What does μαγεύω (mageúō) mean in the Bible?
μαγεύω (mageúō): To practice magic arts, specifically the deceptive manipulation associated with Magian sorcery rather than mere illusion
Greek · G3096
μαγεύω
To practice magic
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μαγεύω G3096
Pronunciation mageúō
What does μαγεύω (mageúō) mean in the Bible?
μαγεύω (mageúō): To practice magic arts, specifically the deceptive manipulation associated with Magian sorcery rather than mere illusion
Full entry for μαγεύω (G3096) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3096?
The BSB source-word alignment has 1 aligned row for this entry. Common renderings include had practiced sorcery (1).
Where does μαγεύω (mageúō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Acts 8:9. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (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 had practiced sorcery 1× Acts 8:9
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Acts 8:9
Aligned rows 1
Books represented 1
Acts 1
Source forms
μαγεύων 1x mageuōn Acts 8:9
Parsing patterns
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x Acts 8:9
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To practice magic arts, specifically the deceptive manipulation associated with Magian sorcery rather than mere illusion
Strong's G3096
Lexical occurrences 1 verse Greek text appearances 1 time Word forms 1 form 1 reference Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Acts 8:9-25 Source Gloss
to practice magic
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To practice magic arts, specifically the deceptive manipulation associated with Magian sorcery rather than mere illusion
1to be a Magus, or skilled in Magian lore.
2to practise magic: Act.8:9.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
1 Greek text appearance shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Acts 8:9 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
μαγεύων mageuwn
I practice sorcery or magic
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 1 Aligned forms 1 Tenses Present Voices 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 1×
Present Active Acts 8:9 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 1 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 1
Voice
active 1
Mood
participle 1
NT Occurrences
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)
Where It Appears in Scripture
Where this word appears in Scripture: passage, original form, and sense in context.
New Testament Witnesses
Practicing magical arts or enchantments.
Word Origins
μαγεύω is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Contrasts human manipulation of power with divine sovereignty. Acts 8:9-25
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