StrongerBible

dianoigō

διανοίγω

GreekG1272open, explain, ...

Appears 8 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Mrk 7:34Luk 2:23Luk 24:31Luk 24:32Luk 24:45Act 7:56Act 16:14Act 17:3
Compound of
Word studydee-ah-NOY-goverb

What dianoigō means

to open all the way: to take something firmly shut and lay it open, so that what was closed off can now be entered, seen, or understood

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled

This is the ordinary Greek verb for opening (ἀνοίγω) with a prefix on the front that pushes the action all the way through. The result is not simply opened but opened up: a womb that lets a firstborn through, ears that finally take in sound, a sky that parts, a mind that at last grasps what it had been staring at.

Seven of its eight appearances belong to Luke. In one scene at the close of his Gospel he uses it three times: the disciples' eyes are opened and they recognize Jesus, they remember how he had been opening the Scriptures to them on the road, and then he opens their minds to understand those Scriptures. The repetition is deliberate. Recognition, the text, and the understanding are all shut fast, and the same act unlocks all three.

From there the step to plain teaching is short. When Paul argues in the synagogue at Thessalonica, Luke says he was opening the Scriptures and laying the evidence out beside it. Most English versions translate that as "explaining", which is fair, but the picture underneath is of a text that was sealed and is now laid open.

In nearly every case the one who opens is God or Jesus, and the thing opened is a person or a text that could not open itself. Lydia in Philippi is listening, and the Lord opens her heart to pay attention. That pattern is part of the word's weight: the opening is something done to a person, not something the person manages alone.

Nuances

1ato open something physically shut, so that what was sealed is now open: a womb, a pair of ears, the sky
TranslatabilityDirect
Mrk 7:34Luk 2:23Act 7:56
1bto open a person's eyes, mind, or heart, so that they can finally perceive and respond
Luk 24:31Luk 24:45Act 16:14
1cto open up a text: to lay out what a passage means so that hearers can see it for themselves
TranslatabilityPartial
Luk 24:32Act 17:3

What scholars say about dianoigō

Lexica treat διανοίγω as ἀνοίγω compounded with διά, yielding a perfective force: to open completely. BDAG separates the literal opening (the womb at Luke 2:23, following the Septuagint rendering of the Hebrew phrase for the firstborn at Exodus 13:2, 12; the heavens at Acts 7:56; the ears at Mark 7:34) from the figurative opening of eyes, mind, and heart (Luke 24:31, 45; Acts 16:14), and from the derived sense of expounding a text (Luke 24:32; Acts 17:3), a usage with Septuagintal precedent. Commentators regularly note the concentration in Luke and Acts (seven of the eight New Testament occurrences) as a Lukan trait, with the risen Christ or the Lord as the consistent agent of opening and the disciples' perception or the Scriptures as the object; Fitzmyer reads the triple use in Luke 24 as a deliberate structural link between recognition, text, and understanding, and Barrett notes the absolute use at Acts 17:3 as carrying over the Scriptures of the preceding verse.

Sources

  • BDAG, s.v. διανοίγωlexicon
  • LSJ, s.v. διανοίγωlexicon
  • J. A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke X to XXIV, Anchor Bible 28Acommentary
  • C. K. Barrett, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Acts of the Apostles, ICCcommentary

All attested forms of διανοίγω

aorist active indicative 3s

διήνοιξεν

Luk 24:45, Act 16:14

aorist passive imperative 2s

διανοίχθητι

Mrk 7:34

aorist passive indicative 3p

διηνοίχθησαν

Luk 24:31

imperfect active indicative 3s

διήνοιγεν

Luk 24:32

perfect passive participle accusative m p

διηνοιγμένους

Act 7:56

present active participle nominative m s

διανοίγων

Act 17:3

present active participle nominative n s

διανοῖγον

Luk 2:23