What does διαπεράω (diaperáō) mean in the Bible?
To cross over is to move from one side to another. The Gospel narratives use this word for Jesus' movement by boat, and Acts uses it for a ship bound for Phoenicia.
Greek · G1276
διαπεράω
To cross entirely
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διαπεράωG1276
Pronunciationdiaperáō
What does διαπεράω (diaperáō) mean in the Bible?
To cross over is to move from one side to another. The Gospel narratives use this word for Jesus' movement by boat, and Acts uses it for a ship bound for Phoenicia.
Reader summary
Full entry for διαπεράω (G1276) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1276?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include they had crossed over (2), can [anyone] cross (1), crossed over (1), crossing over (1), had again crossed (1).
Where does διαπεράω (diaperáō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 9:1. Its strongest book concentrations include Mark (2), Matthew (2), Acts (1), Luke (1).
What This Word Actually Means
To cross over is to move from one side to another. The Gospel narratives use this word for Jesus' movement by boat, and Acts uses it for a ship bound for Phoenicia. Such crossings locate people within an account. They do not automatically represent entering a new spiritual season, overcoming every barrier, or arriving at a personal destiny. The events on either side of the crossing must be read in their own terms.
Luke 16:26 uses crossing in the parable of the rich man and Lazarus, where a fixed chasm prevents passage. The inability to cross is part of the story's serious reversal and warning. The dialogue then turns to whether the rich man's brothers will listen to Moses and the Prophets. Attend to that stated appeal rather than turning one spatial verb into a detailed map of the unseen world or a claim that material poverty by itself earns salvation.
source_lexiconPassage contextBook context
How the Bible Uses It
Jesus' boat journeys and an ordinary shipping movement establish the word's travel use. Luke's parable places an impossible crossing within a warning that culminates in hearing Moses and the Prophets.
- Matt.9.1
Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own town.
Jesus crosses by boat and returns to His own town before the account of the paralytic. The crossing locates the next event; it does not itself explain the authority to forgive described afterward.
- Mark.5.21
When Jesus had again crossed by boat to the other side, a large crowd gathered around Him beside the sea.
A renewed crossing brings Jesus to a gathered crowd before Jairus approaches. Mark names movement and setting without declaring every arrival to be a symbolic new stage in a believer's life.
- Acts.21.2
Finding a ship crossing over to Phoenicia, we boarded it and set sail.
The travelers find a ship crossing toward Phoenicia and board it. The named route and subsequent unloading at Tyre keep this usage within concrete travel arrangements.
- Luke.16.26
And besides all this, a great chasm has been fixed between us and you, so that even those who wish cannot cross from here to you, nor can anyone cross from there to us.’
The fixed chasm prevents crossing in the parable's dialogue. Verses 29-31 bring the exchange to the need to hear Moses and the Prophets, so the barrier should be read within that warning.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itthey had crossed over2×Matthew 14:34, Mark 6:53
can [anyone] cross1×Luke 16:26
crossed over1×Matthew 9:1
crossing over1×Acts 21:2
had again crossed1×Mark 5:21
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 9:1διεπέρασενtocrossed overVerb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person SingularMatthew 14:34διαπεράσαντεςtothey had crossed overVerb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine PluralMark 5:21διαπεράσαντοςtohad again crossedVerb - Aorist Participle Active - Genitive Masculine SingularMark 6:53διαπεράσαντεςtothey had crossed overVerb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine PluralLuke 16:26διαπερῶσινtocan [anyone] crossVerb - Present Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person PluralActs 21:2διαπερῶνtocrossing overVerb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Neuter Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 9:1
Aligned rows6
Books represented4
Matthew2Mark2Luke1Acts1
Source forms
διαπεράσαντες2xdiaperasantesMatthew 14:34, Mark 6:53
διαπεράσαντος1xdiaperasantosMark 5:21
διαπερῶν1xdiaperōnActs 21:2
διαπερῶσιν1xdiaperōsinLuke 16:26
διεπέρασεν1xdieperasenMatthew 9:1
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural2xMatthew 14:34, Mark 6:53
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular1xMatthew 9:1
Verb - Aorist Participle Active - Genitive Masculine Singular1xMark 5:21
Verb - Present Participle Active - Accusative Neuter Singular1xActs 21:2
Verb - Present Subjunctive Active - 3rd Person Plural1xLuke 16:26
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Keep the warning directed toward attentive hearing and responsible response rather than speculation about particular individuals after death.
- Discuss neglect of vulnerable neighbors without reducing salvation to a person's material circumstances.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that crossing over promises personal advancement; Acts 21:2 uses the word for finding and boarding a ship.
- Do not claim that the verb supplies a complete account of the afterlife; Luke's dialogue directs readers toward hearing Moses and the Prophets.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. to cross entirely
Strong'sG1276
Lexical occurrences6 versesGreek text appearances6 timesWord forms3 forms6 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
to cross entirely
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 9:1Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
διεπέρασεdieperasen
I cross over
Read verseMatthew 14:34Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
διαπεράσαντεςdiaperasantev
I cross over
Read verseMark 5:21Verb Aorist Active Participle Genitive Singular Masculine
διαπεράσαντοςdiaperasantov
I cross over
Read verseMark 6:53Verb Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
διαπεράσαντεςdiaperasantev
I cross over
Read verseLuke 16:26Verb Third Person Plural Present Active Subjunctive
διαπερῶσιν.diaperwsin
I cross over
Read verseActs 21:2Verb Present Active Participle Accusative Singular Neuter
διαπερῶνdiaperwn
I cross over
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 groups3Aligned forms6TensesAorist, PresentVoicesActive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality4×
Aorist ActiveMatt 14:34 · Mark 6:53 · Mark 5:213×
Present ActiveActs 21:21×
Indicativestates a fact or reality1×
Aorist ActiveMatt 9:11×
Subjunctivepossibility, probability, or purpose1×
Present ActiveLuke 16:261×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 6 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist4present2
Voice
active6
Mood
participle4subjunctive1indicative1
NT Occurrences
Matthew 9:1διεπέρασενaorist active indicativecompletedMatthew 14:34διαπεράσαντεςaorist active participleparticipleMark 5:21διαπεράσαντοςaorist active participleparticipleMark 6:53διαπεράσαντεςaorist active participleparticipleLuke 16:26διαπερῶσινpresent active subjunctivesubjunctiveActs 21:2διαπερῶνpresent active participleparticiple
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)
Word Origins
διαπεράω is built from these roots:
For the Preacher and Teacher
In Luke 16, the rich man asks for relief and then for a messenger to warn his brothers. The fixed chasm rules out the requested crossing, but the dialogue does not end with a description of its dimensions. Abraham points to Moses and the Prophets and insists that the brothers listen to them. The final response again makes hearing these witnesses central.
A teacher can therefore take the parable's warning seriously without encouraging guesses about distances, routes, or mechanisms in the unseen world. The passage addresses a response that matters now: hearing the witness already given. That emphasis should not become indifference toward the poor person at the gate or a claim that wealth and poverty mechanically determine a person's final state. Read the characters, reversal, and concluding appeal together, and allow the story to challenge neglect and resistance to God's word without adding a complete system from the verb cross.
Anchor passage
Luke.16.26
Doctrinal connections
- Matthew 9:1-3 distinguishes Jesus' ordinary boat journey from the following declaration of forgiveness and dispute over His authority.
- Mark 5:21-23 brings Jesus into the setting where Jairus pleads for his daughter, joining geographical movement to a particular encounter.
- Acts 21:1-3 describes ports, a ship, and cargo, keeping missionary travel within recognizable material circumstances.
- Luke 16:25-26 places the impossible crossing within the reversal between the rich man and Lazarus.
- Luke 16:29-31 repeatedly directs attention to Moses and the Prophets rather than making a requested extraordinary sign sufficient.
- Deuteronomy 30:11-14 says that God's command is near rather than across the sea, offering a separate comparison about hearing and response.
The verb describes passing across in the selected travel accounts and the denied passage in Luke's parable. Its components do not establish a hidden promise of complete spiritual success. The setting supplies whether a crossing happens, is intended, or is impossible.
From Old to New Testament
Deuteronomy 30:11-14 rejects the idea that someone must cross the sea to obtain God's command, because the word is near for obedience. Luke 16:29-31 likewise directs its hearers to the witness they have in Moses and the Prophets. This is a thematic comparison, not a claim that Luke quotes that passage or that the settings are identical.
Book contextPastoral application