# G3004 - lego **Strong's:** [G3004](https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3004/) · BLB lookup **Pronunciation:** leg'-o **Part of speech:** verb **Etymology:** primary verb, the lexical-root that yields English *legein / -logy / -logue / dialogue / logic*. Cognate with [G3056 - logos](/codex/g3056-logos/), *logos* (word, account, reason); the nominal counterpart of the verbal *legō* is the substantival *logos*. **NT occurrences:** ~2354 (the most-frequent verb in the NT; pervasive across every author and genre). ## Semantic range (Thayer / BDAG) 1. **To say, to speak**, the most general NT speech-verb; the bare-default verb for any verbal-utterance, used as the prose-narrative speech-tag throughout the Gospels and Acts (*"and he said to them..."*). 2. **To call (someone or something) something**, the *naming / classifying* sense; e.g., [John 1:38](/codex/john-1-38/), *"Rabbi, which is to say (legetai) Teacher"*, identifying-by-name. Also [Matt 1:16](/codex/matthew-1-16/), *"Jesus, who is called (legomenos) Christ"*. 3. **To mean, to signify**, the *explanatory* sense; introducing the meaning of a prior statement ([Matt 9:13](/codex/matthew-9-13/), *"go and learn what this means (estin)"*; cf. [1 Cor 1:12](/codex/1-corinthians-1-12/), *"now I mean (legō) this"*). 4. **To declare, to assert, to affirm**, the *propositional-declarative* sense; especially in formulaic introductions of authoritative statements (*amēn legō hymin*, *"truly I say to you"*; *egō de legō hymin*, *"but I say to you"*). 5. **To command, to direct**, by extension; speech-acts that constitute orders ([Matt 8:9](/codex/matthew-8-9/), *"I say to this one, Go, and he goes"*). 6. **To report, to tell**, the *informational-relay* sense; what is being said in circulation ([Mark 8:27](/codex/mark-8-27/), *"who do men say (legousin) that I am?"*). ## Theological force, the speech-act that constitutes authority NT Greek has *several* speech-verbs whose register-distinctions matter for theological reading: ### *Legō* vs. *eipon* vs. *laleō* vs. *phēmi*, the four-verb cluster - **G3004 *legō***, the *most general* speech-verb; default narration-tag; carries no specialized register on its own but its *formulaic* deployments (*amēn legō*, *egō de legō*) are heavily loaded. - **G2036 *eipon***, the *aorist* counterpart of *legō* (suppletive paradigm; *legō* lacks an aorist, *eipon* lacks a present), used for *punctiliar* / *completed* speech-events (*"he said"* as a one-time act). - **G2980 *laleō***, the *act of speaking* itself, emphasizing the *vocalization* (the use of voice / tongue / mouth), often paired with *legō* ([Matt 9:18](/codex/matthew-9-18/), *"while He was speaking (lalountos)... a ruler came in and said (legōn)..."*); BDAG distinguishes *laleō* as "*to use the organ of speech*" vs. *legō* "*to express oneself in words*". - **G5346 *phēmi***, *to declare, to affirm*; more formal / oracular in register, often used for *significant declarations* (*"he said affirmatively"*), the Pythian-oracle verb in classical Greek. The distinctions are not mechanical, but the registers matter: a Gospel-writer's choice of *legō* over *laleō* over *phēmi* often signals the kind of speech-event in view. ### Stream 1, *amēn legō hymin* and the authority of Jesus's speech Jesus's signature formula is *amēn legō hymin*, *"truly I say to you"*, prefacing pronouncements with non-derivative authority. The formula appears ~50× in the Synoptics; the Johannine intensified *amēn amēn legō hymin*, *"truly, truly, I say to you"*, appears 25× in John alone. - **[Matthew 5.18](/codex/matthew-5-18/)**, *"for verily I say (amēn legō) unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law"*, the formula introducing Jesus's claim about the law's permanence - **[Mark 8:12](/codex/mark-8-12/); 9:1; 10:15; 14:9; 14:18; 14:25**, *amēn legō hymin* across Markan teaching - **[John 1:51](/codex/john-1-51/); 3:3, 5, 11; 5:19, 24, 25; 6:26, 32, 47, 53; 8:34, 51, 58; etc.**, the Johannine doubled *amēn amēn legō* The OT-prophetic counterpart is *"thus says the LORD"* (*koh amar YHWH*); prophets speak *on behalf of* God with His delegated authority. Jesus's *amēn legō hymin* is structurally different: He speaks *on His own authority* (*ex sua propria persona*) without the prophetic-delegated formula. The patristic and Reformed exegetical tradition reads this as *implicit deity*: only God speaks with that grammar of self-grounded authority. ### Stream 2, *egō de legō hymin* and the Sermon-on-the-Mount antitheses The Sermon-on-the-Mount antitheses ([Matt 5:21-48](/codex/matthew-5-21-48/)) all run on the *"you have heard that it was said... but I say (egō de legō hymin)..."* contrast. The *I* is emphatic in Greek (the verb already carries the subject; the explicit *egō* is added for emphasis): Jesus is positioning Himself as the *authoritative interpreter and re-promulgator* of Torah, claiming the right to definitively unfold what God's law really requires. - **[Matthew 5.22](/codex/matthew-5-22/)** (against anger / contempt, intensifying the sixth commandment) - **[Matthew 5.28](/codex/matthew-5-28/)** (against lustful looking, intensifying the seventh commandment) - **[Matthew 5:32](/codex/matthew-5-32/)** (on divorce) - **[Matthew 5:34](/codex/matthew-5-34/)** (on oaths) - **[Matthew 5.39](/codex/matthew-5-39/)** (against retaliation) - **[Matthew 5.44](/codex/matthew-5-44/)** (love of enemies) The Christological implication: only the *lawgiver Himself* can definitively reinterpret His law with this grammar. Jesus's *egō de legō hymin* is implicit-deity-grammar; the audience either hears it as blasphemy (the later trial-charge of [Mark 14:62-64](/codex/mark-14-62-64/)) or as the lawgiver's self-disclosure. ### Stream 3, *legō* in the divine self-naming, *egō eimi* The Johannine *egō eimi* sayings deploy *legō* at the threshold of divine self-disclosure. The most-famous instance: *[Jn 8:58](/codex/john-8-58/)*, *"Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say (legō) unto you, Before Abraham was born, I am (egō eimi)."* The introductory *legō* + the divine *egō eimi* together signal that Jesus is speaking *as God* and *of God's own name* ([Ex 3:14](/codex/exodus-3-14/), *"I AM THAT I AM"*). The Samaritan-woman episode is structurally similar: *[Jn 4:25-26](/codex/john-4-25-26/)*, *"the woman saith (legei) unto him, I know that Messiah cometh (he that is called (legomenos) Christ): when he is come, he will declare unto us all things. Jesus saith (legei) unto her, I that speak (lalōn) unto thee am he."* The Johannine layering: the woman *says* (*legei*), Messiah is *called* (*legomenos*) Christ, Jesus *says* (*legei*) the *I AM*, and the verbal-disclosure-act (*lalōn*) is itself the disclosure. ### Stream 4, *legō* in the forgiveness pronouncement The healing-of-the-paralytic episode runs on Jesus's *legō*-pronouncement of forgiveness, which the scribes hear as blasphemous because only God forgives sin: - **[Mark 2.5](/codex/mark-2-5/)**, *"Jesus seeing their faith saith (legei) unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins are forgiven."* The narrative-logic of the scene depends on the scribes' (correct) recognition that *who can forgive sins but God only?* ([Mk 2:7](/codex/mark-2-7/)). Jesus's *legō*-act is divine-prerogative speech; His subsequent healing of the paralytic is evidentially-verifying the authority of the speech-act ([Mk 2:10-11](/codex/mark-2-10-11/)). The verb *legō* is doing significant theological work: the *saying* is itself the *forgiving*, because divine speech is performative-creative ([Gen 1:3](/codex/genesis-1-3/); [Ps 33:9](/codex/psalms-33-9/); [Heb 1:3](/codex/hebrews-1-3/)). ### Stream 5, *legō* and naming / classifying A specialized use that recurs at Christologically significant moments: *legō* as *to call (someone) something*, often passive (*legetai*, *legomenos*) for *"is called"*: - **[John 1.38](/codex/john-1-38/)**, *"Rabbi, which is to say (legetai), being interpreted, Teacher"*, the verb introducing a translation-explanation; the Johannine prologue and chapter-1 use this construction repeatedly to translate Aramaic / Hebrew terms for Gentile-Greek readers (Messiah / Christ in 1:41; Cephas / Peter in 1:42). - **[Matt 1:16](/codex/matthew-1-16/)**, *"Joseph the husband of Mary, of whom was born Jesus, who is called (legomenos) Christ"* - **[John 4:25](/codex/john-4-25/)**, *"Messiah... which is called (legomenos) Christ"* - **[John 20:24](/codex/john-20-24/)**, *"Thomas... called (legomenos) Didymus"* The naming-construction recurs at Christologically loaded points: the verb itself is doing the Christological-disclosure work of identifying *who Jesus is* across language-traditions. ## Notable verses ### The *amēn legō* formula - **[Matthew 5.18](/codex/matthew-5-18/)**, *"verily I say unto you, till heaven and earth pass..."* - **[Matt 6:2](/codex/matthew-6-2/), [5](/codex/matthew-6-5/), [16](/codex/matthew-6-16/); 8:10; 10:15, 23, 42; 11:11; 13:17; 16:28; 17:20; 18:3; 19:23; 21:21; 23:36; 24:34; 25:40; 26:13, 21**, the Matthean *amēn legō* - **[Mark 3:28](/codex/mark-3-28/); 8:12; 9:1, 41; 10:15, 29; 11:23; 12:43; 13:30; 14:9, 18, 25, 30**, the Markan *amēn legō* - **[John 1:51](/codex/john-1-51/); 3:3, 5, 11; 5:19, 24, 25; 6:26, 32, 47, 53; 8:34, 51, 58; 10:1, 7; 12:24; 13:16, 20, 21, 38; 14:12; 16:20, 23; 21:18**, the Johannine doubled *amēn amēn legō* ### The Sermon-on-the-Mount *egō de legō hymin* antitheses - **[Matthew 5.22](/codex/matthew-5-22/)**, against anger / contempt - **[Matthew 5.28](/codex/matthew-5-28/)**, against lustful looking - **[Matt 5:32](/codex/matthew-5-32/)**, on divorce - **[Matt 5:34](/codex/matthew-5-34/)**, on oaths - **[Matthew 5.39](/codex/matthew-5-39/)**, against retaliation - **[Matthew 5.44](/codex/matthew-5-44/)**, love of enemies ### Christological speech-acts - **[John 1.38](/codex/john-1-38/)**, *Rabbi, which is to say, Teacher* - **[John 4.25-26](/codex/john-4-25-26/)**, the Samaritan-woman *legō* exchange, *"I that speak unto thee am He"* - **[John 8.58](/codex/john-8-58/)**, *"Before Abraham was born, I am"* (the *legō* + *egō eimi* combination) - **[Mark 2.5](/codex/mark-2-5/)**, *"Son, thy sins are forgiven"* (the divine-prerogative speech-act) ### Naming / classifying - **[John 1:41](/codex/john-1-41/)**, *"Messiah, which is, being interpreted (methermēneuomenon), Christ"* - **[John 1:42](/codex/john-1-42/)**, *"Cephas (which is by interpretation (hermēneuetai), Peter)"* - **[John 20:16](/codex/john-20-16/)**, *"Rabboni (which is to say, Master)"* - **[John 20:24](/codex/john-20-24/)**, *"Thomas, called Didymus"* ## Patristic / scholarly note The patristic exegetical tradition reads Jesus's *amēn legō hymin* / *egō de legō hymin* as load-bearing Christological data. **Athanasius** (*Orationes contra Arianos* 3.18-20), against the Arian reading of Christ's speech as mere-prophetic-delegation: Jesus's self-grounded authority-grammar is unintelligible apart from His true deity. **John Chrysostom** (*Homilies on Matthew* 16.5-7, on the Sermon-on-the-Mount): *"He said not, 'These things saith the LORD,' as the prophets did, but, 'I say unto you'; thereby teaching us that He is the Lord of the Law."* **Augustine** (*De Sermone Domini in Monte* 1.1-2): the antitheses display Christ's authority *not as a new prophet, but as the One who originally gave the Law on Sinai.* In modern NT scholarship, **Joachim Jeremias** (*New Testament Theology* I, *The Proclamation of Jesus*, 1971), treats the *amēn legō hymin* as a *ipsissima verba Jesu* marker: the formula is so distinctive to Jesus and so absent from later early-church liturgical speech that the historical-critical case for these sayings as authentically dominical is unusually strong. **Otto Betz**, **Geza Vermes**, and **N. T. Wright** all converge: the *amēn legō* grammar is one of the strongest historical-Jesus signatures. **Donald Hagner** (*[Matthew 1](/codex/matthew-1/)-13*, WBC, 1993): the *egō de legō hymin* antitheses establish Jesus's *messianic-Torah* authority; He stands not under Sinai but over Sinai. **R. T. France** (*Matthew*, NICNT, 2007): the formula is "*the messianic claim in linguistic form*", a claim no human prophet ever made. ## Verses in this codex _See Obsidian's backlinks pane for every verse page linking here._ Anchors: [Matthew 5.18](/codex/matthew-5-18/) (the *amēn legō* law-permanence claim), [Matthew 5.22](/codex/matthew-5-22/) / [Matthew 5.28](/codex/matthew-5-28/) / [Matthew 5.39](/codex/matthew-5-39/) / [Matthew 5.44](/codex/matthew-5-44/) (the Sermon antitheses), [John 1.38](/codex/john-1-38/) (the naming-construction), [John 4.25-26](/codex/john-4-25-26/) (the Samaritan-woman *legō* exchange), [John 8.58](/codex/john-8-58/) (the *legō* + *egō eimi* divine self-naming), [Mark 2.5](/codex/mark-2-5/) (the divine-prerogative forgiveness-speech-act). ## See also - [G3056 - logos](/codex/g3056-logos/), *logos* (word, account, reason), the nominal counterpart; Christological in [John 1.1-14](/codex/john-1-1-14/) - *G2036 - eipon*, *eipon* (aorist of *legō*), suppletive partner - *G2980 - laleō*, *laleō* (to speak, vocalize), often paired with *legō* - *G5346 - phēmi*, *phēmi* (to declare, affirm) - [Sermon on the Mount](/codex/sermon-on-the-mount/), the antitheses-context - [Christs Deity](/codex/christs-deity/), the implicit-deity reading of the *amēn legō* / *egō de legō* / *egō eimi* grammar - [Hypostatic Union](/codex/hypostatic-union/), the two-natures grammar that grounds Jesus's authoritative speech - [Christology](/codex/christology/), domain hub - Passages: [Matthew 5.18](/codex/matthew-5-18/), [Matthew 5.22](/codex/matthew-5-22/), [Matthew 5.28](/codex/matthew-5-28/), [Matthew 5.39](/codex/matthew-5-39/), [Matthew 5.44](/codex/matthew-5-44/), [John 1.38](/codex/john-1-38/), [John 4.25-26](/codex/john-4-25-26/), [John 8.58](/codex/john-8-58/), [Mark 2.5](/codex/mark-2-5/)