ἀπέρχομαι G0565
To go away, depart; of physical movement from one place to another; extended to things passing away or ceasing.
Aperchomai is the New Testament's workhorse verb for leaving — the unceremonious act of getting up and going somewhere else. It appears in nearly every Gospel narrative where someone exits a scene: the swineherds 'went away' to report the demoniacs (Matt 8:33), the healed paralytic 'went away' to his house (Matt 9:7), and the merchant 'went away' and sold everything for the pearl of great price (Matt 13:46). Yet the word carries a quieter power in Revelation, where it shifts from spatial departure to cosmic passing: the first heaven and earth 'passed away' (Rev 21:1), and sorrow and death 'passed away' (Rev 21:4). Spanish captures this duality well, toggling between se fue ('he left') for physical departure and pasaron ('they passed') for eschatological cessation. The verb's simplicity is its strength — it marks clean narrative transitions without the theological freight of heavier departure words.
1. go away, depart physically — Physical departure from one place to another — the overwhelming core sense at 112 occurrences, appearing in nearly every New Testament narrative book. The verb structures countless scene transitions: crowds disperse (Matt 13:25), disciples are sent and 'go away' (Mark 6:46), messengers depart on errands (Luke 7:24). Spanish fue/se fue and German weggehen both treat this as straightforward spatial movement. The aorist form apelthen is particularly common, marking decisive departure as a completed narrative event. Often paired with a destination using eis ('into/to'), confirming the from-here-to-there spatial schema (Matt 8:33, apelthon eis ten polin). 112×
AR["انْصَرَفَ","ذَهَبَ","مَضَى"]·ben["গেল","চলে-গেল","চলে-গেলেন"]·DE["geht-weg","weggehen"]·EN["departed","he-departed","he-went-away","went","went-away"]·FR["s'en-aller"]·heb["הָלְכָה","הָלַךְ"]·HI["आज्ञा-दे","गया","चल-गय","चलअ-गय","चला-गया","चले-गये"]·ID["Dia-pergi","dia-pergi","ia-pergi","meninggalkan","pergi","pergilah"]·IT["andare-via"]·jav["ilang","késah","késah.","lunga","panjenenganipun-késah","tindak"]·KO["가지-않았다","갔다","떠나갔다","떠나셨다","떠났다"]·PT["foi","foi-embora","foi-se","foi.","partiu"]·RU["отошла","отошёл","ошла","пошёл.","ушёл"]·ES["fue","partió","se-fue"]·SW["akaenda","akaenda-zake","akaondoka","akihuzunika","alienda","aliondoka","ukamwacha","uliondoka"]·TR["gitti"]·urd["چلا-گیا","گھر","گیا"]
Matt 8:33, Matt 9:7, Matt 13:25, Matt 13:28, Matt 13:46, Matt 14:15, Matt 16:4, Matt 18:30, Matt 19:22, Matt 21:29, Matt 21:30, Matt 25:18 (+38 more)
▼ 3 more senses below
Senses
2. pass away, elapse — To pass away, elapse, or cease to exist — 4 occurrences, all in Revelation's eschatological visions. The first woe 'has passed' (Rev 9:12), the second woe 'has passed' (Rev 11:14), the first heaven and earth 'passed away' (Rev 21:1), and mourning and pain 'passed away' (Rev 21:4). Spanish pasaron and German vergehen both shift to cessation vocabulary rather than movement vocabulary, confirming this as a genuinely distinct metaphorical extension. The spatial 'going away' becomes temporal and existential — things depart from reality itself. 4×
AR["ذَهَبَتا","ذَهَبَتْ","مَضى","مَضَى"]·ben["গেল","চলে-গেছে","চলে-গেছে।"]·DE["weggehen"]·EN["has-passed","passed-away"]·FR["s'en-aller"]·heb["חָלְפוּ","עָבַר"]·HI["चले-गईं","चले-गए","बीत-गई।"]·ID["berlalu","berlalu."]·IT["andare-via"]·jav["sampun-kesah","sampun-langkung","sampun-sirna"]·KO["지나갔고","지나갔다","지나갔으니"]·PT["passaram","passou"]·RU["прошло.","ушли","ушло"]·ES["pasaron,","pasaron.","pasó"]·SW["umepita.","vimepita.","zimepita,"]·TR["geçti","gittiler"]·urd["گزر-گئی","گزر-گئیں"]
3. sense 3 — To spread or go out as news or a report — a single occurrence at Matt 4:24 where Jesus' fame 'went out' (apelthen) into all Syria. The verb here describes the propagation of a report rather than a person's physical movement. Spanish salió ('went out') and English 'went out' both mark the shift from personal locomotion to information diffusion. This may be a marginal extension of sense 1 where the 'departing' subject is abstract rather than animate. 1×
AR["ذَاعَ"]·ben["গেল"]·DE["geht-weg"]·EN["went-out"]·FR["s'en-aller"]·heb["יָצָא"]·HI["गई"]·ID["tersebar"]·IT["andare-via"]·jav["kawartosaken"]·KO["퍼졌다"]·PT["saiu"]·ES["salió"]·SW["ilienda"]·TR["gitti"]·urd["پھیل-گئی"]
4. sense 4 — To go after, follow in pursuit — a single occurrence at Jude 1:7 in the phrase apelthousai opiso sarkos heteras, 'having gone after strange flesh,' describing Sodom and Gomorrah's pursuit of unnatural desire. French etant allees ('having gone') and German nachgehend ('going after') preserve the directional sense with an added purposive nuance. The participial form combined with opiso ('after') creates a pursuit meaning not present in the verb alone, but the construction is distinctive enough to warrant noting. 1×
amh["የሄዱ"]·AR["ذاهبة"]·ben["গমনকারী"]·ces["odešedší"]·dan["gående-bort"]·DE["nachgehend"]·ell["απελθούσαι"]·EN["having-gone-after"]·FR["étant-allées"]·guj["ગયા"]·hat["ale"]·hau["sun-bi"]·heb["שהלכו"]·HI["जाकर"]·hun["elmenvén"]·ID["yang-pergi"]·IT["essendo-andate"]·jav["kesah"]·JA["行った者たち"]·KO["따라가서"]·mar["जाणाऱ्या"]·mya["လိုက်သွားသော"]·nld["achternagegaan-zijnde"]·nor["bortgående"]·pnb["جان-والیاں"]·pol["odszedłszy"]·PT["indo"]·ron["umblând"]·RU["пошедшие"]·ES["yendo"]·SW["wakifuata"]·swe["gående-efter"]·tam["போய்"]·tel["వెళ్ళి"]·tgl["pumunta"]·TH["ไปตาม"]·TR["gidip"]·ukr["пішовши"]·urd["جانے-والے"]·VI["đi-theo"]·yor["tí-wọ́n-lọ"]·yue["去-咗"]·ZH["去追随"]
Related Senses
H0935 1. come, arrive (Qal) (2413×)G1473 1. first person singular pronoun (2084×)H3318 1. Qal: go out, depart, come forth (891×)H3212 1. go, depart, travel (884×)H7725 1. to return, come/go back (Qal) (874×)H5927 1. go up, ascend (Qal) (779×)H7971 1. to send, dispatch (Qal) (701×)G2064 1. come / arrive (physical movement toward) (588×)H5307 1. Qal: fall down physically (339×)H5375 1. Qal: to lift up, raise (330×)H5975 1. to stand, stand up (310×)H1980 1. to go, travel (Qal) (283×)H5674a 1. Qal: pass by, pass through (256×)H3381 1. Qal: to go down, descend (physical movement) (242×)G1831 1. go/come out physically (193×)H5337 1. deliver, rescue, save (Hifil) (188×)H7901 1. lie down, rest, sleep (183×)G1525 1. enter a place physically (179×)H7812 1. prostrate oneself, bow down, worship (173×)H3318 2. Hifil: bring out, lead out, take out (persons) (172×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἀπέρχομαι, future -ελεύσομαι (Attic dialect future ἄπειμι): perfect -ελήλυθα: aorist -ῆλθον:— go away, depart from, with genitive, πάτρηςRefs 8th c.BC+ cease from tears. Refs 5th c.BC+ __2 with εἰς, implying departure from one place and arrival at another, ἀ. ἐς τὰς ΣάρδιςRefs 5th c.BC+; ἀ. ἐπ᾽ οἴκου depart homewards, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀπῆλθεν ὅθεν.. went back to the place whence he came, Refs 5th…