φθάνω G5348
To arrive at, come upon, or reach a destination or state; in classical usage, to precede or anticipate.
Phthano carries a fascinating semantic history. In classical Greek it primarily meant 'to come before, outstrip, anticipate' — the urgency of getting there first. By the Koine period, however, the competitive edge had largely softened to simple arrival: 'to reach, come upon, attain.' Most New Testament uses reflect this later development. When Jesus says 'the kingdom of God has come upon you' (Matt 12:28; Luke 11:20), the force is arrival and presence, not priority. Yet in 1 Thessalonians 4:15 the older sense resurfaces: the living 'will by no means precede' the dead. Spanish splits neatly between 'ha llegado' (has arrived) and 'precederemos' (we will precede).
2. precede, come before — To precede, go before, or arrive ahead of others — preserving the classical sense of outstripping or anticipating. In 1 Thess 4:15, Paul assures believers that 'we who are alive will by no means precede those who have fallen asleep,' using phthano in its older competitive register. Spanish 'precederemos' and the contextual emphasis on order of resurrection make the temporal priority unmistakable. 1×
AR["نَسْبِقَ"]·ben["আগে-যাব"]·DE["zuvorkommen"]·EN["will-precede"]·FR["zuvorkommen"]·heb["נַקְדִּים"]·HI["पेहले-पहुचैन"]·ID["mendahului"]·IT["phthasōmen"]·jav["ngrumiyini"]·KO["앞서지-않을-것이다"]·PT["precederemos"]·RU["опередим"]·ES["precederemos"]·SW["tawatangulia"]·TR["öne-geçeceğiz"]·urd["آگے-ہوں-گے"]
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
1. arrive, come upon, reach — To arrive at, come upon, or reach a place, state, or person — emphasizing attainment rather than priority. This dominant NT sense appears when Jesus declares the kingdom of God 'has come upon' his hearers (Matt 12:28; Luke 11:20), when Paul asks whether Israel 'attained' the law of righteousness (Rom 9:31), and when he affirms having 'reached' the Corinthians with the gospel (2 Cor 10:14). Spanish 'ha llegado' and 'alcanzamos' both stress arrival and reaching, not getting there first. 6×
AR["أَدْرَكَكُمْ","بَلَغْنا","تَبْلُغْ","جاءَ","قَد-بَلَغَت","وَصَلْنا"]·ben["এসে-গেছে","এসে-পড়েছে","এসেছে","পৌঁছল","পৌঁছেছি"]·DE["zuvorkommen","ἔφθασεν"]·EN["arrived","has-come","has-come-upon","we-came-first","we-have-attained"]·FR["devancer","zuvorkommen"]·heb["בָּאָה","הִגִּיעַ","הִגִּיעָה","הִגַּעְנוּ","הִשַּׂגְנוּ,"]·HI["अअ-गय","पहुँच-गयी-है","पहुंचा","पहुनच-गयअ","हम-पहुंचे","हुम-पहुनचे,"]·ID["datang","kami-telah-tiba","kita telah capai","sampai","sudah-sampai","telah-datang"]·IT["arrivare-prima","ephthasamen","ephthasen","precedere"]·jav["dumugi.","kita-dumugi","sampun-dumugi","sampun-rawuh"]·KO["닿았다","이르렀노라,","이르지","임하였다","임하였으니","임했다"]·PT["alcançou","alcançou.","chegamos"]·RU["-достиг","Настиг","достигли","достигло"]·ES["alcanzamos","ha-llegado","llegamos","llegó"]·SW["haikufikia","imewajia","tulilofikia","tuliwafikia","umewajia"]·TR["gelmiştir","ulastik","ulaştı","ulaştık"]·urd["آ-پہنچی-ہے","پہنچ-گیا-ہے","پہنچی۔","پہنچے"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
φθάνω, Refs 8th c.BC+, imperfect ἔφθανον Refs 5th c.BC+: future φθήσομαι Refs 8th c.BC+; but φθάσω [ᾰ] Refs 5th c.BC+: aorist ἔφθᾰσα Refs 5th c.BC+; optative 3rd.pers. singular φθάσειε Refs 5th c.BC+ (this tense prevails in later Gk., Refs 2nd c.BC+; Doric dialect ἔφθασσα Refs 3rd c.BC+aorist is ἔφθην,Refs 5th c.BC+, but the more usual form in Refs 5th c.BC+; plural ἔφθημεν, -ητε, -ησαν, Refs 5th…