Greek word · G226

ἀληθεύω

alētheuō

be truthful

To be truthful, to tell the truth, to be honest or genuine; in some uses to deal truly or act sincerely. Built on alētheia (truth), it describes being on the side of truth, which most often shows itself in speech but is not limited to it.

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament.

What it means

ἀληθεύω

(ἀληθής), [in LXX: Genesis 20:16 (יָכַח) Genesis 42:16 (אֶמֶת), Proverbs 21:3 (מִשְׁפָּט), Isaiah 44:26 (שָׁלַם), Sirach 34:4 * ;]

to speak the truth (R, mg., deal truly; Field, Notes, 192): Galatians 4:16, Ephesians 4:15.†

(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 Ephesians 4:15

Range of meaning: To be truthful, to tell the truth, to be honest or genuine; in some uses to deal truly or act sincerely. Built on alētheia (truth), it describes being on the side of truth, which most often shows itself in speech but is not limited to it.
Against the English: Most English versions say 'speaking the truth'. YLT 'being true' and older margins ('being sincere', 'dealing truly') keep the wider sense. 'Speaking' is correct but narrower than the Greek verb, which has no separate word for 'speak'.
How it drifted: The English phrase 'speaking the truth in love' has become a stand-alone saying about how to deliver hard words to a person, so readers hear only the speech act and only its one-to-one use.
Used elsewhere in the period: Rare in the NT: only here and Galatians 4:16 ('because I tell you the truth'). In the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) it appears in Genesis 42:16 ('whether you are telling the truth') and Proverbs 21:3. Classical Greek uses it for speaking truly and also for being honest in dealings. The Latin Vulgate renders it 'veritatem facientes', 'doing the truth'.

From the study of Galatians 4:16

Range of meaning: To speak the truth, or to be truthful or genuine. In classical Greek it can also mean to prove true. It describes speech and also integrity in how one deals with people.
Against the English: Most versions say 'telling you the truth'. YLT's 'being true to you' keeps the wider sense of dealing honestly and faithfully. English readers easily hear 'telling you some hard facts about yourselves'. In Galatians, though, the content of the truth is specific: the gospel that Gentiles are right with God through faith in Christ, without circumcision.
How it drifted: Popular quotation turns the word into general 'honesty' or blunt criticism and cuts it off from 'the truth of the gospel' (2:5, 14) and 'obeying the truth' (5:7) in the same letter.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the NT it occurs only here and in Ephesians 4:15 ('speaking the truth in love', or more literally 'truthing in love'). In the LXX, Joseph in Genesis 42:16 tests whether his brothers 'are speaking the truth'. Sirach 34:4 contrasts what is false with what is true. BDAG gives 'be truthful, tell the truth'.

Similar words

Where it appears

Galatians · 1

Galatians 4:16 ἀληθεύων speaking truth

Have I now become your enemy by telling you the truth?

Here: A present participle giving the means or cause: 'by / because of telling you the truth'. The 'truth' is above all 'the truth of the gospel' (2:5, 14; 5:7) that he has been pressing on them.

Ephesians · 1

Ephesians 4:15 ἀληθεύοντες Speaking the truth

Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into Christ Himself, who is the head.

Here: A present participle, 'continually being true / dealing in truth'. It covers telling the truth but is wider than speech: holding to and living by the truth, in direct contrast to the trickery and deceit of the false teaching in verse 14. The plural subject is the whole church, not one person correcting another.

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