Greek word · G584

ἀποδείκνυμι

apodeiknymi

to display

(1) To show forth, exhibit or display publicly. (2) To designate or appoint someone to an office; Greek inscriptions and papyri use it for officials being proclaimed. (3) To prove or demonstrate (BDAG). Paul uses it again in 2 Thess 2:4, of one "displaying himself as God."

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἀπο-δείκνυμι

[in LXX: Esther 2:9 (רָאָה), al. ;]

1. to bring out, show forth, exhibit (Lft., Notes, 200; ICC, in l): 1 Corinthians 4:9.

2. to declare, show: Acts 2:22

3. to prove: Acts 25:7.

4. As frequently in late Gk., to proclaim to an office: before ὅτι, 2 Thessalonians 2:4 (Milligan, in l; MM, see word; Lft., Notes. 113.)†

(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 1 Corinthians 4:9

Range of meaning

(1) To show forth, exhibit or display publicly. (2) To designate or appoint someone to an office; Greek inscriptions and papyri use it for officials being proclaimed. (3) To prove or demonstrate (BDAG). Paul uses it again in 2 Thess 2:4, of one "displaying himself as God."

Against the English

"Exhibited/displayed" (ESV, NASB, WEB, BSB) catches sense 1. KJV "set forth" is close. No English word carries both "put on show" and "appointed" at once.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used in official decrees for public appointments (e.g. someone "proclaimed" or "designated" to a post) and for public displays. Acts 2:22: Jesus "attested" (ἀποδεδειγμένον) by God.

From the study of 2 Thessalonians 2:4

Range of meaning

(1) To exhibit, display, show publicly; (2) to prove or demonstrate; (3) to appoint, designate or proclaim someone to an office (BDAG).

Against the English

"Proclaiming himself" (BSB, ESV, NIV), "displaying himself" (NASB), "shewing himself" (KJV), "setting himself up" (WEB). Each catches part of it. The Greek holds together public display and official self-declaration.

Used elsewhere in the period

Acts 2:22: Jesus is "a man attested (ἀποδεδειγμένον) by God" through signs. Acts 25:7: charges they "could not prove". 1 Corinthians 4:9: God has "displayed" the apostles last. In Hellenistic Greek it was ordinary language for publicly declaring someone to be a magistrate or king.

From the study of Acts 2:22

Range of meaning

To point out or display. To show something to be true, prove or demonstrate it (the noun apodeixis was a technical term for proof in Greek rhetoric and philosophy). To publicly name or appoint someone to an office (common in official decrees and papyri). The perfect passive here means 'having been shown or designated, and still standing so'.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'approved' (in older English, 'approve' meant 'prove, demonstrate'). BSB 'certified'. ESV/NASB 'attested'. NIV 'accredited'. NLT 'publicly endorsed'. Each catches part of the word. 'Attested' and 'certified' keep the idea of proof. 'Accredited' and 'endorsed' lean toward appointment and credentials. Modern 'approved' sounds like God merely being pleased with Jesus or giving him permission, which is the weakest reading.

How it drifted

The KJV follows Tyndale and the Latin Vulgate ('approbatum'). In 16th–17th-century English, 'approve' still meant 'prove, show to be true'. That meaning has since faded, and the word now means 'sanction' or 'think well of'.

Used elsewhere in the period

Paul pairs the noun with power in 1 Cor 2:4 ('apodeixis of the Spirit and of power'), a close parallel to this verse. In Acts 25:7 accusers could not 'prove' (apodeixai) their charges. 2 Thess 2:4 uses it of 'displaying' oneself as God. Josephus and Hellenistic decrees use it for appointing officials (e.g. a general or governor is 'apodeiknytai'). Moulton–Milligan cite papyri using it for the appointment of officers.

Where it appears

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 2:22 ἀποδεδειγμένον set forth

    Men of Israel, listen to this message: Jesus of Nazareth was a man certified by God to you by miracles, wonders, and signs, which God did among you through Him, as you yourselves know.

    Here: A perfect passive participle, a verb form whose effect lasts: God has publicly shown who this man is, and that showing still stands. The word belongs to proof and public demonstration, and in documents of the period also to appointing someone to an office.

  2. Acts 25:7 ἀποδεῖξαι, to prove,

    When Paul arrived, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood around him, bringing many serious charges that they could not prove.

    Here: To show publicly that a claim is true. They could assert the charges, but they could not demonstrate them before the judge.

1 Corinthians · 1

  1. 1 Corinthians 4:9 ἀπέδειξεν has exhibited

    For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men.

    Here: "Has put on display, exhibited." It is the language of presenting something publicly. The past tense presents it as God's settled act. The word was also used for officially appointing someone to a post, so the irony is clear: this is the apostles' "appointment."

2 Thessalonians · 1

  1. 2 Thessalonians 2:4 ἀποδεικνύντα setting forth

    He will oppose and exalt himself above every so-called god or object of worship. So he will seat himself in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God.

    Here: To show publicly or put on display. It was also used for officially proclaiming or appointing someone to an office. He presents himself, and almost installs himself, as divine.

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