Greek word · G134

αἰνέω

aineō

to praise

To praise, especially in spoken or sung words directed to God. In the Greek Old Testament it is the standard equivalent of Hebrew hillel ("praise") and sometimes of hodah ("give thanks, acknowledge"). "Hallelujah" appears in the Greek psalms as aineite ton kyrion, "praise the Lord".

Appears 8 times in 8 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

αἰνέω, -ῶ (αἶνος), poët., Ion. and late prose (MM, VGT, see word) for cl. ἐπαινέω,

[in LXX chiefly for הלל, ידה ;]

to praise: with accusative, τ. θεόν, Luke 2:13,20 19:37 24:53, Acts 2:47 3:8,9, Romans 15:11; with dative, τ. Θεῷ (Jeremiah 20:13, al. for הִלֵּל לְ; see Field, Notes, 245), Revelation 19:5.†

SYN.: ἐξομολογέω, εὐλογέω, εὐχαριστέω, μακαρίζω (see DCG, i, 211). (AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Luke 2:20

Range of meaning

To praise, especially in spoken or sung words directed to God. In the Greek Old Testament it is the standard equivalent of Hebrew hillel ("praise") and sometimes of hodah ("give thanks, acknowledge"). "Hallelujah" appears in the Greek psalms as aineite ton kyrion, "praise the Lord".

Against the English

"Praising" is accurate in all versions. What English cannot show is the verbal echo: the same word was used of the angels two verses earlier.

Used elsewhere in the period

The Greek Psalms, especially Psalms 146–150. In the New Testament it occurs only about eight times, mostly in Luke–Acts: Luke 2:13, 2:20, 19:37; Acts 2:47, 3:8–9. Elsewhere it appears in Romans 15:11 (quoting Psalm 117) and Revelation 19:5. Some manuscripts of Luke 24:53 have it as well.

From the study of Revelation 19:5

Range of meaning

To praise or extol, especially in songs and shouts of praise to God. In biblical Greek it is used almost entirely of praise directed to God (BDAG s.v. αἰνέω).

Against the English

“Praise” is accurate. What English cannot show is that αἰνεῖτε is the Greek translation of the Hebrew hallelu, the first half of “hallelujah” (“praise Yah!”). So this verse is the throne's spelled-out version of the word the crowds keep shouting in vv. 1, 3, 4 and 6.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint), the Hallel psalms open with αἰνεῖτε: Ps 113:1 (LXX 112:1) “Praise, O servants of the LORD”; Ps 135:1 (LXX 134:1) “Praise the name of the LORD, praise him, O servants”. The dative “praise to God” matches Septuagint phrasing that renders Hebrew hallel le- (e.g. 1 Chr 16:4; 2 Chr 20:19; Jer 20:13). Rev 19:1–6 is the only place in the New Testament where “hallelujah” appears.

From the study of Romans 15:11

Range of meaning

Aineō: to praise, to speak or sing in someone's honour. In the Bible it is almost always used of God. Epaineō: to commend or praise publicly, and in ordinary Greek also to approve or applaud a person (Paul uses it that way in 1 Cor 11:2, 17, 22).

Against the English

English “praise” is accurate. Some modern readers hear it narrowly as a style of church music. “Extol” (BSB, NIV, ESV) and “laud” (KJV, YLT) catch the formal, public tone of epaineō.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, LXX) aineō is the usual translation of Hebrew hillel (“praise,” the root of hallelu-yah). In Psalm 116:1 LXX (= Psalm 117:1 in English Bibles), aineite translates hallelu and epainesate translates shabbeḥu. Shabbaḥ is a less common verb meaning “laud, commend” (compare Ps 63:3; 145:4).

Where it appears

Luke · 3

  1. Luke 2:13 αἰνούντων praising

    And suddenly there appeared with the angel a great multitude of the heavenly host, praising God and saying:

    Here: 'Praising', in the present tense: an ongoing act of praise. The word is masculine plural even though 'multitude' is a singular noun. Greek is agreeing with the sense: the many angels who make up the army are doing the praising.

  2. Luke 2:20 αἰνοῦντες praising

    The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all they had heard and seen, which was just as the angel had told them.

    Here: Spoken or sung praise, the Greek Bible's usual word for Hebrew hallel (as in "hallelujah"). The angelic army did exactly this in 2:13 (ainountōn ton theon). Now the shepherds take up the angels' song.

  3. Luke 19:37 αἰνεῖν to praise

    And as He approached the descent from the Mount of Olives, the whole multitude of disciples began to praise God joyfully in a loud voice for all the miracles they had seen:

    Here: Spoken or sung praise of God. In the Greek Old Testament this is the vocabulary of the Psalms, and in Luke it is the word used for the angels at Jesus' birth (2:13) and the shepherds (2:20).

Acts · 3

  1. Acts 2:47 αἰνοῦντες praising

    praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved.

    Here: Praising God out loud, often in public. This is one of Luke's favorite words for how people react when God acts (Luke 2:13, 20; 19:37; Acts 3:8–9). The participle carries on the list of the believers' daily habits from 2:46: they kept on praising.

  2. Acts 3:8 αἰνῶν praising

    He sprang to his feet and began to walk. Then he went with them into the temple courts, walking and leaping and praising God.

  3. Acts 3:9 αἰνοῦντα praising

    When all the people saw him walking and praising God,

Romans · 1

  1. Romans 15:11 αἰνεῖτε do praise

    And again: “Praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, and extol Him, all you peoples.”

    Here: A present-tense command to a group: “keep praising.” It translates the Hebrew *hallelu*, the call that gives us “Hallelujah.” It means speaking or singing God's praise out loud, not a private feeling.

Revelation · 1

  1. Revelation 19:5 αἰνεῖτε do praise

    Then a voice came from the throne, saying: “Praise our God, all you who serve Him, and those who fear Him, small and great alike!”

    Here: A plural command, “praise!”. This is the Greek for the Hebrew *hallelu* in *hallelu-yah*. The present-tense form suggests continuing praise: keep praising. Here the throne gives the order that the crowd in v. 6 obeys by shouting “Hallelujah!”

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.