Luke 23:7

The primary and literal meaning of ἀναπέμπω (anapempō) is “to send up”—originally in a spatial or directional sense, often from a lower to a higher place. The verb is compounded from:

• ἀνά (ana) – “up,” “upward”

• πέμπω (pempō) – “to send”

Core semantic range:

1. Literal spatial use – e.g., sending or moving someone or something upward:

   • to higher ground (Xen. Cyr. 7.5.34)

   • from the coast inland, or toward a metropolis like Rome (Plb. 1.7.12)

   • in military, physical, or geographic contexts

2. Institutional/jurisdictional metaphor – From this concrete idea of "sending upward," it developed a figurative legal-administrative use:

   • “remit,” “refer to a higher authority,” especially judicially or politically

   • E.g., Luke 23:7,15: “Pilate sent him up to Herod”, reflecting this juridical protocol of referral to someone of higher or equivalent rank

   • Frequently seen in papyrological texts from the Hellenistic and Roman periods (PHib., PTeb., BGU, etc.)

3. Extended metaphorical uses:

   • Transmit (e.g., ideas, impressions)

   • Ascribe (e.g., attributing something upwards or to a higher source)

   • Trace back (e.g., genealogy—“send [a lineage] up toward someone”)

(cf. LSJ ἀναπέμπω)