verb
katerchamō
Strong’sG2718
I come down
stem katerch-15 times in the New Testamentin 3 of 27 books8 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
κατέρχομαι means to come down or go down 1234, describing movement from a higher place to a lower one, such as travelling down from inland areas to the coast, or arriving somewhere by ship 13. It also covers coming or going more generally, sometimes with the sense of departing or landing 2. Figuratively, it can describe something coming down from above, as in gifts or qualities said to come down from God 1.
LSJ also records a distinct sense of returning, especially coming back from exile, but this use is not found in the biblical writings 3.
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
** κατ-έρχομαι,
[in LXX: To 1:22, א 2:1, Es 3:13, Wi 11:22, II Mac 11:29*;]
G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament, 1922 — public domain. References open in the reader.
Strong’s G2718 — the 1890 definition, and where the word comes from
Liddell-Scott-Jones — the classical dictionary this word appears in
future κατελεύσομαι Refs 8th c.BC+aorist κατήλῠθον or κατῆλθον, infinitive κατελθεῖ; Doric dialect subjunctive κατένθῃ Refs 4th c.AD+participle κατενθών, perfect participle κατηνθηκώς, see at {καθέρπω} Refs: perfect κατελήλυθα Refs 2nd c.BC+:—go down, Οὐλύμποιο κατήλθομεν Refs 8th c.BC+; go down to the grave, κ. Ἄϊδος εἴσω, Ἄϊδόσδε, Refs 5th c.BC+; from high land to the coast, ἐπὶ νῆα θοὴν κατελεύσομαι Refs 8th c.BC+; down the Nile, εἰς Ἀλεξάνδρειαν Refs 3rd c.BC+
2 of things, κατερχομένης ὑπὸ πέτρης by the descending rock, Refs 8th c.BC+; of a river, κατέρχεται ὁ Νεῖλος πληθύων comes down in flood, Refs 5th c.BC+
3 κ. εἰς τὸν ἀγῶνα, Latin descendere in certamen, Refs 2nd c.AD+
4 with accusative, come to a place, ὑμέτερον δῶ Refs 8th c.BC+
5 of property, pass to, Refs 1st c.AD+
II come back, return, especially come back from exile, Refs 5th c.BC+, etc.; φυγὰς κατελθών Refs 5th c.BC+ in passive sense, ὑπ᾽ ὀλιγαρχίας κατελθεῖν to be brought back by.., Refs 5th c.BC+
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| katerchataκατῆλθεν | happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular | went down | 2× |
| katerchanaκατήλθομεν | happened · weaorist active indicative 1st person plural | came | 2× |
| katerchalaκατῆλθον | happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural | went down | 4× |
| katercharaκατελθεῖν | happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive | came down | 1× |
| katerchorōntasκατερχομένη | happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular feminine | comes down | 1× |
| katercharantosκατελθὼν | happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative singular masculine | went down | 3× |
| katercharantoisκατελθόντες | happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative plural masculine | came down | 1× |
| katercharantoiuκατελθόντων | happened · of, belonging toaorist active participle genitive plural masculine | come down | 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 140, by mood, including the ones the New Testament never uses
Statements — indicative mood, 8 occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katerchamō | katerchame | katerchami | katerchama | katerchamē | katerchamelē |
| you 2nd person singular | katerchasō | katerchase | katerchasi | katerchasa | katerchasē | katerchaselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katerchatō | katerchate | katerchati | katerchata2×κατῆλθεν | katerchatē | katerchatelē |
| we 1st person plural | katerchanō | katerchane | katerchani | katerchana2×κατήλθομεν | katerchanē | katerchanelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | katerchavō | katerchave | katerchavi | katerchava | katerchavē | katerchavelē |
| they 3rd person plural | katerchalō | katerchale | katerchali | katerchala4×κατῆλθον | katerchalē | katerchalelē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | was happening imperfect | has happened perfect | had happened pluperfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katerchomō | katerchome | katerchomē | katerchomelē |
| you 2nd person singular | katerchosō | katerchose | katerchosē | katerchoselē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katerchotō | katerchote | katerchotē | katerchotelē |
| we 1st person plural | katerchonō | katerchone | katerchonē | katerchonelē |
| ye 2nd person plural | katerchovō | katerchove | katerchovē | katerchovelē |
| they 3rd person plural | katercholō | katerchole | katercholē | katercholelē |
May, might — subjunctive mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katerchameiō | katerchameia | katerchameiē |
| you 2nd person singular | katerchaseiō | katerchaseia | katerchaseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katerchateiō | katerchateia | katerchateiē |
| we 1st person plural | katerchaneiō | katerchaneia | katerchaneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | katerchaveiō | katerchaveia | katerchaveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | katerchaleiō | katerchaleia | katerchaleiē |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katerchomeiō | katerchomeiē |
| you 2nd person singular | katerchoseiō | katerchoseiē |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katerchoteiō | katerchoteiē |
| we 1st person plural | katerchoneiō | katerchoneiē |
| ye 2nd person plural | katerchoveiō | katerchoveiē |
| they 3rd person plural | katercholeiō | katercholeiē |
Commands — imperative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | katerchasōr | katerchasar | katerchasēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katerchatōr | katerchatar | katerchatēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | katerchavōr | katerchavar | katerchavēr |
| they 3rd person plural | katerchalōr | katerchalar | katerchalēr |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|
| you 2nd person singular | katerchosōr | katerchosēr |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katerchotōr | katerchotēr |
| ye 2nd person plural | katerchovōr | katerchovēr |
| they 3rd person plural | katercholōr | katercholēr |
Wishes — optative mood, no occurrences
the subject acts active voice
| Who person | happening now present | happened aorist |
|---|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katerchamoiō | katerchamoia |
| you 2nd person singular | katerchasoiō | katerchasoia |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katerchatoiō | katerchatoia |
| we 1st person plural | katerchanoiō | katerchanoia |
| ye 2nd person plural | katerchavoiō | katerchavoia |
| they 3rd person plural | katerchaloiō | katerchaloia |
acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice
| Who person | happening now present |
|---|---|
| I 1st person singular | katerchomoiō |
| you 2nd person singular | katerchosoiō |
| he/she/it 3rd person singular | katerchotoiō |
| we 1st person plural | katerchonoiō |
| ye 2nd person plural | katerchovoiō |
| they 3rd person plural | katercholoiō |
The “to …” form — infinitive, 1 occurrence
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | katercharō | katerchari | katerchara1×κατελθεῖν | katercharē |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | katerchorō | katerchorē |
Used as an adjective — participle, 6 occurrences
| Who is acting voice | happening now present | will happen future | happened aorist | has happened perfect |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| the subject acts active voice | katercharōntos | katercharintos | katercharantos5×κατελθὼν | katercharēntos |
| acts on itself, or is acted on middle or passive voice | katerchorōntos1× | katerchorēntos |
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
katerch 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.
15 occurrences, every one of them listed
katerchata“went down”happened · he/she/itaorist active indicative 3rd person singular2×
Luke 4:31Kai katerchata eis Kafarnaoum polan tau Galilaiau. kai …Then He went down to Capernaum, a town in Galilee …
Acts 21:10epimenarōntoiu de hēmerain polloterain katerchata tinos apo tau Ioudaiau profētos onome …… several days, a prophet named Agabus came down from Judea.
katerchana“came”happened · weaorist active indicative 1st person plural2×
Acts 21:3… autan euōnuman plane eis Surian, kai katerchana eis Turan, ekeise gar tem ploiem …… we sailed on to Syria and landed at Tyre, where the ship was …
Acts 27:5… kata tan Kilikian kai Pamfulian diaplarantois katerchana eis Mureim tau Lukiau.… coast of Cilicia and Pamphylia, we came to Myra in Lycia.
katerchala“went down”happened · theyaorist active indicative 3rd person plural4×
Acts 11:27En houtai de tai hēmerai katerchala apo Hierosolumeiu profētois eis Antiocheian;In those days some prophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch.
Acts 13:4… oun ekpempirantois hupo teu hagieu pneumeu katerchala eis Seleukeian, ekeithen tē apoplala eis …… sent forth by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there …
Acts 15:30Tois men oun apoluirantois katerchala eis Antiocheian, kai sunagarantois tem plēthem …… the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they assembled the …
Acts 18:5“arrived”Hōs de katerchala apo tau Makedoniau tos tē Silos …And when Silas and Timothy came down from Macedonia, Paul devoted …
katerchara“came down”happened · the “to …” formaorist active infinitive1×
Acts 9:32“came down”Geneta de Petron dierchorōnton dia panteiu katerchara kai pros toin hagioin toin katoikarōntoin …As Peter traveled throughout the area, he went to visit the saints in Lydda.
katerchorōntas“comes down”happening now · subjectpresent middle or passive participle nominative singular feminine1×
James 3:15“comes down”ouk atō houtas tas sofias anōthen katerchorōntas, alla epigeias, psuchikas, daimoniōdas;Such wisdom does not come from above, but is earthly, unspiritual, demonic.
katercharantos“went down”happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative singular masculine3×
Acts 8:5Filippos de katercharantos eis tan polan tau Samareiau kērussate …Philip went down to a city in Samaria and …
Acts 12:19… anakrinarantos toin fulakoin keleuata apagira, kai katercharantos apo tau Ioudaiau eis Kaisareian diatribate.… that they be executed. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and spent …
Acts 18:22kai katercharantos eis Kaisareian, anabainarantos kai aspazerantos tan …When Paul had landed at Caesarea, he went up and …
katercharantois“came down”happened · subjectaorist active participle nominative plural masculine1×
Acts 15:1Kai tinois katercharantois apo tau Ioudaiau didaskale toin adelfoin …Then some men came down from Judea and were teaching the …
katercharantoiu“come down”happened · of, belonging toaorist active participle genitive plural masculine1×
Luke 9:37“come down”Geneta de ta hexēs hēmera katercharantoiu autoiu apo teu oreu sunantata auto …The next day, when they came down from the mountain, Jesus was met by a …