to go out in front: to step forward, or to get ahead of the people you are with
TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled
The picture behind this word is simple and physical: someone who was standing or traveling with others moves out in front of them. It can be a few steps, as when Jesus goes a little farther into the garden and falls to the ground to pray, or a whole leg of a journey, as when Paul's companions sail on to Troas and wait for him there.
What changes from verse to verse is only how far ahead the person goes, and why:
Sometimes the point is the head start, as when friends are sent on to Corinth so that the gift will be ready before the rest of the group arrives.
Sometimes it is the position at the front, as when Judas walks in front of the crowd that has come to arrest Jesus.
Sometimes it is who reaches the place first, as when the crowds go around the lake on foot and beat Jesus to the far shore.
Greek had a small family of words for this, and the differences are worth keeping. προάγω usually means taking others forward, leading them, though it can also mean simply going on ahead. προπορεύω is used of the guide or herald who travels in front of someone with that person always in view. προτρέχω adds speed: running on ahead. This word is the plainest of the group. It says only that the mover ended up in front, whether on foot or by ship, whether by a few paces or by a day's travel.
Nuances
1ato move forward from where one is standing, going on a short way
TranslatabilityDirect
Mat 26:39Mrk 14:35Act 12:10
1bto travel on ahead to a place, arriving before the rest of the party
Act 20:5Act 20:132Co 9:5
1cto walk out in front of other people, leading the way
Luk 1:17*Luk 22:47
1dto reach a place before someone else does, getting there first
keeps the person physically on the move and out in front of the people followingLuk 22:47
Both
both put one person out in front of those who come behindLuk 1:17
Only go before
in English "go before" often means coming earlier in time or standing higher in rank, ideas this Greek verb does not carry
“go forward”
Comparison data is not available for this English gloss yet.
“went a little farther”
Comparison data is not available for this English gloss yet.
How proerchomai differs from similar Greek words
προάγωto take others forward or lead them, and so also to go ahead of them; it can carry people along, while this word describes only the mover's own position
This word can mean nothing more than moving forward a short distance from where a person is already standing, with nobody being led and nobody trailing behind.Mat 26:39Mrk 14:35Act 12:10
It is the word for beating other people to a place: crowds who run around the lake on foot and are standing there when the boat lands, or friends sent ahead so the arrangements are finished before the rest turn up.Mrk 6:33Act 20:52Co 9:5
Both
Both can picture one person out in front on the road while others come along behind.Mrk 10:32Luk 22:47
Both can describe going on ahead to a destination while the rest of the group is still to come.Mat 14:22Act 20:13
Only this word is used for moving someone else along, when guards or a crowd bring a prisoner out of his cell and set him in front of a judge or an assembly.Act 12:6Act 16:30Act 17:5Act 25:26
It can drop the idea of walking altogether and simply mean "earlier", said of things rather than people: a command given earlier and now set aside, words spoken earlier over Timothy, sins that reach the courtroom before the person who did them.Heb 7:181Ti 1:181Ti 5:24
It can carry a warning about running out ahead of where a person ought to be, pushing past the teaching of Christ instead of staying in it.2Jn 1:9
προπορεύωto travel in front as a guide or herald, always with the person coming behind in view
It can mean plain forward movement, a few steps or one street at a time, with nobody being led and nobody following.Mat 26:39Mrk 14:35Act 12:10
It is the word for getting somewhere first, whether by outrunning a crowd or by setting out early and waiting at the meeting point.Mrk 6:33Act 20:5Act 20:13
It covers sending people on in advance so that something is ready before you arrive.2Co 9:5
Both
Both are used of John, sent out ahead of the Lord to get people ready for him.Luk 1:17Luk 1:76
Both can picture someone moving at the head of a group that is following along behind.Luk 22:47Act 7:40
It can mean simply moving a little farther forward, with nobody to get ahead of. In Gethsemane Jesus goes a short way on from the disciples and falls to the ground to pray, and Peter and the angel walk on down one street before the angel leaves him.Mat 26:39Mrk 14:35Act 12:10
It is the word for an advance party sent on ahead to wait or to get something ready before the rest arrive. Luke's companions go on to Troas and wait there, the ship party sails ahead to Assos, and Paul sends the brothers on to Corinth so the promised gift is ready before he comes.Act 20:5Act 20:132Co 9:5
It can describe walking in front of people as their herald or leader, which is a position rather than a race. John will go ahead of the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, and Judas walks at the head of the crowd that comes to arrest Jesus.Luk 1:17Luk 22:47
Both
Both describe someone getting to a spot ahead of the people they are travelling with. The crowds reach the far shore before Jesus and the disciples land, and Zacchaeus reaches the sycamore tree before Jesus passes by.Mrk 6:33Luk 19:4
It says how the person got in front: on foot, at a run. Zacchaeus breaks into a run to reach a tree further along the road, and the two disciples are already running to the tomb.Luk 19:4Jhn 20:4
It can set one person's speed directly against another's. John says outright that the other disciple ran faster than Peter, which is why English versions often render it "outran".Jhn 20:4
παρέρχομαιto pass by something and leave it behind, and so also to pass away or come to an end; it moves past a point, while this word moves out to the front
Its core picture is moving out ahead of others, so it means to go on ahead and arrive first, as the crowd running to reach a place before Jesus.Mrk 6:33Act 20:5Act 20:13
It can mean to go before someone as a forerunner who prepares the way, as John the Baptist going ahead in the spirit of Elijah.Luk 1:17
It can mean to lead the way at the front of a group, as the man called Judas walking ahead of the crowd.Luk 22:47
Both
Both describe simple physical movement forward and appear side by side for the same action: at Gethsemane Jesus moves a little away from the disciples and falls to the ground.Mat 26:39Mrk 14:35
Its core picture is moving past something and leaving it behind, so it easily means to pass away or cease: heaven and earth, or a generation, will pass away.Mat 24:35Mat 24:34Luk 21:33
It can mean to pass over or skip something that should have been done, as in neglecting justice while keeping smaller rules.Luk 11:42
It applies to time elapsing, as when the season for safe sailing had already gone by.Act 27:9
proerchomai in the other biblical languages
קָדַםHebrew“to meet”the Hebrew verb for getting out in front of someone, though it leans toward meeting or confronting them, or toward acting early, rather than simply walking ahead
It can be a plain step forward, with nobody met and nobody led: Jesus goes a little farther from his disciples before he prays, and Peter and the angel simply move on down one street. The Hebrew word always has some other person or thing that is being gotten in front of.Mat 26:39Mrk 14:35Act 12:10
It is the ordinary travel word for part of a group setting out first and waiting for the rest to catch up, and for the crowd that hurries around on foot and gets to the far shore before the boat does. Nothing in it suggests welcome or threat, only who arrives first.Act 20:5Act 20:132Co 9:5Mrk 6:33
Both
Both words describe walking out at the head of others, and English Bibles say "go before" for either one. In Hebrew the singers go in front with the musicians behind, and God's love and faithfulness go out ahead of him; in Greek John will go on ahead of the Lord in the spirit and power of Elijah, and Judas walks in front of the crowd that comes to arrest Jesus. This narrow overlap is most of what the Greek word does and only one corner of what the Hebrew word does.Psa 68:25Psa 89:14Luk 1:17Luk 22:47
Only the Hebrew word turns hostile. The cords of death close in on a man, the day of trouble comes at him, and God is asked to go out and face an enemy down. It is also what a besieging army will not get to do to a defended city: come at it with a shield.2Sa 22:62Sa 22:19Psa 18:5Psa 18:18Psa 17:13Job 30:272Ki 19:32Isa 37:33Amo 9:10
It also covers going out to meet someone with what they need, which is why failing to do it can be held against a nation for generations: Ammon and Moab did not come out to meet Israel with bread and water, while the people of Tema did carry bread out to the runaway. Turned toward God's own action, it is his blessing and his mercy coming out to meet a person.Deu 23:4Neh 13:2Isa 21:14Psa 21:3Psa 79:8
It is a worship word in a way the Greek verb never is: coming into God's presence with thanksgiving, asking what to bring when you come before him, and a prayer that reaches him early in the morning.Psa 95:2Mic 6:6Psa 88:13
It can be about time rather than place: being up before the dawn, staying ahead of the night watches, running for Tarshish first rather than waiting to see what God would do, and the question of whether anyone has ever done God a favor first so that God owes them a repayment.Psa 119:147Psa 119:148Jon 4:2Job 41:11
What scholars say about proerchomai
BDAG divides προέρχομαι into three uses: movement forward in space or time (Mt 26:39;Mk 14:35;Ac 12:10), movement ahead of others going the same way, with an accusative of the person overtaken or led (Mk 6:33;Lk 22:47) and with ἐνώπιον at Lk 1:17, and going on ahead to a destination (Ac 20:5, 13; 2 Cor 9:5). LSJ records the same range in classical and Hellenistic authors, where the compound is also common of coming forward in public, and Moulton and Milligan cite documentary papyri for the ordinary sense of proceeding or advancing. The one genuinely contested point in the New Testament is textual rather than lexical: at Mk 6:33 the reading προῆλθον αὐτούς printed by the critical editions competes with συνῆλθον αὐτοῦ and related variants, discussed by Metzger. At Lk 1:17 commentators including Fitzmyer note the ambiguity of the antecedent of αὐτοῦ without disagreeing about the verb.
Sources
BDAG (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich), A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament, 3rd ed. (2000), s.v. προέρχομαιlexicon
LSJ (Liddell-Scott-Jones), A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed. with revised supplement (1996), s.v. προέρχομαιlexicon
James Hope Moulton and George Milligan, The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (1930), s.v. προέρχομαιlexicon
Bruce M. Metzger, A Textual Commentary on the Greek New Testament, 2nd ed. (1994), on Mark 6:33commentary
Joseph A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke I-IX, Anchor Bible 28 (1981), on Luke 1:17commentary