ἐπιτάσσω

ἐντέλλομαι entéllomai · G1781 · to command

The target term ἐπιτάσσω and ἐντέλλομαι (“to enjoin”) both denote authoritative commanding, differing primarily in register or nuance — one broadly “to order, to instruct, to command,” the other more specifically “to enjoin” — genuinely near-synonymous command verbs.

κελεύω keleúō · G2753 · to order, to command

Both denote authoritative command or directive speech. κελεύω typically appears in contexts of direct personal orders, while ἐπιτάσσω often carries a nuance of arranging or assigning tasks with emphasis on the organizing aspect of the command.

אֲמַר ʼămar · H560 · to say, to speak, to tell

The Aramaic אֲמַר (ʼămar, H560) אֲמַר encompasses a broader semantic range including general speech acts (say, speak, tell, declare), while ἐπιτάσσω (epitássō, G2004) ἐπιτάσσω specifically denotes authoritative ordering or commanding; the cross-linguistic equivalence holds in contexts where אֲמַר (ʼămar, H560)'s 'command' sense corresponds to Greek ἐπιτάσσω's 'order/command' register, but אֲמַר (ʼămar, H560)'s more general declarative uses fall outside this equivalence.

To order, to instruct, to tell, to command33.325

In Mark 6:27, Herod “sent an executioner and commanded him to bring back” John the Baptist's head — issuing a direct order to be carried out.

Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.

Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.