To tell
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exegeomai means to explain, make known, tell fully, describe, or recount. The New Testament uses it for testimony that unfolds what happened: the Emmaus travelers tell how they recognized Jesus, the Son makes the unseen God known, Cornelius explains his vision, Barnabas and Paul describe signs and wonders among the Gentiles, Peter recounts God's first Gentile visitation, and Paul reports what God had done through.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐξηγέομαι (G1834) · Open the biblical lexicon
exegeomai means to explain, make known, tell fully, describe, or recount. The New Testament uses it for testimony that unfolds what happened: the Emmaus travelers tell how they recognized Jesus, the Son makes the unseen God known, Cornelius explains his vision, Barnabas and Paul describe signs and wonders among the Gentiles, Peter recounts God's first.
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include [and] recounted (1), describing (1), has made [Him] known (1), has told us (1), He explained (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 24:35. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (4), John (1), Luke (1).
This entry includes 1 verse guide that explain exact original-language forms in context.
Exegeomai means to explain, make known, tell fully, describe, or recount. The New Testament uses it for testimony that unfolds what happened: the Emmaus travelers tell how they recognized Jesus, the Son makes the unseen God known, Cornelius explains his vision, Barnabas and Paul describe signs and wonders among the Gentiles, Peter recounts God's first Gentile visitation, and Paul reports what God had done through his ministry.
The word is not a license for speculative explanation. It is careful narration under the weight of witnessed reality. Pastorally, exegeomai helps readers see that faithful explanation tells what God has revealed and done, with Christ Himself as the supreme revealer of the Father.
Exegeomai appears in six direct New Testament witnesses. It ranges from recounting resurrection recognition and mission events to John 1:18, where the one and only Son makes the unseen God known.
Then the two told what had happened on the road, and how they had recognized Jesus in the breaking of the bread.
The Emmaus travelers recount their encounter with the risen Jesus. Their explanation is testimony to what happened.
No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is Himself God and is at the Father’s side, has made Him known.
John gives the word its highest Christological use: the Son makes the unseen God known.
He explained what had happened and sent them to Joppa.
Cornelius explains the angelic message before sending for Peter. The word carries ordered retelling of a received vision.
The whole assembly fell silent as they listened to Barnabas and Paul describing the signs and wonders God had done among the Gentiles through them.
Barnabas and Paul describe God's works among Gentiles. Explanation serves church discernment at Jerusalem.
Simon has told us how God first visited the Gentiles to take from them a people to be His own.
James refers to Peter's account of Gentile visitation. Recounting God's action helps the church interpret Scripture and mission.
Paul greeted them and recounted one by one the things that God had done among the Gentiles through his ministry.
Paul recounts God's Gentile work in detail. The word marks testimony that names God's agency, not human self-display.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Verse-level guides showing how this original-language form works in its specific context, including grammar, verse function, and guarded interpretation.
Greek word. To narrate by unfolding details; to declare or explain something fully to an audience.
To narrate by unfolding details; to declare or explain something fully to an audience.
to lead, show the way; metaphorically, to unfold, narrate, declare: with accusative of thing(s), Luk.24:35 Act.21:19; with dative of person(s), Act.10:8; θεόν (understood), Jhn.1:18; before ὅσα, Act.15:12; καθώς, Act.15:14.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I explain, make declaration
Read verseI explain, make declaration
Read verseI explain, make declaration
Read verseI explain, make declaration
Read verseI explain, make declaration
Read verseI explain, make declaration
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.
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.
How this verb appears across 6 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
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)
ἐξηγέομαι is built from these roots:
Exegeomai is the kind of word that can discipline both teachers and witnesses. Luke uses it when the Emmaus travelers tell what happened on the road. Acts uses it when believers explain visions, describe signs and wonders, and recount what God did among Gentiles. John 1:18 stands above all these uses: the Son, who is Himself God and at the Father's side, has made the unseen God known.
Faithful Christian explanation is therefore not clever invention. It is truthful unfolding of received revelation and witnessed grace. The preacher should connect the church's recounting ministry to Christ's perfect revelation: we explain because the Son has first made God known.
John.1.18
Exegeomai can mean explain, narrate, describe, or recount. Its force is not bare data transfer but ordered making known, with the content and authority supplied by the passage.
The God who made Himself known through words and mighty acts in Israel's history is finally made known in the Son. The apostolic church then recounts God's works in Christ and among the nations.
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Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain