Word Study for G2658 (καταντάω)

katantáō /kat-an-tah'-o/ Ask about this word

Rootfrom κατά and a derivative of ἀντί

Meaningto meet against, i.e. arrive at (literally or figuratively)

KJV usageattain, come.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of katantáō — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Greek word katantáō, represented by G2658, means to arrive at a destination or to attain a goal. Its base definition is to meet against, which carries the sense of reaching a specific, intended point. It appears 13 times across 13 unique verses in the Bible, used both literally for physical travel and figuratively for spiritual achievement.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In its most frequent use, G2658 describes the physical arrival at a destination, particularly throughout the narrative of the book of Acts. It chronicles the movements of the apostles, as when Paul came to Derbe and Lystra Acts 16:1, or when Apollos, a Jew from Alexandria, came to Ephesus Acts 18:24. The word is also used to describe arriving at various ports and cities during sea voyages, such as finishing a course from Tyre to come to Ptolemais Acts 21:7 or when a ship came to Rhegium Acts 28:13. Figuratively, it refers to the hope of reaching a goal, as when Paul expresses his desire to attain unto the resurrection of the dead Philippians 3:11.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words help clarify the concept of arrival and purpose:

G2064 érchomai (to come or go): This is a more general term for movement. In Acts 20:15, a single journey is described using multiple words for arrival, including érchomai for reaching Miletus and katantáō for reaching a point over against Chios.
G3846 parabállō (to reach a place): This verb also signifies arrival. It appears in the same travel log as G2658, where the travelers arrived at Samos Acts 20:15, illustrating the different terms used to describe stages of a journey.
G1012 boulḗ (purpose, counsel): This word connects to the intention behind the arrival. In Acts 27:12, the crew advised G1012 to depart in the hope that they might attain G2658 to Phenice, linking the purpose with the intended destination.

Theological Significance

The theological weight of G2658 is significant, elevating the idea of a journey to one of spiritual progression and fulfillment.

Spiritual Maturity: The ultimate goal for the church is to come into the unity of the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God, attaining unto a perfect G5046 man and the full stature of Christ G5547 Ephesians 4:13.
Eschatological Fulfillment: The word describes the culmination of God's plan. Believers are identified as those upon whom the ends G5056 of the world G165 have come 1 Corinthians 10:11. It is also the word used for the hope of Israel to come to the promise of God Acts 26:7.
The Hope of Resurrection: Paul uses G2658 to describe his deepest personal aspiration: to attain to the resurrection G1815 from the dead G3498, which is the ultimate arrival for the faithful Philippians 3:11.

Summary

In summary, G2658 katantáō is a dynamic word that encompasses both physical and spiritual arrival. While it commonly marks the end of a journey to a specific city or place, its greater significance lies in its figurative use to describe the attainment of spiritual unity, the hope of the resurrection, and the fulfillment of God's promises. It captures the essence of the Christian life as a purposeful journey toward a divine destination.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Greek New Testament, this word appears as a verb across 13 occurrences, inflected in 8 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form.

Aorist Active Indicative 1st Plural 3×
Aorist Active Indicative 3rd Singular 3×
Aorist Active Indicative 3rd Plural 2×
Aorist Active Infinitive 1×
Aorist Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine 1×
Aorist Active Subjunctive 1st Plural 1×
Aorist Active Subjunctive 1st Singular 1×
Perfect Active Indicative 3rd Singular 1×

Nominative: The subject of the verb.
Singular: One.
Plural: More than one.
Masculine: Masculine grammatical gender.
1st: First person — the speaker ("I"/"we").
3rd: Third person — the one spoken about ("he"/"they").
Aorist: Action viewed as a single whole — usually a simple past event.
Perfect: A completed act whose results continue.
Active: The subject performs the action.
Indicative: A plain statement of fact.
Subjunctive: Possibility or purpose — "might", "should".
Infinitive: The verb as a noun — "to do".
Participle: A verbal adjective — describes while carrying the verb's action.

Related Words

Other entries the study above points to — each one is drawn from a reference it makes. Follow the trail to see how the words connect.

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 13 verses across 4 of the 27 books. Most frequent in Acts (9 verses); never once in the other 23.

Acts

1 Corinthians

Ephesians

Philippians

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.