Greek word · G2905

κραυγάζω

kraugazō

to shout

To shout, cry out loudly, scream. BDAG gives 'cry out, scream, shriek'. It is a stronger, louder word than the ordinary verbs for 'call' (phōneō) or 'say'. It suits a raised, emotional or public shout, and is used of crowds, animals and people in distress.

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

κραυγάζω (κραυγή)

[in LXX: Esther 3:13 (רוּעַ hi.)* ;] = κράζω

1. of animals, to bay, to croak, etc.

2. Of men, to cry out, shout: Matthew 12:19, John 12:13 19:15 Acts 22:23; before λέγων, John 18:40 19:6, 12; καὶ λέγων, Luke 4:41 (WH, κράζ -); φωνῇ μεγάλῃ, John 11:43 (cf. Abbott, JV, 269 f.).†

(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 John 11:43

Range of meaning

To shout, cry out loudly, scream. BDAG gives 'cry out, scream, shriek'. It is a stronger, louder word than the ordinary verbs for 'call' (phōneō) or 'say'. It suits a raised, emotional or public shout, and is used of crowds, animals and people in distress.

Against the English

KJV 'cried' and ESV/NASB 'cried out' keep the force but can be misheard (see drift). BSB and NIV 'called out / called' soften it to something closer to calling someone across a room. NLT 'shouted' is closest to the Greek's intensity.

How it drifted

The English verb 'cry' has moved from 'shout' toward 'weep' as its everyday meaning, so the KJV wording now invites a misreading.

Used elsewhere in the period

Rare in the New Testament: Matt 12:19 (quoting Isaiah 42:2, the Servant 'will not cry out'), Acts 22:23 (a mob), Luke 4:41 in some manuscripts (demons), and six times in John. Apart from this verse, every use in John has the crowd as the shouter: 12:13 ('Hosanna!'), 18:40 ('Barabbas!'), 19:6, 12, 15 ('Crucify!'). This is the only time in John that Jesus is the one shouting.

From the study of Acts 22:23

Range of meaning

To cry out loudly, shout, scream. It is used of crowds roaring, of a man shouting in distress, and in older Greek of a dog barking or a raven croaking. It means noise rather than words spoken in order.

Against the English

'Shouting' (BSB, NIV, ESV) and 'cried out' (KJV, NASB, WEB) are both accurate. 'Cried out' can sound gentler in modern English than the roar of a mob that the Greek pictures.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the New Testament it is used for the crowd at Jesus' trial shouting 'Crucify him!' (John 19:6, 15; 18:40) and of demons shrieking (Luke 4:41). In Acts 22 Luke shows a crowd in the temple roaring for the death of a follower of Jesus, as one did for Jesus himself. The parallel is strengthened by v.22's 'Rid the earth of him!' (αἶρε), which echoes Luke 23:18, 'Away with this man!' (αἶρε τοῦτον).

From the study of John 12:13

Range of meaning

To shout, cry out loudly. Used of crowds, of excited or hostile shouting, and of a dog barking.

Against the English

'Shouting' is accurate. KJV 'cried' is fine but softer. The imperfect tense ('were shouting', YLT) shows continuing, repeated shouting, a chant rather than a single cry.

Used elsewhere in the period

In John this verb is used for Lazarus' raising (11:43, Jesus 'cried with a loud voice') and for the trial: 18:40, and 19:6, 12, 15 ('Crucify!' / 'Away with him!').

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 12:19 κραυγάσει, will he cry out,

    He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear His voice in the streets.

    Here: "Will he shout." It means raising a loud public outcry, the noise of a crowd or an agitator. The same verb is used of the crowd shouting "Crucify him!" (John 19:6, 15). It is about volume, not weeping.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 4:41 κραυγάζοντα shouting out

    Demons also came out of many people, shouting, “You are the Son of God!” But He rebuked the demons and would not allow them to speak, because they knew He was the Christ.

    Here: A loud, raw outcry, the kind of noise a crowd or a person in distress makes. The demons do not quietly confess. They scream as they are driven out.

John · 6

  1. John 11:43 ἐκραύγασεν· He cried out;

    After Jesus had said this, He called out in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!”

    Here: 'He shouted.' A strong, raw word for a loud outcry. Everywhere else in John the shouters are crowds ('Hosanna!' 12:13; 'Not this man, but Barabbas!' 18:40; 'Crucify!' 19:6, 15). The tense presents it as one decisive shout.

  2. John 12:13 ἐκραύγαζον· were shouting:

    They took palm branches and went out to meet Him, shouting: “Hosanna!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Blessed is the King of Israel!”

    Here: A loud, raw shout, in a tense that pictures action going on: they kept shouting. John uses this same verb later for the cries of 'Crucify!' (19:6, 15).

  3. John 18:40 ἐκραύγασαν They cried out

    “Not this man,” they shouted, “but Barabbas!” (Now Barabbas was an insurrectionist.)

  4. John 19:6 ἐκραύγασαν they cried out

    As soon as the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” “You take Him and crucify Him,” Pilate replied, “for I find no basis for a charge against Him.”

  5. John 19:12 ἐκραύγασαν cried out

    From then on, Pilate tried to release Him, but the Jews kept shouting, “If you release this man, you are no friend of Caesar. Anyone who declares himself a king is defying Caesar.”

    Here: A loud, insistent shout, the kind a crowd makes. It is the same verb as “Crucify!” (19:6, 15) and, ironically, as the crowd’s shout welcoming Jesus as “King of Israel” (12:13).

  6. John 19:15 ἐκραύγασαν They cried out

    At this, they shouted, “Away with Him! Away with Him! Crucify Him!” “Shall I crucify your King?” Pilate asked. “We have no king but Caesar,” replied the chief priests.

    Here: A loud, raw shout, not a measured reply. This is the third time in the trial that John uses the verb (18:40; 19:6). It is the same verb the crowd used for its “Hosanna!” at Jesus' entry into Jerusalem (12:13).

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 22:23 κραυγαζόντων While shouting out

    As they were shouting and throwing off their cloaks and tossing dust into the air,

    Here: A loud, raw outcry, not speech. The present tense pictures the shouting as still going on while the other actions happen. The same verb is used of the crowd shouting 'Crucify him!' at Jesus' trial (John 19:6, 15).

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