Acts 1:9

The verb ἐπήρθη is the aorist passive form of ἐπαίρω (also found as ἐπᾰείρω in Ionian and poetic contexts), which classical usage consistently attests to the specific meaning of "lifting up and setting on" or "raising from below." As detailed in LSJ, examples from Homer (e.g., Il. 7.426, 9.214) illustrate the physical lifting of objects such as chariots and spits, emphasizing an upward motion starting from beneath the object. The semantic field extends to raising the head, lifting the veil, or elevating one’s gaze (Il. 10.80; Sophocles, Philoctetes 889).

This verbal root often conveys not “taking up” but the deliberate and physical action of lifting from a supporting base or ground, implying spatial and mechanical elevation (cf. ἐπαίρω with κεφαλὴν ἐπαείρας). The passive aorist form, ἐπήρθην, similarly denotes being “lifted up” or “raised,” frequently with a clear sense of upward motion from underneath (e.g., Euripides Iphigenia in Tauris 1276c).

Beyond literal lifting, ἐπαίρω also acquires metaphorical senses of stirring up, exciting, or exalting, but in contexts of physical motion the core meaning remains grounded in raising or lifting from below. Thus, the usage of ἐπήρθη in contexts describing an object or person being "lifted up" should be understood as emphasizing elevation from beneath, rather than a neutral or generic "taken up."

This word contrasts with ἀνελήμφθη just used in v1:2 "picked up/caught up/taken up."