to come up and take a position right at a person, place, or moment: to arrive and stand by, or to come upon, often suddenly
This verb joins a preposition meaning "upon" or "at" to the ordinary verb "to stand," so at root it pictures someone taking up a position right at a person, a place, or a moment. In the New Testament it almost always names the act of getting there: coming up to someone and standing beside them, usually all at once and without warning. It is a favorite of Luke, who uses it far more than anyone else, and it gives many of his scenes their sudden, cinematic quality.
The same verb covers a surprisingly wide range, and the flavor comes entirely from the scene:
- an angel or the Lord suddenly stands beside someone to reassure, heal, or announce
- a hostile crowd or the authorities descend on a person to seize, confront, or attack
- a time, a storm, or a disaster sets in and comes upon people unexpectedly
- someone is simply on hand, present and ready to act
Because the word says only that someone or something has taken up its position right there, it leaves open whether the arrival is welcome. That neutrality is what sets it slightly apart from the gentler παρίστημι, "to stand beside" or "to present oneself," and what ties it to ἐπέρχομαι, the word Luke and Paul use the same way for a day or a calamity bearing down on people.