Greek word · G1874
ἐπακροάομαι
epakroaomai
to listen ro
To listen attentively to, to hear something as an outsider or bystander, to listen in. The compound adds epi- ('upon, toward') to akroaomai ('listen, be an audience').
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
To listen attentively to, to hear something as an outsider or bystander, to listen in. The compound adds epi- ('upon, toward') to akroaomai ('listen, be an audience').
- Against the English
KJV 'heard' is too weak. It suggests the sound merely reached them. Modern versions have 'were listening (to them)', which is better. 'Were listening intently' would be closer still.
- Used elsewhere in the period
It appears only here in the New Testament and is rare in Greek generally. BDAG gives 'listen to' with the genitive. It is used in Greek comic and satirical writing (e.g., Lucian) for an audience listening to a speaker.
Where it appears
Acts · 1
-
Acts 16:25 ἐπηκροῶντο Were listening
About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
Here: A rare verb found only here in the New Testament. It means listening closely, hearing something you are not part of. The imperfect tense says they kept on listening. This is more than KJV's 'heard'.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.