What does κατηγορία (katēgoría) mean in the Bible?
G2724 names an accusation or formal charge. Its three forms occur in John 18:29, 1 Timothy 5:19, and Titus 1:6.
Greek · G2724
κατηγορία
Accusation
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κατηγορία G2724
Pronunciation katēgoría
What does κατηγορία (katēgoría) mean in the Bible?
G2724 names an accusation or formal charge. Its three forms occur in John 18:29, 1 Timothy 5:19, and Titus 1:6.
Reader summary
Full entry for κατηγορία (G2724) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2724?
The BSB source-word alignment has 3 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include accusation (2), an accusation (1).
Where does κατηγορία (katēgoría) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at John 18:29. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Timothy (1), John (1), Titus (1).
What This Word Actually Means
G2724 names an accusation or formal charge. Its three forms occur in John 18:29, 1 Timothy 5:19, and Titus 1:6. Pilate asks what accusation Jesus' accusers bring. Paul tells Timothy not to entertain an accusation against an elder except on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Titus describes an elder candidate's children as not open to an accusation of reckless living or rebellion.
The noun therefore appears in judicial, church-accountability, and household-qualification settings. It does not by itself prove that every accusation is false, establish the verdict, or define the complete process for investigating harm. First Timothy protects leaders from unsupported charges while the following verses also require impartial rebuke of persistent sin. Titus addresses observable household reputation within a qualifications list. These passages should never be used to silence a report, bypass safety, or declare guilt without patient evidence.
How the Bible Uses It
G2724 identifies a charge brought before an authority or attached to a person's conduct. Evidence, process, and outcome are supplied by each passage rather than by the noun alone.
- Jhn.18.29
So Pilate went out to them and asked, “What accusation are you bringing against this man?”
The governor requests a stated charge at the opening of the Roman proceeding.
- 1Ti.5.19
Do not entertain an accusation against an elder, except on the testimony of two or three witnesses.
The verse rejects unsupported charges but must remain joined to impartial accountability in the following verses.
- Tit.1.6
An elder must be blameless, the husband of but one wife, having children who are believers and who are not open to accusation of indiscretion or insubordination.
The accusation phrase concerns household reputation within the complete elder-qualification paragraph.
Passage context
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It accusation 2× John 18:29, Titus 1:6
an accusation 1× 1 Timothy 5:19
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row John 18:29
Aligned rows 3
Books represented 3
John 1 1 Timothy 1 Titus 1
Source forms
κατηγορίαν 2x katēgorian John 18:29, 1 Timothy 5:19
κατηγορίᾳ 1x katēgoria Titus 1:6
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 2x John 18:29, 1 Timothy 5:19
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular 1x Titus 1:6
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Seek corroborated truth without confusing careful process with automatic disbelief.
- Protect both the wrongly accused and those who may be endangered by unaccountable leadership.
- Use qualified safeguarding and legal processes when allegations involve abuse or crime.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim an accusation is already a verdict.
- Do not claim leaders are exempt from investigation or correction.
- Do not claim 1 Timothy 5:19 is a complete modern abuse-response policy.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. A formal charge brought against someone, requiring evidence or witnesses to establish.
Strong's G2724
Lexical occurrences 3 verses Greek text appearances 4 times Word forms 2 forms 3 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Acts 25:23-27 Source Gloss
accusation
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
4 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 6:7 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
κατηγορίαν kathgorian
a charge, accusation
Read verse John 18:29 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
κατηγορίαν kathgorian
a charge, accusation
Read verse 1 Timothy 5:19 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
κατηγορίαν kathgorian
a charge, accusation
Read verse Titus 1:6 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
κατηγορίᾳ kathgoria
a charge, accusation
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 2 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 2 Aligned forms 3 Case pattern Accusative (2) Number pattern Singular (3)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Dative · Singular · Feminine Titus 1:6 1×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine John 18:29 · 1 Tim 5:19 2×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
Charge or cause.
Showing 1 selected witness from 3 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
κατηγορία is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
Highlights the absence of substantiated crime. Acts 25:23-27
For the Preacher and Teacher
G2724 helps churches distinguish accusation from verdict. Pilate asks for a charge; Timothy is told not to receive an unsupported charge against an elder; Titus includes household reputation among leadership qualifications. These texts value evidence and resist careless condemnation, but they do not create immunity for leaders. First Timothy's next commands require rebuke of persistent sin and impartial action.
A responsible teaching approach therefore protects people from rumor, hears credible reports safely, seeks corroboration without demanding that vulnerable people investigate their own cases, and refuses favoritism. The lexical insight is modest but pastorally important: naming an accusation begins discernment and due process; it does not finish them.
Anchor passage
1Ti.5.19
Doctrinal connections
- Deut.19.15-21 - multiple-witness requirements seek truthful judgment and address malicious testimony.
- Jhn.18.28-19.16 - the accusation question opens the Roman phase of Jesus' trial.
- 1Ti.5.17-21 - elder honor, evidentiary care, rebuke, and impartiality appear together.
- Tit.1.5-9 - household reputation belongs to a complete character and doctrine qualification list.
- Mat.18.15-20 - church correction includes witnesses and accountable communal action.
- 1Cor.6.1-8 - disputes among believers require wise and non-exploitative judgment.
The three feminine noun forms occupy two case patterns: two accusative singular forms identify an accusation as the object brought or received, while Titus uses a dative singular construction for being under or open to an accusation. The grammar identifies relationships in each clause but does not establish whether a charge is true.
From Old to New Testament
The multiple-witness principle in 1 Timothy reflects an Old Testament concern for truthful judgment. Modern church processes may require additional safeguarding and reporting steps, especially where abuse or crime is alleged; the lexical rule should not replace those responsibilities.
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
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain