StrongerBible

prosphōneō

προσφωνέω

GreekG4377“address, call, ...”

Appears 7 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Mat 11:16Luk 6:13Luk 7:32Luk 13:12Luk 23:20Act 21:40Act 22:2
Compound of
prosπρόςto/with735G4314
phōneōφωνέωto call43G5455
Word studypross-foh-NEH-ohverb

What prosphōneō means

to lift your voice toward someone: to call out to a person or a crowd, or to call someone over

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintySettled

This verb joins the ordinary word for calling out (φωνέω) to a prefix meaning "toward," and that prefix is the whole point. The voice is aimed at a chosen hearer. In all seven of its New Testament appearances there is a person or a group on the receiving end, whether they are across a marketplace, standing in a courtyard, or waiting at the foot of a staircase.

The three shades below are one action seen at different distances:

  • children shouting across a market to playmates who will not join the game
  • a governor or a prisoner speaking up so that a whole crowd can hear
  • Jesus calling one person forward to come and stand with him

What holds them together is a speaker who deliberately projects his voice at someone in particular. Six of the seven uses are Luke's, and he tends to reach for the word at moments when a voice goes up and the noise around it settles.

The calling-over shade is worth watching. When the word means calling a person to come, it sits close to the usual summoning word (προσκαλέω), the one a master or a judge uses to bring someone to his side. This word is the gentler option: the voice reaches out, and whatever authority the moment carries comes from the speaker rather than from the verb.

Nuances

1ato call out to someone within earshot: to shout across to a person or group to get their attention
Mat 11:16Luk 7:32
1bto speak up to a gathered crowd: to address a group that has stopped to listen
Luk 23:20Act 21:40Act 22:2
1cto call someone over: to summon a person to come to you
Luk 6:13Luk 13:12

What scholars say about prosphōneō

The lexica treat προσφωνέω as φωνέω compounded with πρός and divide its New Testament uses by the construction of the person addressed: with a dative it means to call out to or address someone (Matthew 11:16; Luke 7:32; 23:20; Acts 22:2), while with an accusative it means to call someone to oneself, to summon (Luke 6:13). So BDAG and LSJ, which also record the wider Greek use of the verb for a speaker addressing a public gathering and for dedicating a written work to someone. Luke 13:12 has no stated object and is normally read as a summons, since Jesus calls the bent woman forward before speaking to her; Acts 21:40 likewise stands alone, its dative naming the language rather than the audience, and commentators on Acts read it against the public-address use. Six of the seven occurrences are Lukan, and the verb belongs with Luke's fondness for compounds in πρός.

Sources

  • BDAG, s.v. προσφωνέωlexicon
  • LSJ, s.v. προσφωνέωlexicon
  • Exegetical Dictionary of the New Testament (Balz and Schneider, eds.), s.v. προσφωνέωdictionary
  • C. K. Barrett, The Acts of the Apostles, International Critical Commentary (Edinburgh: T&T Clark, 1994-1998), on Acts 21:40commentary
  • J. A. Fitzmyer, The Gospel According to Luke, Anchor Bible 28-28A (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 1981-1985), on Luke 6:13commentary

AI-generated word study · claude-opus-4-8

All attested forms of προσφωνέω

aorist active indicative 3s

προσεφώνησεν

Luk 6:13, Luk 13:12, Luk 23:20, Act 21:40

imperfect active indicative 3s

προσεφώνει

Act 22:2

present active participle dative n p

προσφωνοῦσιν

Luk 7:32

present active participle nominative n p

προσφωνοῦντα

Mat 11:16