ἀναστατόω
anastatóō
G387 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To disturb, cause disorder, or disrupt settled conditions; to drive out or provoke upheaval, often implying significant social, civil, or personal unrest. In context, typically refers to causing public commotion, unrest, or a state of turmoil, whether literally (as in driving people from their homes or cities) or figuratively (upsetting established ways or beliefs).
Semantic Range
to drive out (from home, city), to cause civil disorder, to provoke upheaval, to disrupt settled conditions, to uproot, to make an uproar, to disturb (socially or collectively)
Root / Etymology
From ἀναστατός ('driven from home, disturbed, unsettled'), itself derived from ἀνίστημι ('to raise, to make rise, to arise, to rise up') with the sense of causing to stand up or be removed from a fixed position. Thus, ἀναστατόω means to make someone/something ‘anastatos,’ that is, disturbed or uprooted. No evidence of non-Greek borrowing; the word formation is Greek.
Historical & Contextual Notes
ἀναστατόω appears mainly in Hellenistic and Koine Greek, attested in Jewish and Christian Greek literature, and used predominantly in contexts of civil unrest, expulsions, or significant disruption to order, particularly in Acts (NT). It commonly refers to major disturbances—often riots or forced displacement—rather than simply 'trouble.' In non-biblical Koine and papyrological sources, it can similarly denote uprooting, exile, or civil disorder. English translations that render it as 'trouble' may understate the scale implied; 'unsettle,' 'cause upheaval,' or 'provoke disorder' are closer to its core sense. Contrasts with ταράσσω ('to trouble/disturb emotionally') in that ἀναστατόω is more focused on social or civic turmoil than personal agitation. The word does not appear in classical Attic Greek but is productive in later Greek, reflecting Hellenistic social realities like population movements and urban disorder.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from a derivative of ἀνίστημι (in the sense of removal); properly, to drive out of home, i.e. (by implication) to disturb (literally or figuratively):--trouble, turn upside down, make an uproar.
Root Family
ἀναστατόω (anastatoō) — to cause upheaval, to unsettle, to drive out, to disturb, to provoke disorder
Word Forms
3 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G387-03 |
ἀναστατοῦντες | anastatountes | V PRS ACT PTCP NOM M PL |
who unsettle you | causing upheaval | 1 |
G387-01 |
ἀναστατώσαντες | anastatosantes | V AOR ACT PTCP NOM M PL |
having turned upside down | having caused upheaval | 1 |
G387-02 |
ἀναστατώσας | anastatosas | V AOR ACT PTCP NOM M SG |
who stirred up | having caused upheaval | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
3 total occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G387-01 |
Acts 17:6 | ἀναστατώσαντες | anastatosantes | V AOR ACT PTCP NOM M PL |
having turned upside down | having caused upheaval |
G387-02 |
Acts 21:38 | ἀναστατώσας | anastatosas | V AOR ACT PTCP NOM M SG |
who stirred up | having caused upheaval |
G387-03 |
Galatians 5:12 | ἀναστατοῦντες | anastatountes | V PRS ACT PTCP NOM M PL |
who unsettle you | causing upheaval |