What does ἀνθίστημι (anthístēmi) mean in the Bible?
Ἀνθίστημι means to set oneself against, resist, or oppose. Paul's uses show that opposition can be sinful or faithful depending on what is resisted.
Greek · G436
ἀνθίστημι
To oppose
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ἀνθίστημι G436
Pronunciation anthístēmi
What does ἀνθίστημι (anthístēmi) mean in the Bible?
Ἀνθίστημι means to set oneself against, resist, or oppose. Paul's uses show that opposition can be sinful or faithful depending on what is resisted.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀνθίστημι (G436) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G436?
The BSB source-word alignment has 14 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include resist (3), opposed (2), [do so] (1), can resist (1), he has vigorously opposed (1).
Where does ἀνθίστημι (anthístēmi) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 5:39. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Timothy (3), Romans (3), Acts (2), 1 Peter (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Ἀνθίστημι means to set oneself against, resist, or oppose. Paul's uses show that opposition can be sinful or faithful depending on what is resisted. In 2 Timothy 3, corrupt teachers oppose the truth as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses. Romans 13 warns against resisting governing authority as God's appointed ordering, within the passage's account of public good and judgment.
Ephesians 6 commands believers to resist in the evil day by taking up God's armor and standing firm against spiritual schemes. The verb is therefore not a blanket command for compliance or resistance. Christian discernment asks whether one is opposing truth, rightful authority, temptation, or evil. The means also matter: believers stand in truth, righteousness, faith, the gospel of peace, salvation, God's word, and prayer.
How the Bible Uses It
Paul uses ἀνθίστημι for active opposition, condemning resistance to truth and rightful order while commanding resistance to spiritual evil through God's armor.
- 2Tim.3.8
Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these men oppose the truth. They are depraved in mind and disqualified from the faith.
The comparison with Moses' opponents identifies resistance to truth expressed through corrupt minds and counterfeit religion.
- Rom.13.2
Consequently, whoever resists authority is opposing what God has set in place, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves.
Resistance to governing authority is treated as resistance to God's ordering in a passage that describes rulers as servants for public good and justice.
- Eph.6.13
Therefore take up the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you will be able to stand your ground, and having done everything, to stand.
Believers resist the evil day by receiving God's full armor and standing, not by using fleshly domination against human enemies.
Book contextPassage context
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It resist 3× Luke 21:15, James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:9
opposed 2× Acts 13:8, 2 Timothy 3:8
[do so] 1× Romans 13:2
can resist 1× Romans 9:19
he has vigorously opposed 1× 2 Timothy 4:15
I opposed [him] 1× Galatians 2:11
is opposing 1× Romans 13:2
oppose 1× 2 Timothy 3:8
stand up to 1× Acts 6:10
to resist 1× Matthew 5:39
to stand your ground 1× Ephesians 6:13
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 5:39 ἀντιστῆναι to to resist Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Luke 21:15 ἀντιστῆναι to resist Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Acts 6:10 ἀντιστῆναι to stand up to Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Acts 13:8 ἀνθίστατο to opposed Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Romans 9:19 ἀνθέστηκεν to can resist Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Romans 13:2 ἀνθέστηκεν to is opposing Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Romans 13:2 ἀνθεστηκότες to [do so] Verb - Perfect Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Galatians 2:11 ἀντέστην to I opposed [him] Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular Ephesians 6:13 ἀντιστῆναι to to stand your ground Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active 2 Timothy 3:8 ἀντέστησαν to opposed Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Matthew 5:39
Aligned rows 14
Books represented 9
Matthew 1 Luke 1 Acts 2 Romans 3 Galatians 1 Ephesians 1 2 Timothy 3 James 1 1 Peter 1
Source forms
ἀντιστῆναι 4x antistēnai Matthew 5:39, Luke 21:15, Acts 6:10, Ephesians 6:13
ἀνθέστηκεν 2x anthestēken Romans 9:19, Romans 13:2
ἀντίστητε 2x antistēte James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:9
ἀνθεστηκότες 1x anthestēkotes Romans 13:2
ἀνθίστανται 1x anthistantai 2 Timothy 3:8
ἀνθίστατο 1x anthistato Acts 13:8
ἀντέστη 1x antestē 2 Timothy 4:15
ἀντέστην 1x antestēn Galatians 2:11
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active 4x Matthew 5:39, Luke 21:15, Acts 6:10, Ephesians 6:13
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 2nd Person Plural 2x James 4:7, 1 Peter 5:9
Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 2x Romans 9:19, Romans 13:2
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 1st Person Singular 1x Galatians 2:11
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x 2 Timothy 3:8
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x 2 Timothy 4:15
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular 1x Acts 13:8
Verb - Perfect Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Romans 13:2
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Name what is being resisted and test the proposed means by the passage before presenting resistance as faithfulness.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not use ἀνθίστημι to portray every disagreement with a leader or institution as rebellion against God.
- Do not use spiritual-warfare resistance to justify hostility toward people; Ephesians identifies spiritual powers and supplies nonfleshly armor.
Evidence Summary
FaithRevelation
Greek word. to oppose
Strong's G436
Lexical occurrences 14 verses Greek text appearances 14 times Word forms 4 forms 14 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link 1 Peter 5:5-11 Source Gloss
to oppose
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
14 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 5:39 Verb Second Aorist Active Infinitive
ἀντιστῆναι antisthnai
I take a stand against, oppose, resist
Read verse Luke 21:15 Verb Second Aorist Active Infinitive
ἀντιστῆναι antisthnai
I take a stand against, oppose, resist
Read verse Acts 6:10 Verb Second Aorist Active Infinitive
ἀντιστῆναι antisthnai
I take a stand against, oppose, resist
Read verse Acts 13:8 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle Indicative
ἀνθίστατο anqistato
I take a stand against, oppose, resist
Read verse Romans 9:19 Verb Third Person Singular Perfect Active Indicative
ἀνθέστηκε; anqesthken
I take a stand against, oppose, resist
Read verse Romans 13:2 Verb Third Person Singular Perfect Active Indicative
ἀνθέστηκεν· anqesthken
I take a stand against, oppose, resist
Read verse Romans 13:2 Verb Perfect Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀνθεστηκότες anqesthkotev
I take a stand against, oppose, resist
Read verse Galatians 2:11 Verb First Person Singular Second Aorist Active Indicative
ἀντέστην, antesthn
I take a stand against, oppose, resist
Read verse Ephesians 6:13 Verb Second Aorist Active Infinitive
ἀντιστῆναι antisthnai
I take a stand against, oppose, resist
Read verse 2 Timothy 3:8 Verb Third Person Plural Second Aorist Active Indicative
ἀντέστησαν antesthsan
I take a stand against, oppose, resist
Read verse 2 Timothy 3:8 Verb Third Person Plural Present Middle Indicative
ἀνθίστανται anqistantai
I take a stand against, oppose, resist
Read verse 2 Timothy 4:15 Verb Third Person Singular Perfect Active Indicative
ἀνθέστηκε anqesthken
I take a stand against, oppose, resist
Read verse James 4:7 Verb Second Person Plural Second Aorist Active Imperative
ἀντίστητε antisthte
I take a stand against, oppose, resist
Read verse 1 Peter 5:9 Verb Second Person Plural Second Aorist Active Imperative
ἀντίστητε antisthte
I take a stand against, oppose, resist
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 4 Aligned forms 14 Tenses Aorist, Perfect, Imperfect, Present Voices Active, Middle
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 4×
Aorist Active Matt 5:39 · Luke 21:15 · Acts 6:10 · Eph 6:13 4×
Indicative states a fact or reality 7×
Aorist Active Gal 2:11 · 2 Tim 3:8 · 2 Tim 4:15 3×
Perfect Active Rom 9:19 · Rom 13:2 2×
Imperfect Middle Acts 13:8 1×
Present Middle 2 Tim 3:8 1×
Imperative command or strong request 2×
Aorist Active Jas 4:7 · 1 Pet 5:9 2×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 1×
Perfect Active Rom 13:2 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 14 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 9 perfect 3 present 1 imperfect 1
Voice
active 12 middle 2
Mood
indicative 7 infinitive 4 imperative 2 participle 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 5:39 ἀντιστῆναι aorist active infinitive infinitive Luke 21:15 ἀντιστῆναι aorist active infinitive infinitive Acts 6:10 ἀντιστῆναι aorist active infinitive infinitive Acts 13:8 ἀνθίστατο imperfect middle indicative background Romans 9:19 ἀνθέστηκεν perfect active indicative resultant Romans 13:2 ἀνθέστηκεν perfect active indicative resultant Romans 13:2 ἀνθεστηκότες perfect active participle participle Galatians 2:11 ἀντέστην aorist active indicative completed Ephesians 6:13 ἀντιστῆναι aorist active infinitive infinitive 2 Timothy 3:8 ἀντέστησαν aorist active indicative completed 2 Timothy 3:8 ἀνθίστανται present middle indicative ongoing 2 Timothy 4:15 ἀντέστη aorist active indicative completed James 4:7 ἀντίστητε aorist active imperative imperative 1 Peter 5:9 ἀντίστητε aorist active imperative imperative
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
to stand against, oppose firmly
to stand against or resist
to stand against or resist
resist
Additional Occurrences
resist
Showing 5 selected witnesses from 14 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
ἀνθίστημι is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
Calls for firm opposition to the devil rooted in obedience. 1 Peter 5:5-11
The word describes the active resistance of false teachers against divine truth. 2 Timothy 3:1-9
Alexander’s resistance highlights the reality of opposition to the gospel message. 2 Timothy 4:9-15
Calls believers to active, faith-filled opposition to the devil. James 4:7–10
Canonical Themes
Faith Revelation
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Resistance is not automatically courageous. Jannes and Jambres become examples of stubborn opposition to God's revealed truth. Romans 13 cautions against self-authorized resistance to public order, while the chapter's own description of authority as God's servant for good provides the moral shape of that claim. Ephesians 6 then commands a different resistance: the church stands against spiritual evil by truth, righteousness, peace, faith, salvation, Scripture, and prayer.
No human being is named as the enemy in that armor passage. Teachers should therefore refuse slogans that make either submission or resistance absolute without context. Christians honor rightful authority, obey God above all, test teaching, resist the devil, and stand firm without adopting evil means. The verb calls for moral clarity about what we oppose and humble dependence on God for how we oppose it.
Anchor passage
2Tim.3.8
Doctrinal connections
- 2 Timothy 3:1-9, corrupt religion opposing truth
- Romans 13:1-7, authority, public good, judgment, and conscience
- Ephesians 6:10-20, spiritual resistance in God's armor and prayer
- Exodus 7:8-13, court magicians opposing Moses
- Daniel 3:13-30, faithful refusal under idolatrous command
- James 4:6-10, submitting to God and resisting the devil
Ἀνθίστημι combines the idea of standing with the preposition against. Its perfect forms can describe a settled posture of opposition, while commands to resist emphasize active steadfastness. The object and context determine whether that stance is faithful or rebellious.
From Old to New Testament
Pharaoh and his servants resist God's word, while faithful Israelites and exiles sometimes refuse idolatrous commands. Jesus withstands temptation through Scripture. The church resists spiritual evil under Christ's authority and refuses to treat human opponents as enemies to be crushed.
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain