UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: to gather together, to come together, to go together, to meet, to assemble

Semantic entry: 15.123

Semantic domains: Linear Movement

Subdomains: Gather, Cause To Come Together

Definition: the movement of two or more objects to the same location{N:001}

Notes: In a number of languages important distinctions are made in terms referring to gathering or assembling of animate beings. The distinctions are usually based upon the number of individuals, the distance which they have come, and whether or not the individuals in question constitute a membership group or whether they are merely a loose aggregation. In view of these types of distinctions, it is likely that quite different terms will be required for the various contexts listed for this set of related meanings.

Sense 2: to come with, to go with, to accompany

Semantic entry: 15.148

Semantic domains: Linear Movement

Subdomains: Come/Go With, Travel With

Definition: to come/go together with one or more other persons

Sense 3: to have sexual intercourse with

Semantic entry: 23.61

Semantic domains: Physiological Processes and States

Subdomains: Sexual Relations

Definition: a figurative extension of meaning of συνέρχομαι[a] ‘to come together,’ 15.123: συμπαραγίνομαι / 15.123: συμπορεύομαι / 15.123: συνάγω / 15.123: σύνειμι / 15.123: συνέρχομαι / 15.123: συστρέφω

Notes: In almost all languages there are euphemistic ways of speaking about sexual intercourse, and the use of γινώσκω[f] and συνέρχομαι[c] is illustrative of this in the Greek NT. It is possible to translate γινώσκω in RV LUK 1:34 · LV LUK 1:34 · Read together LUK 1:34 as simply ‘for I am not married to a man,’ and likewise, συνέρχομαι in RV MAT 1:18 · LV MAT 1:18 · Read together MAT 1:18 may be rendered as ‘before they were married.’ In some languages one may use such expressions as ‘before they were joined’ or ‘before they slept together’ or ‘before they discovered one another.’