4951. suró

Lexical Summary

suró: To drag, draw, pull

Original Word: σύρω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: suró
Pronunciation: soo-ro'
Phonetic Spelling: (soo'-ro)
KJV: drag, draw, hale
NASB: dragging, dragged, swept away
Word Origin: [probably akin to G138 (αἱρέομαι - choose)]

1. to trail

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

drag, draw, hale.

Probably akin to haireomai; to trail -- drag, draw, hale.

see GREEK haireomai

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
a prim. word
Definition
to draw, drag
NASB Translation
dragged (1), dragging (3), swept away (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 4951: σύρω

σύρω; imperfect ἔσυρον; from (Aeschylus and Herodotus (in compound), Aristotle), Theocritus down; (the Sept. 2 Samuel 17:13); to draw, to drag: τί, John 21:8; Revelation 12:4; τινα, one (before the judge, to prison, to punishment; ἐπί τά βασανιστήρια, εἰς τό δεσμωτήριον, Epictetus diss. 1, 29, 22; others), Acts 8:3 ἔξω τῆς πόλεως, Acts 14:19; ἐπί τούς πολιτάρχας, Acts 17:6. (Compare: κατασύρω.)

Topical Lexicon

Overview

Strong’s Greek 4951 expresses the act of forcibly dragging, hauling or sweeping something or someone from one place to another. In the New Testament it appears only five times, yet each context contributes a unique facet to the biblical portrait of coercive movement—whether exerted by fishermen, persecutors, or apocalyptic powers.

Occurrences and Immediate Contexts

• John 21:8 – “But the other disciples came in the small boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from shore, only about a hundred yards.”
• Acts 8:3 – “But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off both men and women and put them in prison.”
• Acts 14:19 – “But Jews arrived from Antioch and Iconium, and they won over the crowds. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, supposing he was dead.”
• Acts 17:6 – “But when they could not find them, they dragged Jason and some brothers before the city officials, shouting, ‘These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here too.’ ”
• Revelation 12:4 – “His tail swept a third of the stars from heaven and hurled them to the earth. And the dragon stood before the woman who was about to give birth, to devour her child when she gave birth.”

Literal Uses: The Labor of Fishermen

In John 21 the risen Christ graciously provides a miraculous catch. The disciples must exert effort to haul the overflowing net ashore. The word underlines both the weight of the harvest and the disciples’ participation in Christ’s provision. The episode foreshadows their coming vocation as “fishers of men,” suggesting that gathering souls may require strenuous, persistent labor even when the increase is divinely supplied.

Violent Uses: Persecution in Acts

Three of Luke’s five uses portray force directed against believers. Saul’s door-to-door arrests (Acts 8:3) mark the early church’s first widespread persecution. The mob actions in Lystra (Acts 14:19) and Thessalonica (Acts 17:6) reveal a pattern: opponents of the gospel resort to physical coercion when rhetorical opposition fails. By repeating this verb, Luke underscores both the reality of suffering and the inexorable advance of the mission despite it (Acts 14:20; Acts 17:10).

Cosmic Use: Apocalyptic Hostility

Revelation 12:4 transfers the image from the earthly to the heavenly arena. The dragon’s tail “sweeps” a third of the stars—angelic beings—down to earth. The verb conveys massive, uncontested force, yet the chapter soon affirms the ultimate triumph of God and His people (Revelation 12:11). The same power that threatens saints on earth lies behind earthly persecution; nonetheless, it remains subject to divine limitation.

Thematic Threads

1. Tangible Weight and Resistance—Whether fish, prisoners, or stars, the object dragged offers passive resistance. The verb highlights human or demonic determination to move what will not move of itself.
2. Persecution as Displacement—Believers are literally pulled from homes or cities, symbolizing the attempt to remove the gospel’s presence. Yet each displacement becomes a new point of gospel expansion (Acts 8:4; Acts 17:10).
3. God’s Sovereign Overrule—The catch reaches shore, Paul survives stoning, the Thessalonian church is planted, and the heavenly child is protected. The dragging never thwarts God’s purposes.

Historical Background

In the Greco-Roman world public tribunals often involved officers who physically pulled the accused into the marketplace. Luke’s language mirrors legal practice, lending authenticity to his narrative. Rabbinic literature also records forced removals from synagogues; Saul’s actions align with first-century Jewish enforcement against perceived blasphemy.

Implications for Ministry

• Expect Opposition: The same term that described Paul’s violence later illustrated the violence he endured. Evangelists should not be surprised if pre-conversion hostility resurfaces against them once they follow Christ (2 Timothy 3:12).
• Persevere in Labor: Dragging the net to shore required collective effort; likewise, evangelistic fruit often arrives through cooperative persistence.
• Rest in Sovereignty: Revelation 12 locates earthly pressures within a broader spiritual conflict that God has already decided in favor of His people.

Pastoral Application

Believers facing coercion—physical, legal, or social—can draw encouragement from the consistent scriptural witness: God converts hostile dragging into redemptive momentum. What the adversary drags out, the Lord draws in (John 6:44).

Forms and Transliterations

έσυραν εσυρον έσυρον ἔσυρον συνεσκότασε συρει σύρει σύρον συροντες σύροντες συρόντων συρούμεν σύρουσαι συρων σύρων συσκήνου συσκιάζον συσκιαζόντες συσκιάζοντες συσκιάζοντος σύσκιος συσκίου συσκοτάζων συσκοτάσαι συσκοτασάτω συσκοτάσει συσκοτάσουσι συσκοτάσουσιν συσκοτάσω esuron esyron ésyron surei suron surōn surontes syrei sýrei syron syrōn sýron sýrōn syrontes sýrontes

Englishman's Concordance

John 21:8 V-PPA-NMS
GRK: πηχῶν διακοσίων σύροντες τὸ δίκτυον
NAS: away, dragging the net
KJV: cubits,) dragging the net
INT: cubits two hundred dragging the net

Acts 8:3 V-PPA-NMS
GRK: οἴκους εἰσπορευόμενος σύρων τε ἄνδρας
NAS: house, and dragging off men
KJV: every house, and haling men and
INT: houses entering dragged moreover men

Acts 14:19 V-IIA-3P
GRK: τὸν Παῦλον ἔσυρον ἔξω τῆς
NAS: Paul and dragged him out of the city,
KJV: Paul, drew [him] out of
INT: Paul dragged [him] outside the

Acts 17:6 V-IIA-3P
GRK: δὲ αὐτοὺς ἔσυρον Ἰάσονα καί
NAS: When they did not find them, they [began] dragging Jason
KJV: them not, they drew Jason and
INT: moreover them they dragged Jason and

Revelation 12:4 V-PIA-3S
GRK: οὐρὰ αὐτοῦ σύρει τὸ τρίτον
NAS: And his tail swept away a third
KJV: tail drew the third part
INT: tail of him drags a third

Strong's Greek 4951
5 Occurrences

ἔσυρον — 2 Occ.
σύρει — 1 Occ.
σύρων — 1 Occ.
σύροντες — 1 Occ.