To read
Reading a lexicon entry
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Ἀναγινώσκω (anaginōskō) means to read or read aloud so that written words are recognized and understood. Jesus asks whether His critics have read what David did when hungry, showing that possession of Scripture does not guarantee faithful interpretation.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀναγινώσκω (G314) · Open the biblical lexicon
Ἀναγινώσκω (anaginōskō) means to read or read aloud so that written words are recognized and understood. Jesus asks whether His critics have read what David did when hungry, showing that possession of Scripture does not guarantee faithful interpretation.
The BSB source-word alignment has 32 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include Have you not read (5), Have you never read (4), read (4), reading (3), reader (2).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 12:3. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (8), Matthew (7), Mark (4), 2 Corinthians (3).
Ἀναγινώσκω (anaginōskō) means to read or read aloud so that written words are recognized and understood. Jesus asks whether His critics have read what David did when hungry, showing that possession of Scripture does not guarantee faithful interpretation. John's crucifixion notice is read by many because it stands publicly near the city in three languages, making Pilate's title widely accessible.
Felix reads a legal letter before determining jurisdiction in Paul's case, an ordinary administrative use. Revelation blesses the public reader and the hearers who keep the prophecy, joining oral reading, communal listening, and obedience. Reading may retrieve narrative, communicate public inscription, process evidence, or proclaim Scripture. The verb itself does not ensure comprehension, agreement, or faithfulness; the reader must attend to context and respond rightly.
Ἀναγινώσκω describes reading or reading aloud. Jesus appeals to Scripture read but misapplied, crowds read the crucifixion title, a governor reads a case letter, and Revelation blesses reading joined to hearing and obedience.
Jesus replied, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?
Jesus asks whether critics have read David's hunger narrative, challenging an interpretation of Sabbath that knows words yet misses mercy and scriptural pattern.
Jesus replied, “Have you never read what David did when he and his companions were hungry and in need?
Mark's parallel emphasizes David and his companions in need, requiring readers to connect the cited story with the disciples' present hunger.
Many of the Jews read this sign, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek.
Many people read the multilingual title over Jesus' cross, making the contested claim “King of the Jews” public across linguistic communities.
The governor read the letter and asked what province Paul was from. Learning that he was from Cilicia,
Felix reads the commander's letter and asks Paul's province, using a written document to establish the next step in legal jurisdiction.
Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and obey what is written in it, because the time is near.
Revelation blesses the one reading aloud and those hearing and keeping the prophecy, portraying Scripture reception as a communal, obedient event.
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. Reading aloud to others, not silently; emphasizes public proclamation of written text.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 33 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I read
Read verseI read
Read verseI read
Read verseI read
Read verseI read
Read verseI read
Read verseI read
Read verseI read
Read verseI read
Read verseI read
Read verseI read
Read verseI read
Read verseI read
Read verseI read
Read verseI read
Read verseI read
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 31 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)
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 32 lexical occurrence verses.
ἀναγινώσκω is built from these roots:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Reading is accountable hearing through written words. Jesus' opponents know the Sabbath controversy but have failed to let David's story correct their use of Scripture; the question “Have you not read? ” exposes interpretation, not illiteracy. At the cross, a short title reaches many readers and announces kingship even as leaders object. Acts shows reading in civic administration, where a letter carries testimony that must still be evaluated.
Revelation makes public reading a blessed ministry, but the blessing extends to hearers who keep what is written. Churches should read Scripture aloud, teach its contexts, test documents carefully, and expect written truth to demand response. Ἀναγινώσκω does not permit confidence in exposure alone. Faithful reading recognizes genre, follows argument, receives the word communally, and obeys the God who speaks through it.
Matt.12.3
Ἀναγινώσκω is the common verb for reading and can include public oral reading in an ancient setting. The object identifies the written text; surrounding verbs distinguish reading from hearing, understanding, or obeying.
Moses commands public reading, kings read covenant words, synagogue readers proclaim prophets, Jesus asks how Scripture is read, and churches hear apostolic writings together.
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