verb
anachōramō
Strong’sG402
I return, retire, depart, withdraw
stem anachōr-14 times in the New Testamentin 4 of 27 books6 forms occur
What it means
A plain-English reading of the word, with the lexicons it draws on — Abbott-Smith, Strong's, and Liddell-Scott-Jones — right below it, in full.
AI Summary
Withdraw or depart — to go back, move away, or retreat from a place, usually in order to avoid danger or trouble. 1234 This is the sense the New Testament uses throughout, for example of people withdrawing to escape a threat or leaving a scene after an event. 13
Sources: 1 Abbott-Smith 2 Strong's 3 LSJ 4 Dodson. Condensed by anthropic/claude-sonnet-5 on 2026-09-23 — it may still misstate what these say; check them yourself if it matters to you.
The lexicons it was drawn from, in full:
Abbott-Smith — the 1922 lexicon entry, in full
ἀνα-χωρέω, -ῶ,
[in LXX for בּרח, נוּם, etc.;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G402 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
Locrian dialect, Cretan dialect ἀνχ-, go back, πόλινδε ἂψ ἀναχωρήσουσινRefs 8th c.BC+
b walk backwards, of oxen feeding, Refs 5th c.BC+
2 in Refs 8th c.BC+, mostly, retire, withdraw from battle, ἀλλά σ᾽ ἔγωγ᾽ ἀναχωρήσαντα κελεύω ἐς πληθὺν ἰέναιRefs 8th c.BC+; generally, retire, withdraw, μεγάροιο μυχόνδεRefs 8th c.BC+; ἀνεκεχωρήκεσαν they had retired or returned, Refs 5th c.BC+: with Preps. denoting motion to or from, ἐς τὴν ἀκρόπολινRefs 5th c.BC+; ὑπὸ Βοιωτῶν ἐς Ἀθήνας were forced by them to retire to.., Refs 5th c.BC+
II come back or revert to the rightful heir, ἡ βασιληΐη ἀνεχώρησε ἐς τὸν παῖδαRefs 5th c.BC+
III metaphorically, withdraw, retire, ἐξ αἰσθήσεωνRefs 5th c.BC+; ἀ. ἐκ τῶν πραγμάτων retire from public life, from the world, NT+2nd c.BC+: absolutely, withdraw, retire, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀνακεχωρηκυῖα χώρα inland spot, Refs 4th c.BC+obsolete, Refs 1st c.BC+; recondite, ἱστορίαRefs 1st c.BC+
IV ={συγχωρέω}, πάντες ἀνεχώρησαν συμπεραίνεσθαι τὸ μίασμα Refs 6th c.AD+
IV.2 strike, refuse to work, Refs
H. G. Liddell, R. Scott, H. S. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon (9th ed., 1925–1940) — digitised by the Perseus Digital Library and corrected and expanded by Tyndale House, Cambridge, via STEPBible-Data's TFLSJ table, CC BY 4.0. Covers all of Greek literature, not just the Bible.
Translated as
Every occurrence, sorted by the English it was actually given — the evidence for what the word means, not a gloss of it.
Berean Standard Bible (BSB), dedicated to the public domain — berean.bible.
Biblang forms
What the New Testament actually uses, first — the whole system this verb is built from is one click further down.
| Form and the Greek behind it | What it is | Usually | Times |
|---|---|---|---|
| anachōrataἀνεχώρησεν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | withdrew | 9× |
| anachōralaἀνεχώρησαν | happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural | returned | 1× |
| anachōravōrἈναχωρεῖτε | happening now · yepresent active imperative 2nd person plural | go away | 1× |
| anachōrarantosἀναχωρήσας | happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative singular masculine | drew … aside | 1× |
| anachōrarantoisἀναχωρήσαντες | happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative plural masculine | gone aside | 1× |
| anachōrarantoiuἈναχωρησάντων | happened · of, belonging toaorist active participle genitive plural masculine | gone | 1× |
Every form the New Testament uses, in paradigm order. What the system can build beyond them — the whole of this verb, whether the text happens to use it or not — is in the tables below.
Every form the system can build — all 86, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 10 occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | anachōramō | anachōrame | anachōrami | anachōrama | anachōramē | anachōramelē |
| you 2nd person singular | anachōrasō | anachōrase | anachōrasi | anachōrasa | anachōrasē | anachōraselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | anachōratō | anachōrate | anachōrati | anachōrata9×ἀνεχώρησεν | anachōratē | anachōratelē |
| we 1st person plural | anachōranō | anachōrane | anachōrani | anachōrana | anachōranē | anachōranelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | anachōravō | anachōrave | anachōravi | anachōrava | anachōravē | anachōravelē |
| they 3rd person plural | anachōralō | anachōrale | anachōrali | anachōrala1×ἀνεχώρησαν | anachōralē | anachōralelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | anachōrameiō | anachōrameia | anachōrameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | anachōraseiō | anachōraseia | anachōraseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | anachōrateiō | anachōrateia | anachōrateiē |
| we 1st person plural | anachōraneiō | anachōraneia | anachōraneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | anachōraveiō | anachōraveia | anachōraveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | anachōraleiō | anachōraleia | anachōraleiē |
Commands — imperative mood, 1 occurrence
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | anachōrasōr | anachōrasar | anachōrasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | anachōratōr | anachōratar | anachōratēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | anachōravōr1×Ἀναχωρεῖτε | anachōravar | anachōravēr |
| they 3rd person plural | anachōralōr | anachōralar | anachōralēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | anachōramoiō | anachōramoia |
| you 2nd person singular | anachōrasoiō | anachōrasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | anachōratoiō | anachōratoia |
| we 1st person plural | anachōranoiō | anachōranoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | anachōravoiō | anachōravoia |
| they 3rd person plural | anachōraloiō | anachōraloia |
The “to …” form — infinitive, no occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | anachōrarō | anachōrari | anachōrara | anachōrarē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 3 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | anachōrarōntos | anachōrarintos | anachōrarantos3×ἀναχωρήσας | anachōrarēntos |
Each is given in the form it takes as a subject. From there a participle carries the ordinary noun endings, in every case, number and gender — so these four columns are the whole of what the verb contributes.
How every form is built — the slots that make them
anachōr is this word in every one of its forms. The slots after it make all the rest.
same in every form varies — every value shown
Where it appears
Every verse the word appears in, filed under the form it takes there.
14 occurrences, every one of them listed
anachōrata“withdrew”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular9×
Matthew 2:14“left”… kai tan mētēran autou nuktau kai anachōrata eis Aiguptan,… the Child and His mother by night, and withdrew to Egypt,
Matthew 2:22… ekei aperchara; chrēmatizirantos de kata onarem anachōrata eis teim mereim tau Galilaiau,… been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,
Matthew 4:12Akouarantos de hoti Iōannos paradōita anachōrata eis tan Galilaian.… that John had been imprisoned, He withdrew to Galilee.
Matthew 12:15Tos de Iēsus gnōskarantos anachōrata ekeithen. kai akolouthala auto pollois, kai …Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Large crowds followed …
Matthew 14:13Akouarantos de tos Iēsus anachōrata ekeithen en ploie eis erēmon topon …When Jesus heard about John, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary …
Matthew 15:21Kai exercharantos ekeithen tos Iēsus anachōrata eis teim mereim Turau kai Sidōnau.Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and …
Matthew 27:5“departed”… riptarantos teim argurieim eis ton naon anachōrata, kai apercharantos apancheta.So Judas threw the silver into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
Mark 3:7… tos Iēsus meta toiu mathētoiu autou anachōrata pros tan thalassan; kai pollem plēthem …So Jesus withdrew with His disciples to the sea …
John 6:15… kai harpazarō auton hina poialeia basilevon anachōrata palin eis tem orem autos monos.… and make Him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by Himself.
anachōrala“returned”happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural1×
Matthew 2:12“returned”… anakamptara pros Hērōdon dia allosau hodau anachōrala eis tan chōran autoiu.… not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.
anachōravōr“go away”happening now · yepresent active imperative 2nd person plural1×
Matthew 9:24legate; Anachōravōr, ouk gar apothnēskata tem korasiem alla …“Go away,” He told them. “The girl is …
anachōrarantos“drew … aside”happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative singular masculine1×
Acts 23:19… tau cheirau autou tos chiliarchos kai anachōrarantos kata idian punthanote; Tinem atō hem …… the young man by the hand, drew him aside, and asked, “What do you need …
anachōrarantois“gone aside”happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative plural masculine1×
Acts 26:31“gone aside”kai anachōrarantois lalale pros allēloin legarōntois hoti Oudenem …… they said to one another, “This man …
anachōrarantoiu“gone”happened · of, belonging toaorist active participle genitive plural masculine1×
Matthew 2:13Anachōrarantoiu de autoiu idou angelos kuriou fanotō …When the Magi had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared …