ἀναβαίνω G0305
To go up, ascend; physically traveling upward, ascending to heaven, growing (of plants), or boarding (a vessel).
Anabaino is the standard New Testament verb for upward movement, built transparently from ana ('up') and baino ('go, step'). Its most frequent use reflects the topography of ancient Palestine: 'going up' to Jerusalem, which sits in the Judean highlands, is the default expression for pilgrimage, and the verb carries the theological weight of approaching God's holy city. Jesus 'goes up' to Jerusalem repeatedly in the Gospels (Matt 20:17-18), and the disciples 'go up' to the temple to pray (Luke 18:10). But the word also reaches heavenward: Jesus ascends to the Father (John 20:17), and smoke and prayers ascend before God's throne in Revelation. Spanish subir, German hinaufsteigen, French monter, and Korean 올라가다 all cluster tightly around the core 'go-up' meaning, while the figurative extensions into plant growth (Mark 4:8) and mental arising (Luke 24:38) show the verb stretching beyond its literal spatial sense.
4. sense 4 — To embark, board a vessel — a single occurrence at Acts 21:6 where Paul and his companions 'went aboard' a ship. Here the upward motion is from a dock or shore up onto the deck of a vessel. English 'embarked,' Spanish subimos (with the maritime context), and German einsteigen all show this as a specialized nautical application of the basic 'go up' verb. Korean 배에 오르다 ('to mount a ship') preserves the ascent imagery. While only one occurrence in the New Testament, this maritime sense is well attested in Classical Greek (Thucydides, Xenophon) and confirms anabaino's flexibility across physical contexts. 1×
AR["صَعِدْنَا"]·ben["আমরা-উঠলাম"]·DE["steigt-hinauf"]·EN["embarked"]·FR["monter"]·heb["עָלִינוּ"]·HI["चढ़े"]·ID["kami-naik"]·IT["salire"]·jav["mlebet"]·KO["우리가-탔다"]·PT["embarcamos"]·RU["взошли"]·ES["subimos"]·SW["tuliingia"]·TR["bindik"]·urd["سوار-ہوئے"]
▼ 4 more senses below
Senses
1. go up, ascend — To go up, ascend physically — the overwhelmingly dominant sense at 75 occurrences, covering travel to higher ground, ascending mountains, going up to Jerusalem, and entering upper rooms. Jesus goes up a mountain to pray (Matt 14:23), comes up out of the baptismal water (Matt 3:16), and 'goes up to Jerusalem' for the final Passover (Matt 20:17). The Jerusalem-pilgrimage usage is especially significant — Hebrew 'alah carries the same 'go up to the holy city' valence, and Greek anabaino preserves this Semitic topographical-theological framing. Spanish subio, German hinaufsteigen, and Korean 올라가다 all translate this with their standard upward-motion verbs. Swahili -panda ('to climb, go up') confirms the basic spatial semantics. 75×
AR["صَعِدَ","يَصْعَدْ"]·ben["উঠল","উঠলেন","উঠিলেন","উঠে-গেল","উঠে-গেলেন","উঠেছে,","উঠেছেন"]·DE["hinaufsteigen","steigt-hinauf"]·EN["ascended","came-up","has-gone-up","he-went-up","went-up"]·FR["monter"]·heb["עָלָה"]·HI["-हृदय","आया","गया-ऊपर","गया-ऊपर,","चढ़ा","चढ़ा-है","चध","पहुँचा"]·ID["Dia-naik","Ia-naik","Naik","ia-naik","naik","naiklah","naiklah-Ia","telah-naik"]·IT["salire"]·jav["minggah","minggah,","munggah","munggah,","piyambakipun-minggah","sampun-minggah"]·KO["그-","떠올랐다","올라가셨다","올라가지-않았다","올라갔다","올라갔으니","올라왔다","올라타셨다"]·PT["subiram","subiu"]·RU["взобрался","взошло","взошёл","восшёл","всходило","вышел","дошло","поднялся"]·ES["Subió","ha-subido","subió"]·SW["Akapanda","akapanda","alipanda","amepanda","hakupanda","hayakupanda,","iliinuka","ilipanda","ukapanda"]·TR["Çıktı","çıkmadı","çıktı"]·urd["آیا","نکل-آیا","پہنچی","چڑھا","گیا"]
Matt 3:16, Matt 5:1, Matt 13:7, Matt 14:23, Matt 15:29, Matt 20:17, Mark 1:10, Mark 3:13, Mark 4:7, Mark 6:51, Mark 10:32, Luke 5:19 (+38 more)
2. ascend to heaven — To ascend to heaven — 3 occurrences carrying dense Christological weight. In John 20:17 the risen Jesus tells Mary Magdalene 'I have not yet ascended to my Father' and 'I am ascending to my Father,' and in Eph 4:10 Paul declares 'he who descended is the same one who ascended far above all the heavens.' This is not merely going uphill but passing from the earthly realm to the divine presence. Korean 승천하다 ('to ascend to heaven,' a Sino-Korean compound) and Arabic sa'ida ila's-sama' ('went up to heaven') both select specialized heavenly-ascension vocabulary rather than generic 'go up' terms. The theological distinction from sense 1 is unmistakable: this is cosmological, not geographical. 3×
AR["أَصْعَدُ","صَعَدَ","صَعِدْتُ"]·ben["উঠছি","উঠেছি","উঠেছেন"]·DE["hinaufsteigen"]·EN["I-am-ascending","I-have-ascended","having-ascended"]·FR["monter"]·heb["עָלִיתִי","עוֹלֶה","שֶׁעָלָה"]·HI["चढ़-रहा-हूँ","चढ़ा-हूँ","जो-चध"]·ID["Aku-naik","naik"]·IT["salire"]·jav["Kula-minggah","minggah"]·KO["올라가지-않았다","올라간-분","올라간다"]·PT["Subo","subi","subiu"]·RU["Восхожу","Восшедший","восшёл"]·ES["Subo","ascendido","he-subido"]·SW["Ninapanda","aliyepanda","sijapanda"]·TR["cokca-ustune","Çıkıyorum","çıktım"]·urd["چڑھا-ہوں","چڑھتا-ہوں","چڑھنے-والا"]
3. grow up, spring up — To grow up, spring up — of plants sprouting and increasing in size, 2 occurrences in Mark's agricultural parables. In Mark 4:8 seed falls on good soil and 'grows up' bearing fruit; in Mark 4:32 the mustard seed 'grows up' and becomes the largest of garden plants. The biological-growth metaphor extends anabaino's upward-motion semantics into the organic domain. Spanish subiendo ('going up') preserves the spatial metaphor, while Korean 자라다 ('to grow') and Swahili -kua ('to grow, develop') shift entirely to biological vocabulary, revealing that this agricultural extension is a genuine figurative sense, not just a spatial application. 2×
AR["تَصْعَدُ","صاعِدًا"]·ben["ওঠে,","বেড়ে-উঠে"]·DE["hinaufsteigen"]·EN["growing-up","it-grows-up"]·FR["monter"]·heb["עוֹלִים","עוֹלֶה"]·HI["ऊपर-चढ़ता-है","और"]·ID["tumbuh","tumbuh,"]·IT["salire"]·jav["thukul","thukul,"]·KO["올라가고","자라며"]·PT["sobe,","subindo"]·RU["восходит","восходящий"]·ES["sube","subiendo"]·SW["inapanda,","yakipanda"]·TR["çıkan","çıkıyor,"]·urd["اگتا-ہے","بڑھتا-ہوا"]
5. sense 5 — To arise, come up (in the mind or heart) — a single occurrence at Luke 24:38 where Jesus asks the startled disciples 'Why do doubts arise in your hearts?' Here anabaino is used metaphorically for thoughts or emotions 'rising up' within a person, an inner psychological ascent rather than physical upward motion. Spanish suben ('they go up') retains the spatial metaphor applied to thoughts, while Korean and German both shift to mental-process vocabulary (마음에 일어나다, 'to arise in the heart'). This cognitive-metaphorical extension — ideas 'rising' into consciousness — parallels Hebrew 'alah al lev ('go up upon the heart,' Jer 3:16; Isa 65:17), suggesting Semitic conceptual influence on the Greek usage. 1×
AR["تَصْعَدُ"]·ben["উঠছে"]·DE["steigt-hinauf"]·EN["rise-up"]·FR["monter"]·heb["עוֹלִים"]·HI["उठते-हैं"]·ID["timbul"]·IT["salire"]·jav["munggah"]·KO["떠오르느냐"]·RU["восходят"]·ES["suben"]·SW["yanainuka"]·TR["çıkıyor"]·urd["اٹھتے-ہیں"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἀναβαίνω, imperfect ἀνέβαινον: future -βήσομαι: (for aorist 1 see infr. B): aorist 2 ἀνέβην, imperative ἀνάβηθι, -βῶ, -βῆναι, -βάς: perfect -βέβηκα:— middle, aorist 1 -εβησάμην, Epic dialect 3rd.pers.singular -εβήσετο, see infr. B:—passive, see below 11.2:— go up, mount, with accusative loci, οὐρανόν, ὑπερώϊα ἀ. go up to heaven, to the upper rooms, Refs 8th c.BC+; φάτις ἀνθρώπους ἀναβαίνει goes…