# G2097 - euangelizo **Strong's:** [G2097](https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g2097/) · BLB lookup **Pronunciation:** yoo-ang-ghel-id'-zo **Part of speech:** verb (the middle-deponent form *euangelizomai* is the more common NT form) **Etymology:** *eu-* (good) + *angellō* (to announce / proclaim), literally "to announce good (news)." **Hebrew equivalent (LXX):** בָּשַׂר (*basar*, "to bring news / proclaim glad tidings"), [Isaiah 40:9](/codex/isaiah-40-9/); 52:7; 61:1. **NT occurrences:** 54, concentrated in Luke (10), Acts (15), Pauline epistles (~21), 1 Peter, Hebrews, Revelation. **Companion noun:** [G2098 - euangelion](/codex/g2098-euangelion/) (good news / gospel), the cognate noun. ## Semantic range (Thayer / BDAG) 1. **To bring / proclaim good news (general)**, the literal sense; announce a positive message. Used non-religiously of any good-news-bearer ([1 Sam 31:9](/codex/1-samuel-31-9/) LXX of Saul's death-news to the Philistines, ironically *euangelizomai*-ing what is *bad* news for Israel; the verb is morally neutral on its semantic content though usually positive). 2. **To preach the gospel of Jesus Christ**, the dominant NT sense; the technical-Christian use, where the "good news" is specifically Christ's death-and-resurrection-and-coming-Kingdom. 3. **To announce / promise (eschatologically)**, the prophetic-eschatological sense, drawing on the Isaianic *mevaśśer* tradition. ## Theological force, the [Isaiah 40](/codex/isaiah-40/) / 52 / 61 announcement-tradition The verb *euangelizō* / *euangelizomai* is one of the most theologically loaded mission-vocabulary words in the NT. Its weight comes from the Isaianic background. ### Stream 1, The Isaianic *mevaśśer* (announcer of good news) tradition Three Isaiah passages establish the OT-Hebrew background: - **[Isaiah 40:9](/codex/isaiah-40-9/)**, "get yourselves up on a high mountain, O Zion, *mevaśśeret-tsiyyon* (announcer-of-good-news to Zion)... say to the cities of Judah, 'Behold your God!'", the prophet-as-announcer of YHWH's coming - **[Isaiah 52:7](/codex/isaiah-52-7/)**, "how lovely on the mountains are the feet of him who *mevaśśer*, who announces *shalom*, who *mevaśśer-tov* (announces good), who announces *yeshuʿah* (salvation), who says to Zion, 'Your God reigns!'" - **[Isaiah 61:1](/codex/isaiah-61-1/)**, "the Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to *levaśśer* (preach good tidings) to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives..." The NT activates each of these directly: - **[Romans 10:15](/codex/romans-10-15/)** quotes [Isa 52:7](/codex/isaiah-52-7/), "how beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!" - **[Luke 4:18-21](/codex/luke-4-18-21/)**, Jesus reads [Isa 61:1](/codex/isaiah-61-1/) at the Nazareth synagogue and declares "today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" - **[Matthew 11:5](/codex/matthew-11-5/) / [Luke 7:22](/codex/luke-7-22/)**, Jesus's response to John's question quotes [Isa 61:1](/codex/isaiah-61-1/): "the poor have the gospel preached to them" (*ptōchoi euangelizontai*) The Isaianic *mevaśśer* tradition gives the *euangelizō* its eschatological weight: this is *not* a generic "preaching" verb but the specific *announcement-of-the-coming-of-God* the prophets foretold. ### Stream 2, Christ as the supreme *Euangelizer* (gospel-bringer) In the Synoptic tradition, Jesus's own ministry is *euangelizō*-shaped: - **[Luke 4:43](/codex/luke-4-43/)**, "I must *euangelisasthai* (preach the good news of) the kingdom of God to the other cities also; for I was sent for this purpose" - **[Luke 7:22](/codex/luke-7-22/); 8:1**, Jesus's preaching ministry as *euangelizō* - **[Matthew 11:5](/codex/matthew-11-5/)**, the proof-of-Messianic-identity is "the poor have the *euangelizontai*" - **[Mark 1:14-15](/codex/mark-1-14-15/)**, Jesus comes "preaching the *euangelion* of God" Christ Himself is *the original euangelizer*, the One who announces His own arrival and His own kingdom. The apostolic-church's *euangelizō*-mission is participation in and continuation of Christ's own mission. ### Stream 3, Apostolic-church *euangelizō* The Acts narrative is structured around the *euangelizō*-mission spreading from Jerusalem to "the ends of the earth" ([Acts 1:8](/codex/acts-1-8/)): - **[Acts 5:42](/codex/acts-5-42/); 8:4, 12, 25, 35, 40; 10:36; 11:20; 13:32; 14:7, 15, 21; 15:35; 16:10; 17:18**, the apostolic-mission as *euangelizō*-act - **[Romans 1:15](/codex/romans-1-15/); 15:20; [1 Corinthians 1:17](/codex/1-corinthians-1-17/); 9:16, 18**, Pauline mission-vocabulary - **[Galatians 1:8-9](/codex/galatians-1-8-9/), [11](/codex/galatians-1-11/), [16](/codex/galatians-1-16/), [23](/codex/galatians-1-23/); 4:13**, Paul's defense of his apostolic *euangelizō*-content - **[Ephesians 2:17](/codex/ephesians-2-17/); 3:8**, Christ's *euangelizō*-of-peace [Galatians 1:8-9](/codex/galatians-1-8-9/) is particularly weighty: "even if we, or an angel from heaven, should *euangelizētai* to you a *euangelion* contrary to what we have *euangelisametha* to you, he is to be accursed." Paul anchors the *euangelizō*-content as *fixed*, there is *one gospel*, and any other "evangelization" is anathema. ## Notable verses ### The Isaianic anchor and Christ's activation - **[Isaiah 40:9](/codex/isaiah-40-9/)**, Zion as *mevaśśer* - **[Isaiah 52:7](/codex/isaiah-52-7/)**, beautiful feet of the announcer; quoted [Rom 10:15](/codex/romans-10-15/) - **[Isaiah 61.1-2](/codex/isaiah-61-1-2/)**, anointed to preach good news; quoted [Luke 4:18-21](/codex/luke-4-18-21/) - **[Luke 4:18-21](/codex/luke-4-18-21/)**, Jesus's Nazareth-synagogue inaugural - **[Matthew 11:5](/codex/matthew-11-5/) / [Luke 7.22](/codex/luke-7-22/)**, "the poor have the gospel preached to them" - **[Luke 4:43](/codex/luke-4-43/)**, "I must preach the kingdom" ### Apostolic mission - **[Acts 5:42](/codex/acts-5-42/)**, "every day, in the temple and from house to house, they kept right on teaching and *preaching Jesus as the Christ*" - **[Acts 8:4](/codex/acts-8-4/)**, the dispersed Christians "*went around evangelizing* the word" - **[Acts 8:12](/codex/acts-8-12/), [35](/codex/acts-8-35/); [Acts 11:20](/codex/acts-11-20/); [Acts 13:32](/codex/acts-13-32/); [Acts 14:7](/codex/acts-14-7/), [15](/codex/acts-14-15/), [21](/codex/acts-14-21/); [Acts 15:35](/codex/acts-15-35/); [Acts 16:10](/codex/acts-16-10/); [Acts 17:18](/codex/acts-17-18/)**, the Acts mission-narrative - **[Romans 10:15](/codex/romans-10-15/)**, [Isaiah 52:7](/codex/isaiah-52-7/) quotation - **[Romans 15:20](/codex/romans-15-20/)**, Paul's frontier-mission ambition: "to *euangelizō* not where Christ was already named" - **[1 Corinthians 1:17](/codex/1-corinthians-1-17/)**, "Christ did not send me to baptize, but to *euangelizō*" - **[1 Corinthians 9:16-18](/codex/1-corinthians-9-16-18/)**, "necessity is laid upon me; for woe is me if I do not *euangelizō*" - **[Galatians 1:8-9](/codex/galatians-1-8-9/)**, anathema on any other gospel - **[Galatians 1:11](/codex/galatians-1-11/), [16](/codex/galatians-1-16/), [23](/codex/galatians-1-23/)**, Paul's defense - **[Ephesians 2:17](/codex/ephesians-2-17/); [Ephesians 3:8](/codex/ephesians-3-8/)**, Christ's gospel of peace ### Eschatological / Revelation - **[Revelation 14:6](/codex/revelation-14-6/)**, "an angel flying in midheaven, having an *eternal gospel* (*euangelion aiōnion*) to *euangelisai* over those who live on the earth" ### Hebrews - **[Hebrews 4:2](/codex/hebrews-4-2/), [6](/codex/hebrews-4-6/)**, "good news has been *evangelized* to us, just as also to them" ## Patristic / scholarly note The early-Christian mission-theology is anchored in *euangelizō*-vocabulary. **[Justin Martyr](/codex/justin-martyr/)** (*First Apology*), describes the church's expansion in *euangelizō*-terms. **Eusebius of Caesarea** (*Ecclesiastical History*), treats the apostolic mission as the consummating fulfillment of the Isaianic *mevaśśer* tradition. **Reformed mission theology** (Roland Allen, *Missionary Methods*, 1912; Lesslie Newbigin, *The Open Secret*, 1978; David Bosch, *Transforming Mission*, 1991), develops the apostolic *euangelizō*-pattern as the ongoing pattern of the church's mission. **N.T. Wright** (*Surprised by Hope*, 2008; *How God Became King*, 2012), emphasizes the Isaianic-Kingdom *euangelizō*-content (the news that *YHWH is now king through Jesus*) against narrower individualist soteriological reductions of "evangelism." The relationship between *euangelizō* (the verb) and [G2098 - euangelion](/codex/g2098-euangelion/) (the noun) is largely synonymous in content but differs in grammatical aspect: the verb emphasizes *the activity* (proclaiming); the noun emphasizes *the content* (what is proclaimed). Both center on the same Christic-Kingdom subject matter. The **[Isaiah 40](/codex/isaiah-40/) / 52 / 61 / [Luke 4](/codex/luke-4/) line** is among the most decisive trajectories in biblical theology: the OT-prophetic announcer-of-good-news tradition is *fulfilled* in Christ's own preaching, *commissioned* in the apostolic mission, and *consummates* in the eschatological-angel of [Rev 14:6](/codex/revelation-14-6/) announcing the *eternal gospel*. The trajectory binds OT prophecy, NT mission, and final consummation in one vocabulary. ## Verses in this codex _See Obsidian's backlinks pane for every verse page linking here._ Anchors: [Isaiah 40:9](/codex/isaiah-40-9/), [Isaiah 52:7](/codex/isaiah-52-7/), [Isaiah 61.1-2](/codex/isaiah-61-1-2/) (Isaianic background); [Luke 4:18-21](/codex/luke-4-18-21/) (Christ's inaugural); [Romans 10:15](/codex/romans-10-15/) (the [Isa 52:7](/codex/isaiah-52-7/) NT-citation); [1 Corinthians 1:17](/codex/1-corinthians-1-17/) (Pauline mission-priority); [Galatians 1:8-9](/codex/galatians-1-8-9/) (one-gospel anathema); [Revelation 14:6](/codex/revelation-14-6/) (eschatological angel-gospel). ## See also - [G2098 - euangelion](/codex/g2098-euangelion/), *euangelion* (gospel), cognate noun - H1319 - basar verb, *basar* (verb, to bring news), Hebrew correspondent - [Romans Road](/codex/romans-road/), the gospel-presentation pattern - [Mission Geography (Acts 1-8)](/codex/mission-geography-acts-1-8/), the apostolic mission-frame - [Salvation of the Unevangelized](/codex/salvation-of-the-unevangelized/), adjacent question - Passages: [Isaiah 52:7](/codex/isaiah-52-7/), [Isaiah 61.1-2](/codex/isaiah-61-1-2/), [Luke 4:18-21](/codex/luke-4-18-21/), [Romans 10:15](/codex/romans-10-15/), [Galatians 1:8-9](/codex/galatians-1-8-9/), [Revelation 14:6](/codex/revelation-14-6/)