What does κραυγή (kraugḗ) mean in the Bible?
A cry or outcry becomes clear through who cries, what is said and why the passage names the sound. Elizabeth loudly blesses Mary and her child after being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Greek · G2906
κραυγή
A cry or outcry becomes clear through who cries, what is said and why the passage names the sound. Elizabeth loudly blesses Mary and her child after being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
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κραυγήG2906
Pronunciationkraugḗ
What does κραυγή (kraugḗ) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for κραυγή (G2906) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2906?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include clamor (1), cries (1), crying (1), outcry (1), the cry (1).
Where does κραυγή (kraugḗ) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 25:6. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (1), Ephesians (1), Hebrews (1), Luke (1).
What This Word Actually Means
A cry or outcry becomes clear through who cries, what is said and why the passage names the sound. Elizabeth loudly blesses Mary and her child after being filled with the Holy Spirit. Hebrews describes Jesus' prayers with loud cries and tears, heard because of His reverence. Ephesians commands the removal of outcry alongside bitterness, rage, slander and malice, while Acts reports an assembly's clamor becoming dangerous for Paul.
Revelation promises no more crying within God's making all things new. These settings cannot make every loud prayer or plea for help the sinful outcry Ephesians rejects. Read the source, content and effect of the cry. A future promise of tears wiped away does not command a grieving person to stop mourning now, and a rebuke of malicious speech must not be used to silence truthful disclosure of harm or urgent requests for protection.
How the Bible Uses It
All six Greek witnesses describe blessing, reverent prayer, malicious speech to remove, assembly clamor, a parable's announcement and crying ended in the new creation. Content and narrative purpose distinguish the uses.
- Heb.5.7
During the days of Jesus’ earthly life, He offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the One who could save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence.
Jesus' prayers and petitions include loud cries and tears, and He is said to be heard because of reverence, with suffering and obedience continuing in the argument.
- Eph.4.31
Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, outcry and slander, along with every form of malice.
The command places outcry alongside bitterness, rage, slander and malice and follows teaching about speech that builds up, rather than condemning every audible distress.
- Luke.1.42
In a loud voice she exclaimed, “Blessed are you among women, and blessed is the fruit of your womb!
Elizabeth's loud exclamation blesses Mary and the fruit of her womb after the narrator says she is filled with the Holy Spirit, making its content and setting explicit.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itclamor1×Acts 23:9
cries1×Hebrews 5:7
crying1×Revelation 21:4
outcry1×Ephesians 4:31
the cry1×Matthew 25:6
voice1×Luke 1:42
Show sample aligned rows
Matthew 25:6κραυγὴtothe cryNoun - Nominative Feminine SingularLuke 1:42κραυγῇtovoiceNoun - Dative Feminine SingularActs 23:9κραυγὴtoclamorNoun - Nominative Feminine SingularEphesians 4:31κραυγὴtooutcryNoun - Nominative Feminine SingularHebrews 5:7κραυγῆςtocriesNoun - Genitive Feminine SingularRevelation 21:4κραυγὴtocryingNoun - Nominative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowMatthew 25:6
Aligned rows6
Books represented6
Matthew1Luke1Acts1Ephesians1Hebrews1Revelation1
Source forms
κραυγὴ4xkraugēMatthew 25:6, Acts 23:9, Ephesians 4:31, Revelation 21:4
κραυγῇ1xkraugēLuke 1:42
κραυγῆς1xkraugēsHebrews 5:7
Parsing patterns
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular4xMatthew 25:6, Acts 23:9, Ephesians 4:31, Revelation 21:4
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular1xLuke 1:42
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular1xHebrews 5:7
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Listen and respond to distress without requiring quietness or diagnosing the person's spiritual condition.
- Do not promise that a prayerful cry guarantees removal of every illness, danger or painful consequence.
Avoid claiming...
- Every outcry is malicious speech or evidence of deficient faith.
- The noun requires present grief to cease or identifies a date from Matthew's midnight announcement.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. A loud, audible cry expressing urgency, distress, or strong emotion rather than quiet speech.
Strong'sG2906
Lexical occurrences6 versesGreek text appearances6 timesWord forms3 forms6 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study linkMatthew 25:6Source Gloss
an outcry (in notification, tumult or grief)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Matthew 25:6Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
κραυγὴkraugh
a shout, clamor, outcry
Read verseActs 23:9Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
κραυγὴkraugh
a shout, clamor, outcry
Read verseEphesians 4:31Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
κραυγὴkraugh
a shout, clamor, outcry
Read verseHebrews 5:7Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
κραυγῆςkraughv
a shout, clamor, outcry
Read verseRevelation 14:18Noun Dative Singular Feminine
κραυγῇkraugh
a shout, clamor, outcry
Read verseRevelation 21:4Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
κραυγή,kraugh
a shout, clamor, outcry
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 this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 3 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.
Form patterns3Aligned forms6Case patternNominative (4)Number patternSingular (6)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · FeminineMatt 25:6 · Acts 23:9 · Eph 4:31 · Rev 21:44×
Genitive · Singular · FeminineHeb 5:71×
Dative · Singular · FeminineLuke 1:421×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
A sudden loud shout or announcement calling attention to an event
Loud angry noise or shouting to be removed from Christian behavior
Fervent vocal expressions of prayer and supplication with strong emotion
Sounds of grief and lamentation that will be eliminated in eternity
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 6 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
κραυγή is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
The sound of a cry does not interpret its purpose. Hebrews explicitly describes Jesus' tears and loud petitions within reverent prayer, while Elizabeth's exclamation conveys a blessing. Ephesians places outcry in a list with harmful speech and malice and directs believers toward kindness, compassion and forgiveness. Acts follows assembly clamor into danger and a commander's protective removal of Paul.
Matthew's midnight cry is an announcement in a readiness parable, and Revelation locates the end of crying within God's new creation. Keep every movement in its own account. Teach the speech warning without condemning the prayer Hebrews names, and hold the future promise without shaming current grief. The word supplies no reason to suppress a victim's disclosure, require quieter pleas before responding to danger, or promise that faithful prayer avoids all suffering.
Anchor passage
Heb.5.7
Doctrinal connections
- Hebrews 5:5-10 joins Jesus' loud prayers and tears, reverence, suffering, learned obedience and salvation in its account of His high-priestly work.
- Ephesians 4:29-32 directs speech toward the hearer's need and removes outcry with bitterness, slander and malice before calling for kindness and tenderheartedness.
- Luke 1:40-44 attributes Elizabeth's loud blessing to the scene of the Spirit's filling and recognition of Mary's child, preserving the exclamation's actual content.
- Acts 23:7-11 describes assembly clamor and escalating violence, then the commander's protective removal of Paul and the Lord's subsequent encouragement.
- Matthew 25:4-8 locates the midnight cry within the bridegroom parable's delayed arrival and readiness, without identifying a modern calendar date.
- Revelation 21:2-6 promises the end of death, mourning, crying and pain within God's dwelling and making all things new, keeping the promise's stated horizon.
The licensed Greek noun covers crying, outcry or clamor. Its six direct settings give different content and evaluations; the noun does not contain malice in every occurrence or define an emotional or clinical state from volume alone.
From Old to New Testament
Psalm 55:16-18 describes a voice crying in distress and heard by God, while Psalm 42 preserves sorrow alongside hope. These separate Hebrew laments do not share this Greek identity. Read beside Hebrews' reverent cries, they support hearing prayerful distress without importing every warning about malicious speech into a sufferer's plea or erasing the difference between current lament and Revelation's future promise.