Greek word · G5537

χρηματίζω

chrēmatizō

to announce

In secular Greek: to do business, negotiate, give an official answer, bear a title. In religious use: to give an oracle or divine response; in the passive, to be divinely instructed or warned (Matthew 2:12, 22; Luke 2:26; Acts 10:22; Hebrews 11:7; 12:25).

Appears 9 times in 9 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 30, 2026

What it means

χρηματίζω

(χρῆμα), [in LXX: Jeremiah 26:2 29:23 30:2 36:2, 4 A (דָבַר pi.), Jeremiah 25:30) (שָׁאַג), 3Ki.18:27, Job 40:8 * ;]

1. to transact business, hence, to consult, deliberate (Thuc., Dem., al.); hence in later writers,

2. to make answer (esp. of offcial pronouncements by magistrates, etc.; in π. of the royal reply to an ἔντευξις, which see; cf. Deiss., BS, 122); of an answer by an oracle (Died., Plut., al.); in FlJ, LXX and NT, of divine communications, to instruct, admonish, warn: pass. (Bl., § 54, 3), Matthew 2:22, Hebrews 8:5 11:7 12:25; with inf. (Bl., § 69,4; 70, 3; 72, 5), Matthew 2:12, Luke 2:26, Acts 10:22

3. to assume a name (as in business), be called (Polyb., al.): Acts 11:26, Romans 7:3 (gnomic fut.; cf. Burton, § 69).†

(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 Hebrews 8:5

Range of meaning: In secular Greek: to do business, negotiate, give an official answer, bear a title. In religious use: to give an oracle or divine response; in the passive, to be divinely instructed or warned (Matthew 2:12, 22; Luke 2:26; Acts 10:22; Hebrews 11:7; 12:25).
Against the English: KJV 'admonished of God'; BSB, WEB, NASB, NIV 'warned'; YLT 'divinely warned'. The core idea is an authoritative divine communication, not necessarily a warning about danger.
How it drifted: 'Warned' and 'admonished' now suggest rebuke or alarm. The Greek means a binding instruction delivered by God.
Used elsewhere in the period: Papyri use it for official replies and transactions. Josephus and the Greek Old Testament (Jeremiah 33[26]:2) use it for divine speech.

From the study of Hebrews 11:7

Range of meaning: In everyday Greek it meant to do business, negotiate, or carry a title ("be called", as in Acts 11:26, "the disciples were called Christians"). In religious use it meant to give an oracle or a divine answer. In the passive it meant to receive a revelation, warning or instruction from God.
Against the English: KJV "being warned of God" gets the divine source across well. BSB, WEB and NIV "when warned" leave the source unstated and assume the reader will supply it. YLT "divinely warned" is the most exact.
Used elsewhere in the period: New Testament: Matt 2:12, 22 (warned in a dream); Luke 2:26; Acts 10:22. Hebrews uses it twice more: 8:5 (Moses "was divinely instructed" about the tabernacle) and 12:25 ("the one who warned them on earth"). Josephus uses it of God revealing things in dreams (e.g. Antiquities 11.327), and Greek historians use it of oracles (BDAG s.v.).

From the study of Acts 11:26

Range of meaning: (1) In business: to transact business, negotiate. (2) Because business was done under a name: to bear a name or title, to be known as (Rom 7:3; Acts 11:26). (3) To give an official answer. This sense was used of oracles and rulers, and in the passive it means 'to be warned or instructed by God' (Matt 2:12, 22; Luke 2:26; Acts 10:22; Heb 8:5; 11:7; 12:25).
Against the English: Most versions say 'were called', which is accurate. Young's Literal Translation says 'were divinely called'. That brings in sense (3), which fits other verses but not this one.
How it drifted: In most of its New Testament uses the verb refers to divine warning or instruction. Readers who know those verses can carry that sense over here. Some older interpreters did so, and argued that the name 'Christian' was given by God in fulfilment of Isaiah 62:2's 'new name'.
Used elsewhere in the period: Greek writers such as Polybius, Strabo and Josephus, and the papyri, regularly use it for being styled or known by a title or name. Paul uses it the same way in Romans 7:3. Lexicons (BDAG, Louw–Nida) list Acts 11:26 under 'to bear a name, be called'.

Similar words

Where it appears

Matthew · 2

Matthew 2:12 χρηματισθέντες having been divinely warned

And having been warned in a dream not to return to Herod, they withdrew to their country by another route.

Here: "Having received a divine directive." In Greek usage the word means an official or oracle-style response. Here it is passive with no one named as the speaker, which marks God as the unstated source. English 'warned' comes from what the message says, a prohibition. The word itself is about who spoke.
Matthew 2:22 χρηματισθεὶς having been divinely warned

But when he learned that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. And having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee,

Here: "Having been divinely instructed." In the passive this verb means receiving a message from God or an oracle. It is the same verb used of the Magi's dream in 2:12. The word carries a directive, not only a warning.

Luke · 1

Luke 2:26 κεχρηματισμένον revealed

The Holy Spirit had revealed to him that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ.

Here: The perfect passive form means "having been divinely instructed." The word was used for an official answer or oracle from God, as when the Magi and Joseph were "warned" in dreams. The neuter form is impersonal ("it had been declared"). Its content is the clause that follows.

Acts · 2

Acts 10:22 ἐχρηματίσθη was divinely instructed

“Cornelius the centurion has sent us,” they said. “He is a righteous and God-fearing man with a good reputation among the whole Jewish nation. A holy angel instructed him to request your presence in his home so he could hear a message from you.”

Here: In its passive form this is the standard word for receiving an instruction or oracle from God (Matt 2:12; Luke 2:26). It presents Cornelius's summons as an order from heaven, not a personal whim.
Acts 11:26 χρηματίσαι Were calling

and when he found him, he brought him back to Antioch. So for a full year they met together with the church and taught large numbers of people. The disciples were first called Christians at Antioch.

Here: 'To bear the name / go by the title'. The verb began in business, meaning to do business under a name, and came to mean 'to be known as'. Here it means the disciples came to be known by a label. Romans 7:3 uses it the same way ('she will be called an adulteress'). Here it does not mean 'divinely called'.

Romans · 1

Romans 7:3 χρηματίσει, she will be called

So then, if she is joined to another man while her husband is still alive, she is called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from that law and is not an adulteress if she marries another man.

Here: Future tense: 'she will be called / will carry the title'. It describes an official public designation, not casual name-calling. The future states what will follow as a matter of course.

Hebrews · 3

Hebrews 8:5 κεχρημάτισται has been divinely instructed

The place where they serve is a copy and shadow of what is in heaven. This is why Moses was warned when he was about to build the tabernacle: “See to it that you make everything according to the pattern shown you on the mountain.”

Here: Moses received an authoritative divine directive. The perfect tense ('has been instructed') presents that word as still standing on record in Scripture.
Hebrews 11:7 χρηματισθεὶς having been divinely instructed

By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in godly fear built an ark to save his family. By faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.

Here: "Having been divinely warned". The passive is the usual way of saying someone received a message from God, as the wise men were warned in a dream (Matt 2:12). It points back to God's announcement of the flood in Genesis 6:13–21.
Hebrews 12:25 χρηματίζοντα, divinely instructing [them],

See to it that you do not refuse Him who speaks. For if the people did not escape when they refused Him who warned them on earth, how much less will we escape if we reject Him who warns us from heaven?

Here: The One who issued divine directives: an oracle-like word with God's authority, not just friendly advice. Compare 8:5 (Moses 'divinely instructed') and 11:7 (Noah 'divinely warned').

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