What does κατηχέω (katēchéō) mean in the Bible?
κατηχέω (katēchéō): Oral instruction handed down directly, emphasizing relational teaching through word of mouth rather than written doctrine.
Greek · G2727
κατηχέω
To instruct
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κατηχέω G2727
Pronunciation katēchéō
What does κατηχέω (katēchéō) mean in the Bible?
κατηχέω (katēchéō): Oral instruction handed down directly, emphasizing relational teaching through word of mouth rather than written doctrine.
Full entry for κατηχέω (G2727) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2727?
The BSB source-word alignment has 8 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include because you are instructed (1), instruct (1), instructed in (1), instructor (1), receives instruction (1).
Where does κατηχέω (katēchéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 1:4. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (3), Galatians (2), 1 Corinthians (1), Luke (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 because you are instructed 1× Romans 2:18
instruct 1× 1 Corinthians 14:19
instructed in 1× Acts 18:25
instructor 1× Galatians 6:6
receives instruction 1× Galatians 6:6
rumors 1× Acts 21:24
they are under the impression 1× Acts 21:21
you have been taught 1× Luke 1:4
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 1:4 κατηχήθης to you have been taught Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 2nd Person Singular Acts 18:25 κατηχημένος to instructed in Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular Acts 21:21 κατηχήθησαν to they are under the impression Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural Acts 21:24 κατήχηνται to rumors Verb - Perfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Plural Romans 2:18 κατηχούμενος to because you are instructed Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular 1 Corinthians 14:19 κατηχήσω to instruct Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 1st Person Singular Galatians 6:6 κατηχούμενος to receives instruction Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular Galatians 6:6 κατηχοῦντι to instructor Verb - Present Participle Active - Dative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Luke 1:4
Aligned rows 8
Books represented 5
Luke 1 Acts 3 Romans 1 1 Corinthians 1 Galatians 2
Source forms
κατηχούμενος 2x katēchoumenos Romans 2:18, Galatians 6:6
κατηχήθης 1x katēchēthēs Luke 1:4
κατηχήθησαν 1x katēchēthēsan Acts 21:21
κατηχημένος 1x katēchēmenos Acts 18:25
κατήχηνται 1x katēchēntai Acts 21:24
κατηχήσω 1x katēchēsō 1 Corinthians 14:19
κατηχοῦντι 1x katēchounti Galatians 6:6
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular 2x Romans 2:18, Galatians 6:6
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 2nd Person Singular 1x Luke 1:4
Verb - Aorist Indicative Passive - 3rd Person Plural 1x Acts 21:21
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 1st Person Singular 1x 1 Corinthians 14:19
Verb - Perfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Plural 1x Acts 21:24
Verb - Perfect Participle Middle or Passive - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x Acts 18:25
Verb - Present Participle Active - Dative Masculine Singular 1x Galatians 6:6
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Oral instruction handed down directly, emphasizing relational teaching through word of mouth rather than written doctrine.
Strong's G2727
Lexical occurrences 8 verses Greek text appearances 8 times Word forms 3 forms 8 references Verse guides 0 guides
Source Gloss
to instruct
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Oral instruction handed down directly, emphasizing relational teaching through word of mouth rather than written doctrine.
1to resound.
2to teach by word of mouth, instruct, inform (see 131., Phil. Gosp., 20, 31): Gal.6:6; with accusative of person(s), 1Co.14:19; pass. with accusative of thing(s), Luk.1:4 (ICC, in l), Act.18:25 21:24 (cf. Lk, l.with), Gal.6:6; before κ, with genitive of thing(s), Rom.2:18; περί, with genitive of person(s), Act.21:21.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
8 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 1:4 Verb Second Person Singular Aorist Passive Indicative
κατηχήθης kathchqhv
I instruct orally
Read verse Acts 18:25 Verb Perfect Passive Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
κατηχημένος kathchmenov
I instruct orally
Read verse Acts 21:21 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Passive Indicative
κατηχήθησαν kathchqhsan
I instruct orally
Read verse Acts 21:24 Verb Third Person Plural Perfect Passive Indicative
κατήχηνται kathchntai
I instruct orally
Read verse Romans 2:18 Verb Present Passive Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
κατηχούμενος kathcoumenov
I instruct orally
Read verse 1 Corinthians 14:19 Verb First Person Singular Aorist Active Subjunctive
κατηχήσω, kathchsw
I instruct orally
Read verse Galatians 6:6 Verb Present Passive Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
κατηχούμενος kathcoumenov
I instruct orally
Read verse Galatians 6:6 Verb Present Active Participle Dative Singular Masculine
κατηχοῦντι kathcounti
I instruct orally
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 3 Aligned forms 8 Tenses Present, Aorist, Perfect Voices Passive, Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 4×
Present Passive Rom 2:18 · Gal 6:6 2×
Perfect Passive Acts 18:25 1×
Present Active Gal 6:6 1×
Indicative states a fact or reality 3×
Aorist Passive Luke 1:4 · Acts 21:21 2×
Perfect Passive Acts 21:24 1×
Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 1×
Aorist Active 1 Cor 14:19 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 7 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 3 present 3 perfect 1
Voice
passive 5 active 2
Mood
indicative 3 participle 3 subjunctive 1
NT Occurrences
Luke 1:4 κατηχήθης aorist passive indicative completed Acts 21:21 κατηχήθησαν aorist passive indicative completed Acts 21:24 κατήχηνται perfect passive indicative resultant Romans 2:18 κατηχούμενος present passive participle participle 1 Corinthians 14:19 κατηχήσω aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Galatians 6:6 κατηχούμενος present passive participle participle Galatians 6:6 κατηχοῦντι present active participle participle
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)
Word Origins
κατηχέω is built from these roots:
+ ἦχος G2279
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