Hearing (the act, the sense or the thing heard)
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Akoē can name hearing, the faculty or act of hearing, a report that is heard, or the message carried by such a report. Matthew and Mark describe news about Jesus spreading as people hear of His teaching and healing.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀκοή (G189) · Open the biblical lexicon
Akoē can name hearing, the faculty or act of hearing, a report that is heard, or the message carried by such a report. Matthew and Mark describe news about Jesus spreading as people hear of His teaching and healing.
The BSB source-word alignment has 24 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include hearing (5), ears (3), message (2), News (2), rumors (2).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 4:24. Its strongest book concentrations include Matthew (4), Mark (3), Romans (3), 1 Corinthians (2).
Akoē can name hearing, the faculty or act of hearing, a report that is heard, or the message carried by such a report. Matthew and Mark describe news about Jesus spreading as people hear of His teaching and healing. Luke says Jesus finishes His sayings in the hearing of the people. John cites Isaiah's question, "Who has believed our report?" to interpret unbelief despite Jesus' signs.
Athenians tell Paul that he brings strange things to their hearing and ask what they mean. The noun does not guarantee receptive faith. A message may become famous, enter the ears, provoke curiosity, or be disbelieved. Scripture asks not only whether the report was heard but whether God's testimony was received.
Akoē moves between hearing and what is heard. Reports about Jesus spread widely, His words reach an audience, Isaiah's proclaimed message meets unbelief, and Paul's teaching awakens curiosity. Exposure is real, but response remains decisive.
News about Him spread all over Syria, and people brought to Him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering acute pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed, and He healed them.
Matthew 4:24 says news about Jesus spread through Syria, leading people to bring sufferers whom He healed. The report carries His reputation outward, while Matthew keeps the focus on His compassionate authority.
And the news about Jesus spread quickly through the whole region of Galilee.
Mark 1:28 says news about Jesus spread quickly through Galilee after His authoritative teaching and deliverance in the synagogue. Public report follows a concrete manifestation of authority.
When Jesus had concluded His discourse in the hearing of the people, He went to Capernaum.
Luke 7:1 says Jesus completed His words in the hearing of the people before entering Capernaum. The phrase marks an audience that has genuinely heard the sermon and now bears responsibility for response.
This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet: “Lord, who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
John 12:38 cites Isaiah 53:1, asking who believed the report. The citation explains widespread unbelief without implying that Jesus' signs or prophetic witness lacked clarity.
For you are bringing some strange notions to our ears, and we want to know what they mean.”
Acts 17:20 says Paul's claims bring strange things to the Athenians' hearing. Their curiosity opens a forum for proclamation, but the later responses range from mockery to further interest and belief.
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.
Greek word. The thing heard rather than merely the act of hearing; doctrine, message, or report received.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 24 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
hearing, faculty of hearing, ear
Read versehearing, faculty of hearing, ear
Read versehearing, faculty of hearing, ear
Read versehearing, faculty of hearing, ear
Read versehearing, faculty of hearing, ear
Read versehearing, faculty of hearing, ear
Read versehearing, faculty of hearing, ear
Read versehearing, faculty of hearing, ear
Read versehearing, faculty of hearing, ear
Read versehearing, faculty of hearing, ear
Read versehearing, faculty of hearing, ear
Read versehearing, faculty of hearing, ear
Read versehearing, faculty of hearing, ear
Read versehearing, faculty of hearing, ear
Read versehearing, faculty of hearing, ear
Read versehearing, faculty of hearing, ear
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 this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 7 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 24 lexical occurrence verses.
ἀκοή is built from this root:
Faith arises from hearing the proclaimed word about Christ. Romans 10:14-21
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Akoē reminds the church that communication has at least two sides: a report is carried and a hearer receives it. News about Jesus can travel rapidly because His authority and compassion astonish communities. Crowds can hear His actual words. Isaiah's report can be fulfilled in Christ and still meet resistance, while Athens can treat apostolic teaching first as an intellectual novelty.
These texts prevent ministry from measuring faithfulness only by visibility or exposure. The church should tell the truth about Jesus clearly and publicly, but it cannot convert hearing into faith through publicity. Hearers remain accountable to receive God's testimony, and ministers remain dependent on His work. Wise teaching therefore asks what was heard, how accurately it was conveyed, and what response the passage commends.
John.12.38
Akoē is related to akouō, "to hear," and can denote hearing, the organ or capacity of hearing, a report, or the message heard. English must often choose among "hearing," "news," "report," and "message" from context.
The prophets repeatedly call Israel to hear and also lament that their report is not believed. Isaiah 53's question becomes a key New Testament lens for response to the suffering and exalted Servant.
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