To instruct
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G2727 is a Greek verb for instructing by word, informing someone, or receiving teaching. Luke 1:4 states that the orderly Gospel account helps Theophilus know the certainty of what he has been taught, joining instruction to investigated testimony.
Reader summary
Full entry for κατηχέω (G2727) · Open the biblical lexicon
G2727 is a Greek verb for instructing by word, informing someone, or receiving teaching. Luke 1:4 states that the orderly Gospel account helps Theophilus know the certainty of what he has been taught, joining instruction to investigated testimony.
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).
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).
G2727 is a Greek verb for instructing by word, informing someone, or receiving teaching. Luke 1:4 states that the orderly Gospel account helps Theophilus know the certainty of what he has been taught, joining instruction to investigated testimony. Acts 18:25 describes Apollos as instructed in the way of the Lord, fervent, and accurate about Jesus, while the following context also shows that his knowledge needed fuller clarification.
First Corinthians 14:19 values five coherent words that instruct others above ten thousand unintelligible words in a gathered church. Other uses concern instruction from the law, support shared with an instructor, and reports about Paul's teaching that required truthful response. G2727 opens catechesis, intelligibility, correction, evidence, teacher support, and rumor control.
It corrects both anti-intellectual spirituality and teaching systems that demand trust while resisting verification, questions, or accountable correction.
G2727 concerns oral instruction or reliable information received by a learner. It can describe prior teaching, ongoing formation, legal instruction, mutual material responsibility, or claims reported about a teacher. Content, clarity, source, and response all matter.
So that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.
Luke writes an investigated and orderly account so Theophilus can know the certainty of prior instruction.
He had been instructed in the way of the Lord and was fervent in spirit. He spoke and taught accurately about Jesus, though he knew only the baptism of John.
Apollos teaches accurately and fervently from real instruction while remaining open to fuller understanding.
But in the church, I would rather speak five coherent words to instruct others than ten thousand words in a tongue.
Paul prefers a few intelligible words that instruct the church over impressive speech others cannot understand.
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. Oral instruction handed down directly, emphasizing relational teaching through word of mouth rather than written doctrine.
Oral instruction handed down directly, emphasizing relational teaching through word of mouth rather than written doctrine.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
8 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I instruct orally
Read verseI instruct orally
Read verseI instruct orally
Read verseI instruct orally
Read verseI instruct orally
Read verseI instruct orally
Read verseI instruct orally
Read verseI 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.
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.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
How this verb appears across 7 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)
κατηχέω is built from these roots:
G2727 treats instruction as more than information transfer. Luke writes so a learner can know the reliability of what he has received, grounding confidence in testimony that has been followed carefully and arranged responsibly. Apollos shows that a teacher may be gifted, fervent, and accurate within what he knows while still needing fuller instruction. Priscilla and Aquila's private explanation resists both public humiliation and uncritical platforming.
First Corinthians 14 adds an accessibility test: speech in church should build others through intelligible words, not display the speaker's experience while leaving hearers outside. Galatians recognizes that sustained teaching also requires material sharing. These strands support a culture where teachers prepare carefully, cite sources honestly, welcome questions, correct errors, communicate plainly, and receive fair support.
Learners are not passive property, and teachers are not disposable content machines. Instruction becomes Christian when it serves truth, maturity, worship, and the agency of the people being taught rather than dependence on a personality.
Luke.1.4
G2727 originally carries the idea of sound coming down to a hearer and develops the sense of oral instruction or information. Active and passive forms can describe teaching, being taught, or being informed about a matter.
Israel's covenant life relies on repeated, communal teaching of God's words, while wisdom invites correction and discernment. Luke and Acts continue that formation through investigated testimony, public proclamation, household instruction, and teachable leaders.