(The act of) reading
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.
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G320 names reading, especially public reading aloud, with 1 Timothy 4:13 placing Scripture reading alongside exhortation and teaching. Readers often come to this word asking about public reading of Scripture, Scripture in worship, Bible reading, and why Paul commands reading.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀνάγνωσις (G320) · Open the biblical lexicon
G320 names reading, especially public reading aloud, with 1 Timothy 4:13 placing Scripture reading alongside exhortation and teaching. Readers often come to this word asking about public reading of Scripture, Scripture in worship, Bible reading, and why Paul commands reading.
The BSB source-word alignment has 3 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include reading (2), public reading of Scripture (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Acts 13:15. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Timothy (1), 2 Corinthians (1), Acts (1).
G320 names reading, especially public reading aloud, with 1 Timothy 4:13 placing Scripture reading alongside exhortation and teaching. Readers often come to this word asking about public reading of Scripture, Scripture in worship, Bible reading, and why Paul commands reading. In the Pastoral Epistles, the word must be read inside the sentence, the paragraph, and the local charge to Timothy or Titus before it becomes a broader teaching category.
This companion keeps the search question useful while refusing to let a search term control the text. It helps shepherds, teachers, leaders, churches, groups, families, and disciples ask what the passage is actually doing, how the word serves the book argument, and how the gospel governs the application. It also guards against treating the reading of Scripture as a filler before the real ministry begins.
The aim is not to create a shortcut around Scripture but to make the word a doorway back into Scripture with clearer questions and better boundaries.
Public reading; reading aloud matters for readers because it opens the public ministry of Scripture as a primary act of church formation.
After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent word to them: “Brothers, if you have a word of encouragement for the people, please speak.”
The reading of the Law and Prophets gives way to exhortation in the synagogue setting.
But their minds were closed. For to this day the same veil remains at the reading of the old covenant. It has not been lifted, because only in Christ can it be removed.
Paul refers to the reading of the old covenant in a discussion of unveiled understanding in Christ.
Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, and to teaching.
Timothy is to devote himself to public reading, exhortation, and teaching.
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. Public liturgical reading of Scripture aloud in worship, distinct from private study or silent reading.
Public liturgical reading of Scripture aloud in worship, distinct from private study or silent reading.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
3 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
reading
Read versereading
Read versereading
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 this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 2 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.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
ἀνάγνωσις is built from this root:
Teach G320 by starting with the local passage and the burden that caused the word to matter there. The entry opens the public ministry of Scripture as a primary act of church formation. A faithful teacher should define the word plainly, show how the immediate context uses it, and then move carefully to related witnesses without pretending that one word proves every doctrine attached to the subject.
This matters for end users who may search for public reading of Scripture, Scripture in worship, Bible reading, and why Paul commands reading but need more than a dictionary answer. The word should bring them back to Christ, the gospel, the household of God, and the obedience Scripture calls for. It corrects word-centered ministry that speaks about Scripture more than it lets Scripture itself be heard.
Keep the tone clear and sober: enough definition to orient the reader, enough canonical connection to deepen trust, and enough restraint to avoid making the word say more than the passage says.
Acts.13.15
The noun names the act of reading. In these contexts it carries a public, gathered sense rather than private study alone.
Use the Old Testament and wider canonical background only where the cited passages or the local lexicon artifact warrant it. The Pastoral Epistles remain the controlling entry point for this batch.
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