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Greek · G190 · unreviewed

ἀκολουθέω

To follow

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ἀκολουθέω G190
Pronunciation akolouthéō

What does ἀκολουθέω (akolouthéō) mean in the Bible?

ἀκολουθέω (akolouthéō) is a Greek word meaning "to follow". ἀκολουθέω, -ῶ (ἀκόλουθος, following; ἀ- cop. Defines the nature of allegiance required by Jesus. This term runs through the canonical themes of Messiah.

Full entry for ἀκολουθέω (G190) · Browse the biblical lexicon

Meaning

to follow
Extended definition

Discipleship following: physical accompaniment becomes metaphor for committed alignment with Jesus and his way.

(ἀκόλουθος, following; ἀ- cop., κέλευθος, poët., away), [in LXX chiefly for הָלַךְ ;] to accompany, follow: Mat.4:25, al. Metaphorical, of discipleship: Mat.9:9, Mrk.9:38, Jhn.12:26, al. Absol.: Mat.18:10; more freq., with dative (cl.), Mat.8:1, al.; before μετά, with genitive, (cl.; Eutherford, N.Phr., 458 f.), Luk.9:49; ὀπίσω, with genitive (Heb. הָלַךְ אָהֲרֵי), Mat.10:38 (cf. ἐξ-, ἐπ-, κατ-, παρ-, συν-ἀκολουθέω).

Synonyms(cl.) ἕπομαι, not in NT (see Cremer, 80; MM, VGT, see word).
Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Why This Word Matters
Defines the nature of allegiance required by Jesus. Matthew 4:18–22
Defines ongoing allegiance to Christ. Matthew 8:18–22
Grammatical Forms

How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.

Tenses
Aorist Imperfect Present Future Perfect
Voices
Active
Indicative states a fact or reality 56×
Aorist Active Matt 4:20 · Matt 4:22 · Matt 4:25 · Matt 8:1 · Matt 8:23 · Matt 9:27 · Matt 12:15 · Matt 14:13 · Matt 19:2 · Matt 20:34 · Matt 27:55 · Mark 1:18 · Luke 5:11 · Luke 9:11 · Luke 22:39 · John 1:37 27×
Imperfect Active Matt 9:19 · Matt 26:58 · Mark 5:24 · Mark 9:38 · Mark 10:52 · Luke 5:28 · Luke 18:43 · Luke 22:54 · Luke 23:27 · John 6:2 · John 18:15 · Acts 12:9 · Acts 21:36 · Rev 6:8 · Rev 19:14 · Mark 2:15 17×
Present Active Matt 10:38 · Luke 9:49 · John 10:4 · Rev 14:13 · Mark 6:1 · John 10:27 6×
Future Active Matt 8:19 · Luke 9:57 · Luke 9:61 · John 10:5 · John 13:36 5×
Perfect Active Mark 10:28 1×
Imperative command or strong request 18×
Present Active Matt 8:22 · Matt 9:9 · Matt 19:21 · Mark 2:14 · Mark 10:21 · Luke 5:27 · Luke 9:59 · Luke 18:22 · John 1:43 · John 21:19 · John 21:22 · Acts 12:8 · Matt 16:24 · Mark 8:34 · Luke 9:23 · John 12:26 16×
Aorist Active Mark 14:13 · Luke 22:10 2×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 13×
Present Active Matt 21:9 · Mark 10:32 · Mark 11:9 · Rev 14:4 · John 8:12 · John 20:6 · Matt 8:10 · Luke 7:9 · John 1:38 · John 21:20 · 1 Cor 10:4 11×
Aorist Active Matt 19:28 · John 1:40 2×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 2×
Aorist Active John 13:36 · John 13:37 2×
89 total occurrences across all forms in the biblical text Morphology: MorphGNT SBLGNT — CC BY-SA 3.0
Discourse Aspect

How this verb appears across 89 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).

Aspect
completed 27 ongoing 6 prospective 5 resultant 1 imperative 18 background 17 infinitive 2 participle 13
Tense
present 33 aorist 33 imperfect 17 future 5 perfect 1
Voice
active 89
Mood
indicative 56 imperative 18 participle 13 infinitive 2
NT Occurrences
Matthew 4:20 ἠκολούθησαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 4:22 ἠκολούθησαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 4:25 ἠκολούθησαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 8:1 ἠκολούθησαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 8:10 ἀκολουθοῦσιν present active participle participle Matthew 8:19 ἀκολουθήσω future active indicative prospective Matthew 8:22 Ἀκολούθει present active imperative imperative Matthew 8:23 ἠκολούθησαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 9:19 ἠκολούθει imperfect active indicative background Matthew 9:27 ἠκολούθησαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 9:9 Ἀκολούθει present active imperative imperative Matthew 9:9 ἠκολούθησεν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 10:38 ἀκολουθεῖ present active indicative ongoing Matthew 12:15 ἠκολούθησαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 14:13 ἠκολούθησαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 16:24 ἀκολουθείτω present active imperative imperative Matthew 19:2 ἠκολούθησαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 19:21 ἀκολούθει present active imperative imperative Matthew 19:27 ἠκολουθήσαμέν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 19:28 ἀκολουθήσαντές aorist active participle participle Matthew 20:29 ἠκολούθησεν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 20:34 ἠκολούθησαν aorist active indicative completed Matthew 21:9 ἀκολουθοῦντες present active participle participle Matthew 26:58 ἠκολούθει imperfect active indicative background Matthew 27:55 ἠκολούθησαν aorist active indicative completed Mark 1:18 ἠκολούθησαν aorist active indicative completed Mark 2:14 Ἀκολούθει present active imperative imperative Mark 2:14 ἠκολούθησεν aorist active indicative completed Mark 2:15 ἠκολούθουν imperfect active indicative background Mark 3:7 ἠκολούθησεν aorist active indicative completed Mark 5:24 ἠκολούθει imperfect active indicative background Mark 6:1 ἀκολουθοῦσιν present active indicative ongoing Mark 8:34 ἀκολουθείτω present active imperative imperative Mark 9:38 ἠκολούθει imperfect active indicative background Mark 10:21 ἀκολούθει present active imperative imperative Mark 10:28 ἠκολουθήκαμέν perfect active indicative resultant Mark 10:32 ἀκολουθοῦντες present active participle participle Mark 10:52 ἠκολούθει imperfect active indicative background Mark 11:9 ἀκολουθοῦντες present active participle participle Mark 14:13 ἀκολουθήσατε aorist active imperative imperative +49 more occurrences

Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.

Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)

Canonical Themes
Messiah
Biblical Occurrences

Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.

New Testament Witnesses
Matthew 4:18–22 ἀκολουθέω akolouthéō Indicative · Aorist Active
to follow as a disciple
Matthew 8:18–22 ἀκολουθέω akolouthéō Indicative · Future Active
to follow as a disciple
Appears In

Compound and idiomatic lexemes in which this word is a constituent. Follow a link to study the phrase and its other participating words.

ἀκολουθέω · ἐγώ G190, G1473
follow me
Word Pictures (Robertson)

A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.

John 10 — The Good Shepherd, the Door, and the Son One with the Father John 12 — The Anointed King, the Lifted-Up Son of Man, and the Hour of Glory John 18 — The Arrested King: Betrayal, Sovereign Surrender, Denial, Trial, and the Kingdom Not of This World John 21 — The Risen Lord Restores, Commissions, Shepherds, and Testifies through His Witness John 8 — The Light of the World, True Freedom, and the I AM Before Abraham Luke 18 — Persistent Faith, Humble Mercy, and the King on the Road to Jerusalem Luke 5 — The Authority of Jesus to Call, Cleanse, Forgive, and Make New Luke 9 — The Christ Revealed, the Cross Announced, and the Jerusalem Road Begun Mark 10 — The Way of the Servant King: Marriage, Children, Wealth, Cross, Ransom, and Sight Mark 15 — The Crucified King: Condemnation, Mockery, Death, Confession, and Burial Mark 2 — The Son of Man Has Authority: Forgiveness, Fellowship, and Lordship Mark 8 — Seeing Jesus Clearly: Bread, Blindness, Confession, Cross, and Discipleship Matthew 14 — The Death of John, the Compassion of Jesus, and the Son of God over Bread, Sea, and Fear Matthew 16 — The Confession of the Christ, the Church Christ Builds, and the Cross-Shaped Way of Discipleship Matthew 19 — Marriage from Creation, Children Received, Riches Renounced, and the Reward of Following Christ Matthew 20 — The First-Last Kingdom, the Ransom-Giving Son of Man, and Mercy for the Blind Matthew 4 — The Tested Son, the Kingdom Proclaimed, and the First Disciples Called Matthew 8 — The Authority of Jesus over Uncleanness, Sickness, Discipleship, Storms, and Demons Matthew 9 — Authority to Forgive, Mercy for Sinners, and Compassion for the Harvest

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain

Sources

MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain

Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0

Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0

STEPBible Data — CC BY 4.0

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