What does συλλαμβάνω (syllambánō) mean in the Bible?
Syllambano means to take hold together, and its New Testament use moves through several concrete settings. It can describe conception, as Elizabeth and Mary are said to conceive.
Greek · G4815
συλλαμβάνω
To seize/conceive/help
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συλλαμβάνω G4815
Pronunciation syllambánō
What does συλλαμβάνω (syllambánō) mean in the Bible?
Syllambano means to take hold together, and its New Testament use moves through several concrete settings. It can describe conception, as Elizabeth and Mary are said to conceive.
Reader summary
Full entry for συλλαμβάνω (G4815) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G4815?
The BSB source-word alignment has 16 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include arrested (2), has conceived (2), to arrest (2), [and] help (1), became pregnant (1).
Where does συλλαμβάνω (syllambánō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 26:55. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (7), Acts (4), James (1), John (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Syllambano means to take hold together, and its New Testament use moves through several concrete settings. It can describe conception, as Elizabeth and Mary are said to conceive. It can describe help, as fishing partners come to assist with the overflowing catch. It can describe arrest or seizure, as Jesus, Peter, Paul, and others are taken by hostile authorities.
It can even describe desire conceiving sin in James. The word therefore must not be reduced to one English gloss. Its common thread is a taking hold that brings something or someone into a new condition: a child conceived, a burden shared, a prisoner seized, or desire bringing sin toward birth.
How the Bible Uses It
Syllambano gathers conception, help, and seizure under the idea of taking hold. Context determines whether the action is life-giving, cooperative, hostile, legal, or morally destructive.
- Luke.1.31
Behold, you will conceive and give birth to a son, and you are to give Him the name Jesus.
The angel tells Mary she will conceive and bear a son. Here the word belongs to the promised birth of Jesus, not to arrest or violence.
- Luke.5.7
So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
The partners are signaled to come and help with the catch. Syllambano can name cooperative help, not only force.
- Luke.22.54
Then they seized Jesus, led Him away, and took Him into the house of the high priest. And Peter followed at a distance.
Jesus is seized and led away to the high priest's house. The word marks the beginning of the Passion custody sequence.
- John.18.12
Then the band of soldiers, with its commander and the officers of the Jews, arrested Jesus and bound Him.
The soldiers and officers arrest and bind Jesus. John uses the word in a controlled scene where Jesus' hour is not outside divine purpose.
- Acts.12.3
And seeing that this pleased the Jews, Herod proceeded to seize Peter during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
Herod proceeds to seize Peter. The word names political and religious pressure against apostolic witness.
- Jas.1.15
Then after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
Desire is pictured as conceiving and giving birth to sin. The conception sense becomes moral imagery for temptation's inward course.
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 arrested 2× John 18:12, Acts 1:16
has conceived 2× Luke 1:36, James 1:15
to arrest 2× Matthew 26:55, Mark 14:48
[and] help 1× Luke 5:7
became pregnant 1× Luke 1:24
seized 1× Acts 26:21
they had taken 1× Luke 5:9
they seized 1× Luke 22:54
to help 1× Philippians 4:3
to seize 1× Acts 12:3
was conceived 1× Luke 2:21
was seized 1× Acts 23:27
you will conceive 1× Luke 1:31
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 26:55 συλλαβεῖν to to arrest Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Mark 14:48 συλλαβεῖν to to arrest Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active Luke 1:24 συνέλαβεν to became pregnant Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Luke 1:31 συλλήμψῃ to you will conceive Verb - Future Indicative Middle - 2nd Person Singular Luke 1:36 συνείληφεν to has conceived Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular Luke 2:21 συλλημφθῆναι to was conceived Verb - Aorist Infinitive Passive Luke 5:7 συλλαβέσθαι to [and] help Verb - Aorist Infinitive Middle Luke 5:9 συνέλαβον to they had taken Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Luke 22:54 Συλλαβόντες to they seized Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural John 18:12 συνέλαβον to arrested 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 26:55
Aligned rows 16
Books represented 7
Matthew 1 Mark 1 Luke 7 John 1 Acts 4 Philippians 1 James 1
Source forms
συλλαβεῖν 3x syllabein Matthew 26:55, Mark 14:48, Acts 12:3
συνέλαβον 2x synelabon Luke 5:9, John 18:12
συλλαβέσθαι 1x syllabesthai Luke 5:7
συλλαβόμενοι 1x syllabomenoi Acts 26:21
Συλλαβόντες 1x Syllabontes Luke 22:54
συλλαβοῦσα 1x syllabousa James 1:15
συλλαβοῦσιν 1x syllabousin Acts 1:16
συλλαμβάνου* 1x syllambanou Philippians 4:3
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active 3x Matthew 26:55, Mark 14:48, Acts 12:3
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 2x Luke 5:9, John 18:12
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Luke 1:24
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Middle 1x Luke 5:7
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Passive 1x Luke 2:21
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Dative Masculine Plural 1x Acts 1:16
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Feminine Singular 1x James 1:15
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Luke 22:54
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Let each passage define whether the taking hold is life-giving, cooperative, coercive, or morally destructive.
- Use the word's range to sharpen context reading rather than to build one broad doctrine from the verb alone.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that syllambano always means arrest.
- Do not claim that the conception uses and seizure uses teach the same theological idea.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Seize actively or conceive; fundamentally means to grasp or take hold of something concrete or abstract.
Strong's G4815
Lexical occurrences 16 verses Greek text appearances 16 times Word forms 4 forms 16 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 5:7 Source Gloss
to seize/conceive/help
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 26:55 Verb Second Aorist Active Infinitive
συλλαβεῖν sullabein
I seize, apprehend, become pregnant
Read verse Mark 14:48 Verb Second Aorist Active Infinitive
συλλαβεῖν sullabein
I seize, apprehend, become pregnant
Read verse Luke 1:24 Verb Third Person Singular Second Aorist Active Indicative
συνέλαβεν sunelaben
I seize, apprehend, become pregnant
Read verse Luke 1:31 Verb Second Person Singular Future Middle Deponent Indicative
συλλήψῃ sullhyh
I seize, apprehend, become pregnant
Read verse Luke 1:36 Verb Second Perfect Active Participle Nominative Singular Feminine
συνειληφυῖα suneilhfuia
I seize, apprehend, become pregnant
Read verse Luke 2:21 Verb Aorist Passive Infinitive
συλληφθῆναι sullhfqhnai
I seize, apprehend, become pregnant
Read verse Luke 5:7 Verb Second Aorist Middle Infinitive
συλλαβέσθαι sullabesqai
I seize, apprehend, become pregnant
Read verse Luke 5:9 Verb Third Person Plural Second Aorist Active Indicative
συνέλαβον· sunelabon
I seize, apprehend, become pregnant
Read verse Luke 22:54 Verb Second Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
Συλλαβόντες sullabontev
I seize, apprehend, become pregnant
Read verse John 18:12 Verb Third Person Plural Second Aorist Active Indicative
συνέλαβον sunelabon
I seize, apprehend, become pregnant
Read verse Acts 1:16 Verb Second Aorist Active Participle Dative Plural Masculine
συλλαβοῦσι sullabousin
I seize, apprehend, become pregnant
Read verse Acts 12:3 Verb Second Aorist Active Infinitive
συλλαβεῖν sullabein
I seize, apprehend, become pregnant
Read verse Acts 23:27 Verb Aorist Passive Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
συλληφθέντα sullhfqenta
I seize, apprehend, become pregnant
Read verse Acts 26:21 Verb Second Aorist Middle Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
συλλαβόμενοι sullabomenoi
I seize, apprehend, become pregnant
Read verse Philippians 4:3 Verb Second Person Singular Present Middle Imperative
συλλαμβάνου sullambanou
I seize, apprehend, become pregnant
Read verse James 1:15 Verb Second Aorist Active Participle Nominative Singular Feminine
συλλαβοῦσα sullabousa
I seize, apprehend, become pregnant
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 16 Tenses Aorist, Future, Perfect, Present Voices Active, Middle, Passive
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 5×
Aorist Active Matt 26:55 · Mark 14:48 · Acts 12:3 3×
Aorist Passive Luke 2:21 1×
Aorist Middle Luke 5:7 1×
Indicative states a fact or reality 5×
Aorist Active Luke 5:9 · John 18:12 · Luke 1:24 3×
Future Middle Luke 1:31 1×
Perfect Active Luke 1:36 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 5×
Aorist Active Luke 22:54 · Acts 1:16 · Jas 1:15 3×
Aorist Passive Acts 23:27 1×
Aorist Middle Acts 26:21 1×
Imperative command or strong request 1×
Present Middle Phil 4:3 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 16 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 13 future 1 perfect 1 present 1
Voice
active 10 middle 4 passive 2
Mood
participle 5 infinitive 5 indicative 5 imperative 1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 26:55 συλλαβεῖν aorist active infinitive infinitive Mark 14:48 συλλαβεῖν aorist active infinitive infinitive Luke 1:24 συνέλαβεν aorist active indicative completed Luke 1:31 συλλήμψῃ future middle indicative prospective Luke 1:36 συνείληφεν perfect active indicative resultant Luke 2:21 συλλημφθῆναι aorist passive infinitive infinitive Luke 5:7 συλλαβέσθαι aorist middle infinitive infinitive Luke 5:9 συνέλαβον aorist active indicative completed Luke 22:54 Συλλαβόντες aorist active participle participle John 18:12 συνέλαβον aorist active indicative completed Acts 1:16 συλλαβοῦσιν aorist active participle participle Acts 12:3 συλλαβεῖν aorist active infinitive infinitive Acts 23:27 συλλημφθέντα aorist passive participle participle Acts 26:21 συλλαβόμενοι aorist middle participle participle Philippians 4:3 συλλαμβάνου present middle imperative imperative James 1:15 συλλαβοῦσα aorist active participle participle
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.
Biblical Witnesses
to call upon for help or assistance in a shared task
of a woman becoming pregnant, conceiving offspring
to arrest or take into custody as a prisoner
metaphorically, of desire giving birth to or producing sin
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 16 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
συλλαμβάνω is built from these roots:
For the Preacher and Teacher
Syllambano reminds teachers that a lexical root may travel through very different scenes without losing all connection. In Luke 1, conception serves God's saving promise. In Luke 5, taking hold becomes partnership in a surprising catch. In the Passion and Acts, seizure shows hostile power laying hands on Jesus' servants. In James, desire conceives sin and moves toward death.
The word does not make those scenes the same. It helps readers notice how Scripture can use one taking-hold verb for birth, help, arrest, and temptation. Faithful teaching keeps each scene governed by its own subject, object, and moral direction. That discipline keeps range from becoming confusion.
Anchor passage
John.18.12
Doctrinal connections
- Luke 1:31: conception language serves the announcement of the Son who will be born to Mary.
- Luke 5:7: shared help shows human partners receiving and managing Jesus' abundant provision.
- Luke 22:54: Jesus' arrest begins the path toward His suffering and saving death.
- John 18:12: Jesus is arrested and bound, yet John's Gospel has already shown His willing obedience.
- Acts 12:3: apostolic mission faces coercive opposition from rulers.
- James 1:15: desire conceiving sin warns that temptation has an inward, deadly progression.
The syn-prefix can suggest taking together or taking hold with, but the actual sense is controlled by context. The same verb can describe conception, assistance, capture, or moral conception.
From Old to New Testament
Biblical narratives repeatedly distinguish God's life-giving action from human coercion and from sin's inward growth. Syllambano gives New Testament scenes a concrete verb for those different kinds of taking hold without merging them into one doctrine.
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