καταβαίνω
katabainō
to come/go down
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Greek word καταβαίνω (katabainō) is a verb that means "to come/go down." This action can be physical, such as descending from a higher to a lower place, or metaphorical, like a decline in status or a decrease in value. In the Bible, this word is used 82 times, indicating its significance in various contexts. The usage of καταβαίνω spans different genres and themes, including geographical descriptions, spiritual experiences, and even economic transactions. For instance, it can describe a physical journey, like Jesus descending from the Mount of Olives (Luke 19:28), or a spiritual experience, like a person being brought down by sin (Romans 3:23). Its versatility in conveying different shades of meaning makes it a valuable tool for understanding the nuances of biblical narratives. The frequency and range of usage of καταβαίνω suggest its importance in the biblical text. It may not be a word with a single, definitive meaning, but rather a word that captures the complexities of human experience, from the physical to the spiritual. By examining its occurrences in the Bible, we can gain a deeper understanding of the cultural, historical, and theological contexts in which it was used.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
82 total occurrences across the text — showing 50
Jesus, when he was baptized, went up directly from the water: and behold, the heavens were opened to him. He saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming on him.
Matthew 7:25The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it didn’t fall, for it was founded on the rock.
Matthew 7:27The rain came down, the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat on that house; and it fell—and great was its fall.”
Matthew 8:1When he came down from the mountain, great multitudes followed him.
Matthew 11:23You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, you will go down to Hades. For if the mighty works had been done in Sodom which were done in you, it would have remained until today.
Matthew 14:29He said, “Come!” Peter stepped down from the boat, and walked on the waters to come to Jesus.
Matthew 17:9As they were coming down from the mountain, Jesus commanded them, saying, “Don’t tell anyone what you saw, until the Son of Man has risen from the dead.”
Matthew 24:17Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take out the things that are in his house.
Matthew 27:40and saying, “You who destroy the temple, and build it in three days, save yourself! If you are the Son of God, come down from the cross!”
Matthew 27:42“He saved others, but he can’t save himself. If he is the King of Israel, let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him.
Matthew 28:2Behold, there was a great earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from the sky, and came and rolled away the stone from the door, and sat on it.
Mark 1:10Immediately coming up from the water, he saw the heavens parting, and the Spirit descending on him like a dove.
Mark 3:22The scribes who came down from Jerusalem said, “He has Beelzebul,” and, “By the prince of the demons he casts out the demons.”
Mark 9:9As they were coming down from the mountain, he commanded them that they should tell no one what things they had seen, until after the Son of Man had risen from the dead.
Mark 13:15and let him who is on the housetop not go down, nor enter in, to take anything out of his house.
Mark 15:30save yourself, and come down from the cross!”
Mark 15:32Let the Christ, the King of Israel, now come down from the cross, that we may see and believe him.” Those who were crucified with him also insulted him.
Luke 2:51And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth. He was subject to them, and his mother kept all these sayings in her heart.
Luke 3:22and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove on him; and a voice came out of the sky, saying “You are my beloved Son. In you I am well pleased.”
Luke 6:17He came down with them, and stood on a level place, with a crowd of his disciples, and a great number of the people from all Judea and Jerusalem, and the sea coast of Tyre and Sidon, who came to hear him and to be healed of their diseases;
Luke 8:23But as they sailed, he fell asleep. A wind storm came down on the lake, and they were taking on dangerous amounts of water.
Luke 9:54When his disciples, James and John, saw this, they said, “Lord, do you want us to command fire to come down from the sky, and destroy them, just as Elijah did?”
Luke 10:15You, Capernaum, who are exalted to heaven, will be brought down to Hades.
Luke 10:30Jesus answered, “A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who both stripped him and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead.
Luke 10:31By chance a certain priest was going down that way. When he saw him, he passed by on the other side.
Luke 17:31In that day, he who will be on the housetop and his goods in the house, let him not go down to take them away. Let him who is in the field likewise not turn back.
Luke 18:14I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Luke 19:5When Jesus came to the place, he looked up and saw him, and said to him, “Zacchaeus, hurry and come down, for today I must stay at your house.”
Luke 19:6He hurried, came down, and received him joyfully.
Luke 22:44Being in agony he prayed more earnestly. His sweat became like great drops of blood falling down on the ground.
John 1:32John testified, saying, “I have seen the Spirit descending like a dove out of heaven, and it remained on him.
John 1:33I didn’t recognize him, but he who sent me to baptize in water said to me, ‘On whomever you will see the Spirit descending and remaining on him is he who baptizes in the Holy Spirit.’
John 1:51He said to him, “Most certainly, I tell you all, hereafter you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”
John 2:12After this, he went down to Capernaum, he, and his mother, his brothers, and his disciples; and they stayed there a few days.
John 3:13No one has ascended into heaven but he who descended out of heaven, the Son of Man, who is in heaven.
John 4:47When he heard that Jesus had come out of Judea into Galilee, he went to him, and begged him that he would come down and heal his son, for he was at the point of death.
John 4:49The nobleman said to him, “Sir, come down before my child dies.”
John 4:51As he was now going down, his servants met him and reported, saying “Your child lives!”
John 5:4for an angel went down at certain times into the pool and stirred up the water. Whoever stepped in first after the stirring of the water was healed of whatever disease he had.
John 5:7The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up, but while I’m coming, another steps down before me.”
John 6:16When evening came, his disciples went down to the sea.
John 6:33For the bread of God is that which comes down out of heaven, and gives life to the world.”
John 6:38For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me.
John 6:41The Jews therefore murmured concerning him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down out of heaven.”
John 6:42They said, “Isn’t this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How then does he say, ‘I have come down out of heaven?’ ”
John 6:50This is the bread which comes down out of heaven, that anyone may eat of it and not die.
John 6:51I am the living bread which came down out of heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. Yes, the bread which I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”
John 6:58This is the bread which came down out of heaven—not as our fathers ate the manna, and died. He who eats this bread will live forever.”
Acts 8:38He commanded the chariot to stand still, and they both went down into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
Acts 7:15Jacob went down into Egypt and he died, himself and our fathers,