Greek · G3670 · unreviewed

ὁμολογέω

To confess/profess

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ὁμολογέω G3670

Pronunciation homologéō

What does ὁμολογέω (homologéō) mean in the Bible?

ὁμολογέω (homologéō) is a Greek word meaning "to confess/profess". ὁμολογέω, -ῶ (ὁμόλογος, of one mind: Dan LXX Su 1:60 *), [in LXX: Job. Public acknowledgment of Jesus as Lord demonstrates genuine faith. This term runs through the canonical themes of Covenant, Faith, Messiah.

Full entry for ὁμολογέω (G3670) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

to confess/profess

Extended definition

Public declaration of agreement or belief, often with covenant implications in Christian confession contexts.

(ὁμόλογος, of one mind: Dan LXX Su 1:60 *), [in LXX: Job.40:9 (14) (יָדָה hi.), Jer.44:25 (נָדַר), al. ;]

1to speak the same language (Hdt.).

2to agree with (Hdt., Plat., al.).

3to agree, confess, acknowledge (Plat., al.) : absol., Jhn.1:20 12:42; pass., Rom.10:10; before ὅτι, ib., Heb.11:13; with accusative of thing(s), Act.23:8, 1Jn.1:9, Rev.3:5; id. with dative of person(s), Act.24:14; with accusative cogn., 1Ti.6:12; with accusative of person(s), 1Jn.2:23 Jn 4:3; id. before pred. accusative (Bl., § 34, 5; 73, 5), Jhn.9:22, Rom.10:9, 1Jn.4:2 Jn 4:15, 2Jn.7; with inf. (M, Pr., 229), Tit.1:16; with dative of person(s) before ὅτι, Mat.7:23; before ἐν, with dative of person(s) (M, Pr., 104; Bl., § 41, 2), Mat.10:32, Luk.12:8.

4to agree, promise: τ. ἐπαγγελίαν, Act.7:17; with inf. obj. (Bl., § 61, 3), Mat.14:7.

5= ἐξμολογέω, to praise: Heb.13:15 (Westc., in l). (cf. ἀνθ-ομολογέομοι, ἐξμολογέω.)

Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith

Why This Word Matters

Public acknowledgment of Jesus as Lord demonstrates genuine faith. 1 John 1:5-10

Public allegiance to Christ carries eternal consequences. 1 John 2:18-23

Defines public allegiance to Christ. 1 John 4:1-6

Represents alignment with God’s evaluation of sin, forming the pathway to restored fellowship. 1 John 4:13-16

Public affirmation of Jesus as the Christ functions as the dividing line between truth and deception.

Public affirmation of Jesus’ incarnation marks alignment with the Spirit of God.

Public affirmation of Jesus as Son of God anchors abiding relationship.

Confession is not vague regret but agreement with God’s truth, restoring fellowship through reliance on His promise.

Public and doctrinal affirmation of Christ is essential to genuine fellowship with God.

Public affirmation of the incarnate Christ marks the Spirit’s work.

Doctrinal confession is inseparable from genuine abiding.

Grammatical Forms

How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.

Tenses

Aorist Future Present Imperfect

Voices

Active Passive

Indicative states a fact or reality 17×

Aorist Active Matt 14:7 · John 1:20 · Acts 7:17 · 1 Tim 6:12 5×

Future Active Matt 7:23 · Matt 10:32 · Rev 3:5 · Luke 12:8 5×

Present Active Acts 23:8 · Titus 1:16 · 1 John 4:2 · 1 John 4:3 · Acts 24:14 5×

Imperfect Active John 12:42 1×

Present Passive Rom 10:10 1×

Subjunctive possibility, probability, or purpose 5×

Aorist Active Luke 12:8 · John 9:22 · 1 John 4:15 · Rom 10:9 4×

Present Active 1 John 1:9 1×

Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 4×

Present Active Heb 13:15 · 1 John 2:23 · 2 John 1:7 3×

Aorist Active Heb 11:13 1×

Discourse Aspect

How this verb appears across 26 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).

Aspect

completed 5 ongoing 6 prospective 5 background 1 subjunctive 5 participle 4

Tense

present 10 aorist 10 future 5 imperfect 1

Voice

active 25 passive 1

Mood

indicative 17 subjunctive 5 participle 4

NT Occurrences

Matthew 7:23 ὁμολογήσω future active indicative prospective Matthew 10:32 ὁμολογήσει future active indicative prospective Matthew 10:32 ὁμολογήσω future active indicative prospective Matthew 14:7 ὡμολόγησεν aorist active indicative completed Luke 12:8 ὁμολογήσῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive Luke 12:8 ὁμολογήσει future active indicative prospective John 1:20 ὡμολόγησεν aorist active indicative completed John 1:20 ὡμολόγησεν aorist active indicative completed John 9:22 ὁμολογήσῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive John 12:42 ὡμολόγουν imperfect active indicative background Acts 7:17 ὡμολόγησεν aorist active indicative completed Acts 23:8 ὁμολογοῦσιν present active indicative ongoing Acts 24:14 ὁμολογῶ present active indicative ongoing Romans 10:10 ὁμολογεῖται present passive indicative ongoing Romans 10:9 ὁμολογήσῃς aorist active subjunctive subjunctive 1 Timothy 6:12 ὡμολόγησας aorist active indicative completed Titus 1:16 ὁμολογοῦσιν present active indicative ongoing Hebrews 11:13 ὁμολογήσαντες aorist active participle participle Hebrews 13:15 ὁμολογούντων present active participle participle 1 John 1:9 ὁμολογῶμεν present active subjunctive subjunctive 1 John 2:23 ὁμολογῶν present active participle participle 1 John 4:15 ὁμολογήσῃ aorist active subjunctive subjunctive 1 John 4:2 ὁμολογεῖ present active indicative ongoing 1 John 4:3 ὁμολογεῖ present active indicative ongoing 2 John 1:7 ὁμολογοῦντες present active participle participle Revelation 3:5 ὁμολογήσω future active indicative prospective

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)

Canonical Themes

Covenant Faith MessiahRevelation Spirit

Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

New Testament Witnesses

1 John 1:5-10 confess homologéō Subjunctive · Present Active

To acknowledge openly and align oneself with God’s verdict about one’s sin.

1 John 2:18-23 confess homologéō Participle · Present Active

To openly affirm and align with the truth about Jesus.

1 John 4:1-6 confess homologéō Indicative · Present Active

To openly affirm agreement with truth.

1 John 4:13-16 confess homologéō Subjunctive · Aorist Active

To openly affirm agreement with revealed truth.

Additional Occurrences

1-john Confess homologéō

to openly acknowledge

1-john Confess homologéō

to acknowledge openly, to agree with

1-john Confess homologéō

to acknowledge openly

1-john Confess homologéō

to acknowledge openly

Appears In

Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.

Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

John 12 — The Anointed King, the Lifted-Up Son of Man, and the Hour of Glory John 9 — The Man Born Blind, the Light of the World, and the Blindness of Religious Unbelief Luke 12 — Fear God, Confess Christ, Seek the Kingdom, and Be Ready Matthew 10 — The Mission of the Twelve, Costly Witness, and Allegiance to Christ Romans 10 — Christ the End of the Law and the Righteousness Received by Faith

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

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

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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