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Greek verb · G305

ἀναβαίνω

anabainoan-ab-ah'-ee-no

to ascend

82 uses in the Greek text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key

Concordance spelling: anabaínō

Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's G305is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.

  • 10 of 27
    New Testament books
  • 27
    spellings

The definition in full

Strong's key (1890) · G305

to go up (literally or figuratively)

The King James renders it: arise, ascend (up), climb (go, grow, rise, spring) up, come (up).

James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.

Summary

anabaino is rendered "to ascend". It stands 82 times in the Greek text, across ten books.

  • Nineteen of the uses stand in Acts, more than in any other book.
  • Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Matthew 3:16As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him.
  • The Greek text spells it twenty-seven different ways.

The first use

As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him.

Matthew 3:16ἀνέβη

The first use, in the order of the New Testament's books.

Where the word stands

The word stands in ten of the 27 New Testament books.

The other 17 New Testament books never use the word.

What the word means

Each meaning, and the words it is translated by

How the Greek text is glossed, word by word

  • went up13
  • He went up6
  • having gone up5
  • going up4
  • do come up3
  • I went up3
  • we go up3
  • ascending2
  • goes up2
  • grew up2
  • Having ascended2
  • having come up2

and 32 more, 82 uses in all

The words built on the same word-part

Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.

ἀναβλέπωanablepoto look up/againUses25
ἀναβαθμόςanabathmosstairsUses2
ἀναβοάωanaboaoto cry outUses1
ἀναβολήanaboledelayUses1
ἀναβιβάζωanabibazoto pull upUses1
ἀνάβλεψιςanablepsisrecovery of sightUses1
ἀναβάλλομαιanaballomaito deferUses1

All 82, in canonical order

Every use, in order

Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.

27 spellings and their grammar

STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.

How it is spelled

  • ἀνέβη22
  • ἀνέβησαν10
  • ἀναβὰς7
  • ἀναβαίνει4
  • ἀναβαίνων4
  • ἀναβαίνειν3
  • ἀναβαίνομεν3
  • ἀναβαῖνον3
  • ἀναβαίνοντα3
  • ἀνέβην3
  • ἀναβαινόντων2
  • ἀναβαίνω2

and 15 more spellings in the ledger below.

The grammar of each form

  • verb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singular22V-2AAI-3S
  • verb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person plural10V-2AAI-3P
  • verb · aorist active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singular7V-2AAP-NSM
  • verb · present active, indicative · 3rd person singular4V-PAI-3S
  • verb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singular4V-PAP-NSM
  • verb · aorist active, indicative · 1st person singular3V-2AAI-1S
  • verb · present active, indicative · 1st person plural3V-PAI-1P
  • verb · present active, infinitive (“to…”)3V-PAN
  • verb · aorist active, command · 2nd person plural2V-2AAM-2P
  • verb · aorist active, participle · accusative (object) · masculine singular2V-2AAP-ASM
  • verb · present active, indicative · 1st person singular2V-PAI-1S
  • verb · present active, participle · accusative (object) · masculine singular2V-PAP-ASM

Matthew

nine uses
  • As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him.

    Matthew 3:16

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: went up
  • When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain and sat down. His disciples came to Him,

    Matthew 5:1

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: He went up
  • Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings.

    Matthew 13:7

    • ἀνέβησανanebesanverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: grew up
  • After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone,

    Matthew 14:23

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: He went up
  • And when they had climbed back into the boat, the wind died down.

    Matthew 14:32

    • ἀναβάντωνanabantonverb · aorist active, participle · genitive (“of”) · masculine pluraltagged: when were climbing
  • Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down.

    Matthew 15:29

    • ἀναβὰςanabasverb · aorist active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: having gone up
  • “But so that we may not offend them, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish you catch. When you open its mouth, you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for My tax and yours.”

    Matthew 17:27

    • ἀναβάνταanabantaverb · aorist active, participle · accusative (object) · masculine singulartagged: having raised
  • As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, He took the twelve disciples aside and said,

    Matthew 20:17

    • ἀναβαίνωνanabainonverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: going up
  • “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn Him to death

    Matthew 20:18

    • ἀναβαίνομενanabainomenverb · present active, indicative · 1st person pluraltagged: we go up

Mark

nine uses
  • As soon as Jesus came up out of the water, He saw the heavens breaking open and the Spirit descending on Him like a dove.

    Mark 1:10

    • ἀναβαίνωνanabainonverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: going up
  • Then Jesus went up on the mountain and called for those He wanted, and they came to Him.

    Mark 3:13

    • ἀναβαίνειanabaineiverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: He goes up
  • Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings, and they yielded no crop.

    Mark 4:7

    • ἀνέβησανanebesanverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: grew up
  • Still other seed fell on good soil, where it sprouted, grew up, and produced a crop—one bearing thirtyfold, another sixtyfold, and another a hundredfold.”

    Mark 4:8

    • ἀναβαίνονταanabainontaverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · neuter pluraltagged: growing up
  • But after it is planted, it grows to be the largest of all garden plants and puts forth great branches, so that the birds of the air nest in its shade.”

    Mark 4:32

    • ἀναβαίνειanabaineiverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: it grows up
  • Then He climbed into the boat with them, and the wind died down. And the disciples were utterly astounded,

    Mark 6:51

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: He went up
  • As they were going up the road to Jerusalem, Jesus was walking ahead of them. The disciples were amazed, but those who followed were afraid. Again Jesus took the Twelve aside and began to tell them what was going to happen to Him:

    Mark 10:32

    • ἀναβαίνοντεςanabainontesverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine pluraltagged: going up
  • “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn Him to death and will deliver Him over to the Gentiles,

    Mark 10:33

    • ἀναβαίνομενanabainomenverb · present active, indicative · 1st person pluraltagged: we go up
  • So the crowd went up and began asking Pilate to keep his custom.

    Mark 15:8

    • ἀναβὰςanabasverb · aorist active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: having come up

Luke

nine uses
  • So Joseph also went up from Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to the city of David called Bethlehem, since he was from the house and line of David.

    Luke 2:4

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: Went up
  • And when He was twelve years old, they went up according to the custom of the Feast.

    Luke 2:42

    • ἀναβαινόντωνanabainontonverb · present active, participle · genitive (“of”) · masculine pluraltagged: when were going up
  • but they could not find a way through the crowd. So they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.

    Luke 5:19

    • ἀναβάντεςanabantesverb · aorist active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine pluraltagged: having gone up
  • About eight days after Jesus had said these things, He took with Him Peter, John, and James, and went up on a mountain to pray.

    Luke 9:28

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: He went up
  • “Two men went up to the temple to pray. One was a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.

    Luke 18:10

    • ἀνέβησανanebesanverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: went up
  • Then Jesus took the Twelve aside and said to them, “Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and everything the prophets have written about the Son of Man will be fulfilled.

    Luke 18:31

    • ἀναβαίνομενanabainomenverb · present active, indicative · 1st person pluraltagged: we go up
  • So he ran on ahead and climbed a sycamore tree to see Him, since Jesus was about to pass that way.

    Luke 19:4

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: he went up
  • After Jesus had said this, He went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.

    Luke 19:28

    • ἀναβαίνωνanabainonverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: going up
  • “Why are you troubled,” Jesus asked, “and why do doubts arise in your hearts?

    Luke 24:38

    • ἀναβαίνουσινanabainousinverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: do come up

John

sixteen uses
  • Then He declared, “Truly, truly, I tell you, you will all see heaven open and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

    John 1:51

    • ἀναβαίνονταςanabainontasverb · present active, participle · accusative (object) · masculine pluraltagged: ascending
  • When the Jewish Passover was near, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

    John 2:13

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: went up
  • No one has ascended into heaven except the One who descended from heaven—the Son of Man.

    John 3:13

    • ἀναβέβηκενanabebekenverb · perfect active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: has gone up
  • Some time later there was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.

    John 5:1

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: went up
  • Then what will happen if you see the Son of Man ascend to where He was before?

    John 6:62

    • ἀναβαίνονταanabainontaverb · present active, participle · accusative (object) · masculine singulartagged: ascending
  • Go up to the feast on your own. I am not going up to this feast, because My time has not yet come.”

    John 7:8

    • ἀνάβητεanabeteverb · aorist active, command · 2nd person pluraltagged: do go up
    • ἀναβαίνωanabainoverb · present active, indicative · 1st person singulartagged: am going up
  • But after His brothers had gone up to the feast, He also went—not publicly, but in secret.

    John 7:10

    • ἀνέβησανanebesanverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: had gone up
    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: went up
  • About halfway through the feast, Jesus went up to the temple courts and began to teach.

    John 7:14

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: went up
  • “Truly, truly, I tell you, whoever does not enter the sheepfold by the gate, but climbs in some other way, is a thief and a robber.

    John 10:1

    • ἀναβαίνωνanabainonverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: climbing up
  • Now the Jewish Passover was near, and many people went up from the country to Jerusalem to purify themselves before the Passover.

    John 11:55

    • ἀνέβησανanebesanverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: went up
  • Now there were some Greeks among those who went up to worship at the feast.

    John 12:20

    • ἀναβαινόντωνanabainontonverb · present active, participle · genitive (“of”) · masculine pluraltagged: coming up
  • “Do not cling to Me,” Jesus said, “for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go and tell My brothers, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’”

    John 20:17

    • ἀναβέβηκαanabebekaverb · perfect active, indicative · 1st person singulartagged: have I ascended
    • ἀναβαίνωanabainoverb · present active, indicative · 1st person singulartagged: I am ascending
  • So Simon Peter went aboard and dragged the net ashore. It was full of large fish, 153, but even with so many, the net was not torn.

    John 21:11

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: Went up

Acts

nineteen uses
  • When they arrived, they went to the upper room where they were staying: Peter and John, James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James.

    Acts 1:13

    • ἀνέβησανanebesanverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: they went up
  • For David did not ascend into heaven, but he himself says: ‘The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit at My right hand

    Acts 2:34

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: ascended
  • One afternoon Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour.

    Acts 3:1

    • ἀνέβαινονanebainonverb · imperfect active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: were going up
  • When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his brothers, the children of Israel.

    Acts 7:23

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: it came
  • “How can I,” he said, “unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

    Acts 8:31

    • ἀναβάνταanabantaverb · aorist active, participle · accusative (object) · masculine singulartagged: having come up
  • When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, but went on his way rejoicing.

    Acts 8:39

    • ἀνέβησανanebesanverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: they came up
  • Cornelius stared at him in fear and asked, “What is it, Lord?” The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have ascended as a memorial offering before God.

    Acts 10:4

    • ἀνέβησανanebesanverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: have ascended
  • The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray.

    Acts 10:9

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: went up
  • So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers took issue with him

    Acts 11:2

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: went up
  • And after engaging these men in sharp debate, Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.

    Acts 15:2

    • ἀναβαίνεινanabaineinverb · present active, infinitive (“to…”)tagged: to go up
  • When Paul had landed at Caesarea, he went up and greeted the church at Jerusalem. Then he went down to Antioch.

    Acts 18:22

    • ἀναβὰςanabasverb · aorist active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: having gone up
  • Then Paul went back upstairs, broke bread, and ate. And after speaking until daybreak, he departed.

    Acts 20:11

    • ἀναβὰςanabasverb · aorist active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: Having gone up
  • And after we had said our farewells, we went aboard the ship, and they returned home.

    Acts 21:6

    • ἀνέβημενanebemenverb · aorist active, indicative · 1st person pluraltagged: we went up
  • When we heard this, we and the people there pleaded with Paul not to go up to Jerusalem.

    Acts 21:12

    • ἀναβαίνεινanabaineinverb · present active, infinitive (“to…”)tagged: to go up
  • After these days, we packed up and went on to Jerusalem.

    Acts 21:15

    • ἀνεβαίνομενanebainomenverb · imperfect active, indicative · 1st person pluraltagged: we were ascending
  • While they were trying to kill him, the commander of the Roman regiment received a report that all Jerusalem was in turmoil.

    Acts 21:31

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: there came
  • You can verify for yourself that no more than twelve days ago I went up to Jerusalem to worship.

    Acts 24:11

    • ἀνέβηνanebenverb · aorist active, indicative · 1st person singulartagged: I went up
  • Three days after his arrival in the province, Festus went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem,

    Acts 25:1

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: he went up
  • But Festus, wishing to do the Jews a favor, said to Paul, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem to stand trial before me on these charges?”

    Acts 25:9

    • ἀναβὰςanabasverb · aorist active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: having gone up

Romans

one use
  • But the righteousness that is by faith says: “Do not say in your heart, ‘Who will ascend into heaven?’ (that is, to bring Christ down)

    Romans 10:6

    • ἀναβήσεταιanabesetaiverb · future middle form, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: will ascend

1 Corinthians

one use
  • Rather, as it is written: “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him.”

    1 Corinthians 2:9

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: has entered

Galatians

two uses
  • Fourteen years later I went up again to Jerusalem, accompanied by Barnabas. I took Titus along also.

    Galatians 2:1

    • ἀνέβηνanebenverb · aorist active, indicative · 1st person singulartagged: I went up
  • I went in response to a revelation and set before them the gospel that I preach among the Gentiles. But I spoke privately to those recognized as leaders, for fear that I was running or had already run in vain.

    Galatians 2:2

    • ἀνέβηνanebenverb · aorist active, indicative · 1st person singulartagged: I went up

Ephesians

three uses
  • This is why it says: “When He ascended on high, He led captives away, and gave gifts to men.”

    Ephesians 4:8

    • ἀναβὰςanabasverb · aorist active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: Having ascended
  • What does “He ascended” mean, except that He also descended to the lower parts of the earth?

    Ephesians 4:9

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: He ascended
  • He who descended is the very One who ascended above all the heavens, in order to fill all things.

    Ephesians 4:10

    • ἀναβὰςanabasverb · aorist active, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: having ascended

Revelation

thirteen uses
  • After this I looked and saw a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had previously heard speak to me like a trumpet was saying, “Come up here, and I will show you what must happen after these things.”

    Revelation 4:1

    • ἀνάβαanabaverb · aorist active, command · 2nd person singulartagged: do come up
  • And I saw another angel ascending from the east, with the seal of the living God. And he called out in a loud voice to the four angels who had been given power to harm the land and the sea:

    Revelation 7:2

    • ἀναβαίνονταanabainontaverb · present active, participle · accusative (object) · masculine singulartagged: is ascending
  • And the smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, rose up before God from the hand of the angel.

    Revelation 8:4

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: went up
  • The star opened the pit of the Abyss, and smoke rose out of it like the smoke of a great furnace, and the sun and the air were darkened by the smoke from the pit.

    Revelation 9:2

    • ἀνέβηanebeverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: went up
  • When the two witnesses have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the Abyss will wage war with them, and will overpower and kill them.

    Revelation 11:7

    • ἀναβαῖνονanabainonverb · present active, participle · nominative (subject) · neuter singulartagged: is coming up
  • And the witnesses heard a loud voice from heaven saying, “Come up here.” And they went up to heaven in a cloud as their enemies watched them.

    Revelation 11:12

    • ἀνάβατεanabateverb · aorist active, command · 2nd person pluraltagged: do come up
    • ἀνέβησανanebesanverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: they went up
  • Then I saw a beast with ten horns and seven heads rising out of the sea. There were ten royal crowns on its horns and blasphemous names on its heads.

    Revelation 13:1

    • ἀναβαῖνονanabainonverb · present active, participle · accusative (object) · neuter singulartagged: rising
  • Then I saw another beast rising out of the earth. This beast had two horns like a lamb, but spoke like a dragon.

    Revelation 13:11

    • ἀναβαῖνονanabainonverb · present active, participle · accusative (object) · neuter singulartagged: rising
  • And the smoke of their torment rises forever and ever. Day and night there is no rest for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

    Revelation 14:11

    • ἀναβαίνειanabaineiverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: goes up
  • The beast that you saw—it was, and now is no more, but is about to come up out of the Abyss and go to its destruction. And those who dwell on the earth whose names were not written in the Book of Life from the foundation of the world will marvel when they see the beast that was, and is not, and yet will be.

    Revelation 17:8

    • ἀναβαίνεινanabaineinverb · present active, infinitive (“to…”)tagged: to come up
  • And a second time they called out: “Hallelujah! Her smoke rises forever and ever.”

    Revelation 19:3

    • ἀναβαίνειanabaineiverb · present active, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: goes up
  • And they marched across the broad expanse of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them.

    Revelation 20:9

    • ἀνέβησανanebesanverb · aorist active, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: they marched up

Where it leads

How the numbers are counted

Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.

Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.

The family is read from the lexicon by the stem the two words share, with the accents off, and a person or a place named on the stem is left out.

Hebrew and Greek text, word tagging and grammar: STEP Bible (www.STEPBible.org), Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0. Their grammar codes are written out in English here and shown as tagged beside each one.

Meaning and senses: STEP Bible TBESG (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0), the Brief lexicon based on Abbott-Smith (1922).

Dictionary key: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890, public domain). English verse text: Berean Standard Bible (public domain, 2023).

Revised 2026-09-05. Every cited work, the sources registry →