StrongerBible

anechō

ἀνέχω

GreekG0430bear with, endure, ...

Appears 15 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Mat 17:17Mrk 9:19Luk 9:41Act 18:141Co 4:122Co 11:1 (2×)2Co 11:42Co 11:192Co 11:20Eph 4:2Col 3:132Th 1:42Ti 4:3Heb 13:22
Compound of
Root family
Names & words formed with this
Word studyan-EKH-om-aheeverb

What anechō means

to bear with someone or something: to put up with, tolerate, or endure patiently instead of reacting against it

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled

At its root this verb pictures holding yourself up against something rather than striking back at it. When a person tries your patience or a hardship presses on you, to bear with it is to stay put under it and not retaliate, reject it, or give up. English almost always needs a small phrase to carry it: "bear with," "put up with," "endure," or "tolerate."

Two everyday shades run through its uses. Most often it describes forbearance toward people, bearing with their faults, their foolish talk, even their mistreatment, as when Paul asks the Corinthians to "bear with" him, or when believers are told to be "bearing with one another in love." Less often it describes holding up under hard circumstances, such as the persecution a believer endures.

The tone is not grim resignation but active, often loving restraint. In Ephesians and Colossians it stands beside humility and forgiveness as something Christians deliberately do for one another. It is close to steadfast endurance (ὑπομένω) and to patient long-suffering (μακροθυμέω), but its own emphasis falls on tolerating the person or the affront in front of you.

Nuances

1ato bear with people: to put up with someone and what they say or do, out of patience or love
Mat 17:17Mrk 9:19Luk 9:41Act 18:142Co 11:1 (2×)2Co 11:42Co 11:192Co 11:20Eph 4:2Col 3:132Ti 4:3Heb 13:22
1bto endure hardship: to hold up under affliction or persecution without giving way
TranslatabilityDirect
1Co 4:122Th 1:4

What scholars say about anechō

The verb appears in the New Testament almost always in the middle voice (ἀνέχομαι) and is formed from ἀνά plus ἔχω, literally to hold up. BDAG glosses it "to regard with tolerance, endure, bear with, put up with," typically governing a genitive of the person or thing borne. LSJ traces its classical range from "hold up" to "endure, submit to." In the New Testament the uses cluster into interpersonal forbearance (Eph 4:2; Col 3:13; 2 Cor 11) and endurance of affliction (2 Thess 1:4; 1 Cor 4:12), the same core notion of restraint under pressure applied to persons and to circumstances.

Sources

  • BDAG, s.v. ἀνέχωlexicon
  • LSJ, s.v. ἀνέχωlexicon
  • Moulton and Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament, s.v. ἀνέχομαιlexicon

All attested forms of ἀνέχω

present middle-or-passive indicative 2p

ἀνέχεσθε

2Co 11:4, 2Co 11:19, 2Co 11:20, 2Th 1:4

future middle indicative 1s

ἀνέξομαι

Mat 17:17, Mrk 9:19, Luk 9:41

present middle-or-passive participle nominative m p

ἀνεχόμενοι

Eph 4:2, Col 3:13

future middle indicative 3p

ἀνέξονται

2Ti 4:3

imperfect middle indicative 2p

ἀνείχεσθέ

2Co 11:1

present middle-or-passive imperative 2p

ἀνέχεσθε

Heb 13:22

present middle-or-passive indicative 1p

ἀνεχόμεθα

1Co 4:12

present middle indicative 2p

ἀνέχεσθέ

2Co 11:1

second-aorist middle indicative 1s

ἀνεσχόμην

Act 18:14