ὑπαντ-άω G5221
To go out to meet or encounter someone, whether in greeting, supplication, or military confrontation.
Built from hypo ('toward') and antao ('meet face to face'), this verb describes deliberate movement toward an approaching person. Most New Testament occurrences depict neutral or positive encounters—the Gadarene demoniacs coming out to meet Jesus (Matt 8:28), the servant running to report the boy's healing (John 4:51), and women meeting the risen Lord (Matt 28:9). Yet in Luke 14:31 a king goes out to 'meet' an advancing army, and multilingual evidence reveals the hostile coloring: Hindi 'saamna karne ko' (to confront), Korean '맞서기를' (to oppose), distinguishing this military sense from the otherwise welcoming encounters.
Senses
1. to meet, encounter — To come face to face with someone, to go out to meet or encounter a person in greeting, supplication, or happenstance. Covers the majority of occurrences: the Gadarene demoniacs meet Jesus emerging from the tombs (Matt 8:28; Mark 5:2; Luke 8:27), women encounter the risen Christ on the road (Matt 28:9), and the servant meets the official's party with news of healing (John 4:51). Languages uniformly render this with neutral 'meet' vocabulary: Spanish 'encontraron/encontró,' French 'rencontrer,' German 'entgegengehen.' 9×
AR["اسْتَقْبَلَتْ","اسْتَقْبَلَتْهُ","اسْتَقْبَلَهُ","اسْتَقْبَلُوهُ","اِستَقبَلَهُ","قابَلَتنا","لاقاهُنَّ","لَقِيَهُ"]·ben["দেখা-করল","সাক্ষাত-করলেন","সাক্ষাৎ-করল","সাক্ষাৎ-করলেন","সাক্ষাৎ-করেছিলেন","সাক্ষাৎ-হল"]·DE["entgegengehen","ὑπήντησαν","ὑπήντησεν","ὑπαντῆσαι"]·EN["met","to-meet"]·FR["rencontrer"]·heb["יָצְאָה-לִקְרְאתוֹ","פָּגְשָׁה","פָּגְשׁוּ","פָּגַשׁ"]·HI["मिला","मिली","मिली-थी","मिले"]·ID["bertemu","menemui","menemui-Nya","menjumpai"]·IT["incontrare","upentesan","upentesen"]·jav["mapag","mapagaken","mapak","methuk"]·KO["만나다","만났다","맞이했다","맞이했던"]·PT["encontrar-","encontraram","encontrou","vieram-ao-encontro"]·RU["встретил","встретила","встретили","встретить"]·ES["encontrarnos","encontraron","encontró","salieron-al-encuentro","salió-al-encuentro"]·SW["alikutana-naye","alikwenda-kumlaki","alimlaki","aliwakuta","kutukuta","ulikuja-kumlaki","walikutana-naye","walimkuta"]·TR["karşıladı","karşıladılar","karşılamak","karşılamıştı","karşılaştı"]·urd["اُسے","ملا","ملاقات-کی","ملنا","ملی","ملی-تھی","ملے"]
2. to oppose, confront — To go out to meet in a hostile or adversarial sense, to confront or oppose a military force. In Luke 14:31, a king deliberates whether he can meet another king marching against him with twice his troops. Multilingual evidence sharpens this distinction: Hindi 'saamna karne ko' (to confront/face), Korean '맞서기를' (to oppose), and Spanish 'salir al encuentro' (to go out to meet in challenge) all signal that the movement here is toward battle, not welcome. 1×
AR["أَنْ-يُلَاقِيَ"]·ben["সাক্ষাৎ-করতে"]·DE["ὑπαντῆσαι"]·EN["to-meet"]·FR["rencontrer"]·heb["לִקְרְאַת"]·HI["सामना-करने-को"]·ID["menghadapi"]·IT["upantesai"]·jav["nglawan"]·KO["맞서기를"]·PT["enfrentar"]·RU["встретить"]·ES["salir-al-encuentro"]·SW["kukutana"]·TR["karşılamak"]·urd["سامنا-کرنے"]
Related Senses
H0935 1. come, arrive (Qal) (2413×)G1473 1. first person singular pronoun (2084×)H3318 1. Qal: go out, depart, come forth (891×)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×)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×)H7725 2. to bring back, restore (Hifil) (151×)H5674a 2. Qal: cross over (134×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ὑπαντ-άω, Ionic dialect ὑπαντ-έω Refs: future -ήσομαιRefs 1st c.AD+: aorist -ήντησαRefs 1st c.AD+, Doric dialect -άντᾱσαRefs 5th c.BC+:—come or go to meet, either as a friend, Refs 5th c.BC+; or in arms,Refs 4th c.BC+; ὑ. τινί NT+5th c.BC+ [same place]; πρὸς τὸ [βῆμα] Refs 3rd c.AD+: also with genitive, ἀνδρῶν ἀγαθῶν παιδὸς ὑ. Refs 5th c.BC+ just before:—later in middle, ὑπαντώμενος αὐτοῖς Refs…