
To turn to, to come to believe, to come to accept31.60: In Acts 11:21, “a large number who believed turned to the Lord” — coming to accept and believe in Him.
To cause to change belief, to cause to turn to31.61: In Acts 26:18, Paul is sent to open Gentile eyes “so that they may turn from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God,” describing the causing of a change in belief and allegiance.
To change one’s ways, to turn to God, repentance41.51: In Acts 3:19, Peter urges the crowd, “repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away” — the specific sense of turning to God in repentance.

Word family 29 words

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

τροπή tropḗ · G5157 · turning, variation · 1×ἐπιστρέφωepistréphō · G1994ὑποστρέφω hypostréphō · G5290 · to return, to go back, to come back · 35×στρέφω stréphō · G4762 · to turn, to change, to turn into · 21×ἐπιτρέπω epitrépō · G2010 · to allow, to let, to permit · 18×ἀναστροφή anastrophḗ · G391 · to live, to conduct oneself, to behave · 13×τρόπος trópos · G5158 · manner, way, life · 13×ἀναστρέφω anastréphō · G390 · to move back, to return, to live · 9×ἀποστρέφω apostréphō · G654 · to cause to turn away from, to cause to change one’s belief, to mislead · 9×ἐντρέπω entrépō · G1788 · to shame, to embarrass, to respect · 9×διαστρέφω diastréphō · G1294 · to cause someone to turn away from a belief, to mislead, to lead astray · 7×ἐκτρέπω ektrépō · G1624 · to sprain, to wrench, to go astray · 5×ἀνατρέπω anatrépō · G396 · to turn over, to upset, to overturn · 3×ἐπίτροπος epítropos · G2012 · foreman, guardian, leader · 3×καταστρέφω katastréphō · G2690 · to turn over, to upset, to overturn · 3×μεταστρέφω metastréphō · G3344 · to change to, to turn into, to cause to be different from · 3×ἐντροπή entropḗ · G1791 · embarrassment, shame · 2×καταστροφή katastrophḗ · G2692 · to cause harm, to cause ruin to, complete ruin · 2×συστρέφω systréphō · G4962 · to gather together, to call together, to come together · 2×συστροφή systrophḗ · G4963 · uproar, revolt, plot · 2×ἀποτρέπω apotrépō · G665 · to shun, to avoid, to keep away from · 1×ἐκστρέφω ekstréphō · G1612 · to be corrupt, to have become corrupt · 1×ἐπιστροφή epistrophḗ · G1995 · turning to, coming to believe, acceptance · 1×ἐπιτροπή epitropḗ · G2011 · authority, complete power · 1×εὐτραπελία eutrapelía · G2160 · vulgar speech, indecent talk · 1×περιτρέπω peritrépō · G4062 · to change to, to turn into, to cause to be different from · 1×προτρέπομαι protrépomai · G4389 · to urge · 1×στρεβλόω streblóō · G4761 · to distort, to misinterpret, to change the meaning of · 1×τροποφορέω tropophoréō · G5159 · to bear with, to put up with, to be very patient with · 1×

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon future ἐπιστρέψω; 1 aorist ἐπέστρεψα; 2 aorist passive ἐπεστραφην; from Homer down; the…

future ἐπιστρέψω; 1 aorist ἐπέστρεψα; 2 aorist passive ἐπεστραφην; from Homer down; the Sept. for הָפַך, סָבַב and הֵסֵב, פָּנָה, and times without number for שׁוּב and הֵשִׁיב;
1. transitively,
a. to turn to: ἐπί τόν Θεόν, to the worship of the true God, Acts 26:20.
b. to cause to return, to bring back; figuratively, τινα ἐπί κύριον τόν Θεόν, to the love and obedience of God, Lk 1:16; ἐπί τέκνα, to love for the children, Lk 1:17; ἐν φρονήσει δικαίων, that they may be in (R. V. to walk in) the wisdom of the righteous, Lk 1:17; τινα ἐπί τινα, supply from the context ἐπί τήν ἀλήθειαν and ἐπί τήν ὁδόν, Jas 5:19f.
2. intransitive, (Winers Grammar, § 38, 1 (compare p. 26; Buttmann, 144 (126f)));
a. to turn, to turn oneself: ἐπί τόν κύριον and ἐπί τόν Θεόν, of Gentiles passing over to the religion of Christ, Acts 9:35; Acts 11:21; Acts 14:15; Acts 15:19; Acts 26:20, cf. 1 Pet 2:25; πρός τί, Acts 9:40; πρός τόν Θεόν, 1 Thess 1:9; 2 Cor 3:16; ἀπό τίνος εἰς τί, Acts 26:18.
b. to turn oneself about, turn back: absolutely, Acts 16:18; followed by an infinitive expressing purpose, Rev 1:12.
c. to return, turn back, come back; α. properly: Lk 2:20 Rec.; ; Acts 15:36; with the addition of ὀπίσω (as in Aelian v. h. 1, 6 (variant)), followed by an infinitive of purpose, Mt 24:18: followed by εἰς with the accusative of place, Mt 12:44; (Lk 2:39 T WH Tr marginal reading); εἰς τά ὀπίσω, Mk 13:16; Lk 17:31; ἐπί τί, to, 2 Pet 2:22. β. metaphorically: ἐπί τί, Gal 4:9; ἐπί τινα, Lk 17:4 Rec., but G omits ἐπί σε; πρός τινα, ibid. L T Tr WH; ἐκ τῆς ἐντολῆς, to leave the commandment and turn back to a worse mental and moral condition, 2 Pet 2:21 R G; absolutely, to turn back morally, to reform: Mt 13:15; Mk 4:12; Lk 22:32; Acts 3:19; Acts 28:27. In the middle and 2 aorist passive a. to turn oneself about, to turn around: absolutely, Mt 9:22 R G; Mk 5:30; Mk 8:33; Jn 21:20.
b. to return: followed by πρός (WH text ἐπί) τινα, Mt 10:13 (on which passage see εἰρήνη, 3 at the end); ἐπί τόν Θεόν, 1 Pet 2:25 (see 2 a. above); to return to a better mind, repent, Jn 12:40 (R G).

Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain

Topical studies with this word 5 entries

Return17 occurrences Non-Linear Movement5 occurrences Acceptable To, To Be Pleased With1 occurrence Change an Opinion Concerning Truth12 occurrences Change Behavior6 occurrences

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.

Sources

eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0