ἄγω
ágō · G71 · Greek · 69 occurrences
Meanings
-
to lead, to bring
To direct or guide the movement of an object, without special regard to point of departure or goal
ExamplesMatthew 10:18 and you will even be brought before governors and kings on My account, as a testimony to them and to the Gentiles.
Matthew 21:2 saying to them, “Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find a donkey tied there and a colt with it. Untie them and bring them to Me.
Matthew 21:7 and brought the donkey and the colt, and laid their cloaks on them; and He sat on the cloaks.
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to carry, to bring
To carry or bring, especially animate beings
ExamplesLuke 4:40 Now while the sun was setting, all those who had any who were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He was laying His hands on each one of them and healing them.
Luke 10:34 and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own animal, and brought him to an inn and took care of him.
2 Timothy 3:6 For among them are those who slip into households and captivate weak women weighed down with sins, led on by various impulses,
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to go away, to leave
To move away from a reference point
ExamplesMatthew 26:46 “Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”
Mark 1:38 He said to them, “Let’s go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may also preach there; for this is why I came.”
Mark 14:42 “Get up, let’s go; behold, the one who is betraying Me is near!”
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to guide, to direct, to lead
To so influence others as to cause them to follow a recommended course of action
ExamplesLuke 4:1 Now Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led around by the Spirit in the wilderness
Romans 2:4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and restraint and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?
Romans 8:14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons and daughters of God.
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to carry on, to function, to be operative
To be actively performing some function
ExamplesActs 19:38 “So then, if Demetrius and the craftsmen who are with him have a complaint against anyone, the courts are in session and proconsuls are available; have them bring charges against one another.
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to take place, to be, to occur
To occur at a particular or expected time
ExamplesLuke 24:21 “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
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to spend time
To experience a duration of time
ExamplesLuke 24:21 “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.
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look, listen, pay attention, come now, then
Prompter of attention, which serves also to emphasize the following statement
ExamplesJames 4:13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.”
James 5:1 Come now, you rich people, weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you.
How it’s used In 7 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
69 occurrences in 29 groups
- Not stated: they 11
- Not stated: he, she or it 9
- Not stated: you (more than one) 8
- Not stated: we 6
- αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 3
- Not stated: you (one person) 3
- Other words · 21 groups that occur once or twice (24) 24
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
31 occurrences in 17 groups
- αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 14
- Other words · 16 groups that occur once or twice (18) 18
To or for whomIndirect object
4 occurrences in 4 groups
- ἐγώI, we 1
- ἸσραήλIsrael 1
- ξενίζωto show hospitality 1
- σύyou 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
40 occurrences in 39 groups
- εἰςto+ ἹερουσαλήμJerusalem 3
- πρόςto, toward, with+ αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 3
- Other words · 37 groups that occur once or twice (40) 40
With adverbsAdverbs
13 occurrences in 10 groups
- καίand 3
- Other words · 9 groups that occur once or twice (11) 11
What it doesIt is the subject
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- δέωto bind, to tie 1
What is done to itIt is the object
13 occurrences in 6 groups
- κελεύωto order 5
- ἔπωto say 3
- λέγωto say 3
- ἐρωτάωto ask, to ask for 1
- ἵστημιto stand, to set 1
- ἀγνοέωto not know 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
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.
In the other Testament 2 words
- בּוֹא bôwʼ · H935 · to come in, to go, to arrive, to reach
- Greek ἄγω emphasizes the act of leading or bringing with agency and direction, while Hebrew בּוֹא focuses on the act of coming or entering, often with emphasis on arrival at a destination; both share core motion semantics but differ in directional perspective (leading/bringing vs. coming/entering).
- נָהַג nâhag · H5090 · to lead, to guide, to drive
- Greek ἄγω emphasizes leading or bringing with agency (often of persons or animals being conducted), while Hebrew נָהַג typically denotes driving or leading livestock/caravans with ongoing impetus, though both share the core semantic domain of causing movement under guidance.
Semantic domains 8 entries
- To lead, to bring15.165
- This verb denotes leading a person or animal to a destination, as in Matthew 21:2's instruction to untie a donkey and its colt and bring them to Jesus.
- To carry, to bring15.210
- The verb also denotes being brought before an authority, as in Matthew 10:18's warning that disciples will be brought before governors and kings on Jesus' account.
- To go away, to leave15.34
- The verb also denotes a reflexive setting out together, as in Mark 1:38's account of Jesus saying, "Let's go somewhere else to the towns nearby, so that I may also preach there."
- To guide, to direct, to lead36.1
- This domain reflects a further sense of guiding or directing another's course, found elsewhere in this word's range of occurrences rather than being illustrated by the citations sampled here.
- To carry on, to function, to be operative42.1
- This domain reflects a further sense of an activity being carried on or kept in operation, found elsewhere in this word's range of occurrences rather than being illustrated by the citations sampled here.
- To take place, to be, to occur67.64
- This domain reflects a further sense of a time or event coming to pass, found elsewhere in this word's range of occurrences rather than being illustrated by the citations sampled here.
- To spend time67.79
- This domain reflects a further sense of passing or spending a period of time, found elsewhere in this word's range of occurrences rather than being illustrated by the citations sampled here.
- Look, listen, pay attention, come now, then91.13
- This domain reflects a further sense of this verb used as a discourse marker calling for attention, found elsewhere in this word's range of occurrences rather than being illustrated by the citations sampled here.
Word family 60 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Also from the root ἄγω
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon imperfect ἦγον; future ἄξω; 2 aorist ἤγαγον, infinitive ἀγαγεῖν (more rarely 1 aorist…
1. properly (A. V. ordinarily, to bring);
a. to lead by laying hold of, and in this way to bring to the point of destination: of an animal, Mt 21:7; Lk 19:35; Mk 11:7 (T Tr WH φέρουσιν); (Lk 19:30); τινα followed by εἰς with the accusative of place, Lk 4:9 (others refer this to 2 c.); Lk 10:34; (ἤγαγον καί εἰσήγαγον, Lk 22:54); Jn 18:28; Acts 6:12; Acts 9:2; Acts 17:5 (R G); Acts 21:34; Acts 22:5, Acts 22:24 Rec.; Acts 23:10, Acts 23:31; ἐπί with the accusative, Acts 17:19; ἕως, Lk 4:29; πρός τινα, to persons, Luke (Lk 4:40); ; Acts 9:27; Jn 8:3 (Rec.).
b. to lead by accompanying to (into) any place: εἰς, Acts 11:26 (Acts 11:25); ἕως, Acts 17:15; πρός τινα, to persons, Jn 1:42 (Jn 1:43); ; Acts 23:18; followed by the dative of person to whom, Acts 21:16 on which see Winers Grammar, 214 (201) at length (cf. Buttmann, 284 (244)) (1 Macc. 7:2 ἄγειν αὐτούς αὐτῷ).
c. to lead with oneself, attach to oneself as an attendant: τινα, 2 Tim 4:11; 1 Thess 4:14 (Josephus, Antiquities 10, 9, 6 ἀπῆρεν εἰς τήν Αἴγυπτον ἀγών καί Ιερεμιαν). Some refer Acts 21:16 to this head, resolving it ἄγοντες Μνάσωνα παρ' ᾧ ξενισθῶμεν, but incorrectly, see Winers Grammar (and Buttmann) as above.
d. to conduct, bring: τινα (Lk 19:27); Jn 7:45; (Jn 19:4, Jn 19:13); Acts 5:21, Acts 5:26,(); Acts 19:37; Acts 20:12; Acts 25:6, Acts 25:23; πῶλον, Mk 11:2 (where T Tr WH φέρετε); (Lk 19:30, see a. above); τινα τίνι or τί τίνι, Mt 21:2; Acts 13:23 G L T Tr WH.
e. to lead away, to a court of justice, magistrate, etc.: simply, Mk 13:11; (Acts 25:17); ἐπί with the accusative, Mt 10:18; Lk 21:12 (T Tr WH ἀπαγομένους; (Lk 23:1); Acts (Acts 9:21); Acts 18:12; (often in Attic); (πρός with the accusative, Jn 18:13 L T Tr WH); to punishment: simply (2 Macc. 6:29 2Macc. 7:18, etc.), Jn 19:16 Griesbach (R καί ἀπήγαγον, which L T Tr WH have expunged); with the telic infinitive, Lk 23:32; (followed by ἵνα, Mk 15:20 Lachmann); ἐπί σφαγήν, Acts 8:32 (ἐπί θανάτῳ, Xenophon, mem. 4, 4, 3; an. 1, 6, 10).
2. tropically,
a. to lead, guide, direct: Jn 10:16; εἰς μετάνοιαν, Rom 2:4.
b. to lead through, conduct, to something, become the author of good or of evil to some one: εἰς δόξαν, Heb 2:10 (εἰς (others, ἐπί) καλοκἀγαθίαν, Xenophon, mem. 1, 6, 14; εἰς δουλείαν, Demosthenes, p. 213, 28).
c. to more, impel, of forces and influences affecting the mind: Lk 4:1 (where read ἐν τῇ ἐρήμῳ (with L text T Tr WH)); πνεύματι Θεοῦ ἄγεσθαι, Rom 8:14; Gal 5:18; ἐπιθυμίαις, 2 Tim 3:6; simply, urged on by blind impulse, 1 Cor 12:2 — unless impelled by Satan's influence be preferable, cf. 1 Cor 10:20; Eph 2:2; (Buttmann, 383f (328f)).
3. to pass a day, keep or celebrate a feast, etc.: τρίτην ἡμέραν ἄγει namely, ὁ Ἰσραήλ, Lk 24:21 (others (see Meyer) supply αὐτός or ὁ Ἰησοῦς; still others take ἄγει as impersonal, one passes, Vulg.tertiadiesest; see Buttmann, 134 (118)); γενεσίων ἀγομένων, Mt 14:6 R G; ἀγοραῖοι (which see, 2), Acts 19:38; often in the O. T. Apocrypha (cf. Wahl, Claris Apocr. under the word ἄγω, 3), in Herodotus and Attic writers.
4. intransitive, to go, depart (Winers Grammar, § 38, 1, p. 251 (236); (Buttmann, 144 (126))): ἄγωμεν let us go, Mt 26:46; Mk 14:42; Jn 14:31; πρός τινα, Jn 11:15; εἰς with the accusative of place, Mk 1:38; Jn 11:7 (Epictetus diss. 3, 22, 55 ἄγωμεν, ἐπί τόν ἀνθύπατον); (followed by ἵνα, Jn 11:16. Compare: ἀνάγω, ἐπανάγω, ἀπάγω, συναπάγω, διάγω, εἰσάγω, παρεισάγω, ἐξάγω, ἐπάγω, κατάγω, μετάγω παράγω, περιάγω, προάγω, προσάγω, συνάγω, ἐπισυνάγω, ὑπάγω. Synonym: cf. Schmidt, chapter 105.)
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 8 entries
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.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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