What does διαλέγομαι (dialégomai) mean in the Bible?
διαλέγομαι (dialégomai): To converse, discuss, or reason together with someone through dialogue and debate.
Greek · G1256
διαλέγομαι
To dispute
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διαλέγομαι G1256
Pronunciation dialégomai
What does διαλέγομαι (dialégomai) mean in the Bible?
διαλέγομαι (dialégomai): To converse, discuss, or reason together with someone through dialogue and debate.
Full entry for διαλέγομαι (G1256) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1256?
The BSB source-word alignment has 13 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include he reasoned (3), [and] reasoned (1), addresses (1), arguing (1), debating (1).
Where does διαλέγομαι (dialégomai) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 9:34. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (10), Hebrews (1), Jude (1), Mark (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It he reasoned 3× Acts 17:2, Acts 17:17, Acts 18:4
[and] reasoned 1× Acts 18:19
addresses 1× Hebrews 12:5
arguing 1× Acts 19:8
debating 1× Acts 24:12
expounded 1× Acts 24:25
he talked 1× Acts 20:7
talked 1× Acts 20:9
they had been arguing about 1× Mark 9:34
to conduct daily discussions 1× Acts 19:9
vvv 1× Jude 1:9
Show sample aligned rows
Mark 9:34 διελέχθησαν to they had been arguing about Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural Acts 17:2 διελέξατο to he reasoned Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Acts 17:17 διελέγετο to he reasoned Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular Acts 18:4 Διελέγετο to he reasoned Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular Acts 18:19 διελέξατο to [and] reasoned Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Acts 19:8 διαλεγόμενος to arguing Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular Acts 19:9 διαλεγόμενος to to conduct daily discussions Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular Acts 20:7 διελέγετο to he talked Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular Acts 20:9 διαλεγομένου to talked Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Masculine Singular Acts 24:12 διαλεγόμενον to debating Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Mark 9:34
Aligned rows 13
Books represented 4
Mark 1 Acts 10 Hebrews 1 Jude 1
Source forms
διελέγετο 3x dielegeto Acts 17:17, Acts 20:7, Jude 1:9
διαλεγόμενος 2x dialegomenos Acts 19:8, Acts 19:9
διαλεγομένου 2x dialegomenou Acts 20:9, Acts 24:25
διελέξατο 2x dielexato Acts 17:2, Acts 18:19
διαλέγεται 1x dialegetai Hebrews 12:5
διαλεγόμενον 1x dialegomenon Acts 24:12
Διελέγετο 1x Dielegeto Acts 18:4
διελέχθησαν 1x dielechthēsan Mark 9:34
Parsing patterns
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular 4x Acts 17:17, Acts 18:4, Acts 20:7, Jude 1:9
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular 2x Acts 17:2, Acts 18:19
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Genitive Masculine Singular 2x Acts 20:9, Acts 24:25
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular 2x Acts 19:8, Acts 19:9
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural 1x Mark 9:34
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular 1x Hebrews 12:5
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Accusative Masculine Singular 1x Acts 24:12
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To converse, discuss, or reason together with someone through dialogue and debate.
Strong's G1256
Lexical occurrences 13 verses Greek text appearances 13 times Word forms 2 forms 13 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Acts 17:1-9 Source Gloss
to dispute
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
13 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Mark 9:34 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Passive Deponent Indicative
διελέχθησαν dielecqhsan
I converse, address, preach, lecture
Read verse Acts 17:2 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
διελέγετο dielegeto
I converse, address, preach, lecture
Read verse Acts 17:17 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
διελέγετο dielegeto
I converse, address, preach, lecture
Read verse Acts 18:4 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
διελέγετο dielegeto
I converse, address, preach, lecture
Read verse Acts 18:19 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Passive Deponent Indicative
διελέχθη dielecqh
I converse, address, preach, lecture
Read verse Acts 19:8 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
διαλεγόμενος dialegomenov
I converse, address, preach, lecture
Read verse Acts 19:9 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
διαλεγόμενος dialegomenov
I converse, address, preach, lecture
Read verse Acts 20:7 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
διελέγετο dielegeto
I converse, address, preach, lecture
Read verse Acts 20:9 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Genitive Singular Masculine
διαλεγομένου dialegomenou
I converse, address, preach, lecture
Read verse Acts 24:12 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Accusative Singular Masculine
διαλεγόμενον dialegomenon
I converse, address, preach, lecture
Read verse Acts 24:25 Verb Present Middle or Passive Deponent Participle Genitive Singular Masculine
διαλεγομένου dialegomenou
I converse, address, preach, lecture
Read verse Hebrews 12:5 Verb Third Person Singular Present Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
διαλέγεται, dialegetai
I converse, address, preach, lecture
Read verse Jude 1:9 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
διελέγετο dielegeto
I converse, address, preach, lecture
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Form groups 2 Aligned forms 13 Tenses Imperfect, Aorist, Present Voices Middle, Passive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 8×
Imperfect Middle Acts 17:17 · Acts 18:4 · Acts 20:7 · Jude 1:9 4×
Aorist Middle Acts 17:2 · Acts 18:19 2×
Aorist Passive Mark 9:34 1×
Present Middle Heb 12:5 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 5×
Present Middle Acts 19:8 · Acts 19:9 · Acts 20:9 · Acts 24:25 · Acts 24:12 5×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 12 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 5 imperfect 4 aorist 3
Voice
middle 11 passive 1
Mood
indicative 8 participle 4
NT Occurrences
Mark 9:34 διελέχθησαν aorist passive indicative completed Acts 17:17 διελέγετο imperfect middle indicative background Acts 17:2 διελέξατο aorist middle indicative completed Acts 18:19 διελέξατο aorist middle indicative completed Acts 18:4 διελέγετο imperfect middle indicative background Acts 19:9 διαλεγόμενος present middle participle participle Acts 20:7 διελέγετο imperfect middle indicative background Acts 20:9 διαλεγομένου present middle participle participle Acts 24:12 διαλεγόμενον present middle participle participle Acts 24:25 διαλεγομένου present middle participle participle Hebrews 12:5 διαλέγεται present middle indicative ongoing Jude 1:9 διελέγετο imperfect middle indicative background
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
To discuss or reason thoroughly.
To engage in discussion or dialogue.
To engage in dialogue or discussion.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 13 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
διαλέγομαι is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
Shows gospel proclamation engages the mind through Scripture. Acts 17:1-9
Shows gospel proclamation involves thoughtful engagement. Acts 17:16-21
Highlights Scripture-centered persuasion. Acts 18:1-4
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain