Epegeiro appears twice in the New Testament (Acts 13:50; 14:2) in the context of Jewish opponents stirring up persecution against Paul and Barnabas. The word combines epi (upon) + egeiro (to raise up/awaken) to describe inciting or arousing someone to action — in these contexts, to malicious purpose. Yet the same root egeiro is used for resurrection and awakening, giving the word a double edge.
Both NT uses of epegeiro describe opposition to the Gospel that paradoxically advances it. In Acts 13:50, Jewish leaders 'stirred up' persecution that drove Paul from Pisidian Antioch — to Iconium. In Acts 14:2, opponents 'stirred up' Gentiles against the apostles — yet the church kept growing. Luke's pattern is deliberate: every epegeiro of opposition is met by an egeiro of divine provision. Persecution does not silence the Gospel; it disperses it. The word thus captures the bitter irony of spiritual opposition: those who stir up against God's purposes only serve to spread them further.