Understanding the Meaning of Diaggello in Greek

διαγγέλλω means “to proclaim.” It appears in Jesus’ call to announce God’s Kingdom (Luke 9:60), in Paul’s temple action described as “declaring” a set period’s completion (Acts 21:26), and in Scripture’s address to Pharaoh where God’s name is to be “proclaimed in all the earth” (Romans 9:17).

Root and Related Words

διαγγέλλω is formed with dia (διά), “through/because of,” and angelos (ἄγγελος), “angel.” The second element points to the idea of a message being borne; the first highlights movement through a sphere or along a channel, fitting the public spread of a report.

Occurrences

“But Jesus said to him, “Leave the dead to bury their own dead, but you go and announce God’s Kingdom.”” (Luke 9:60)

Here the verb is framed as an urgent alternative to a socially weighty obligation (“bury their own dead”). Jesus contrasts two spheres of activity: the realm where “the dead” handle what belongs to death, and the realm where the disciple is sent to “announce God’s Kingdom.” The word contributes the sense of outward communication rather than private conviction. The content to be proclaimed is explicitly named—“God’s Kingdom”—so the verb functions as the act of making that reality publicly known. In this scene, proclaiming is not presented as an optional add-on to discipleship but as the very task that displaces competing demands.

“Then Paul took the men, and the next day purified himself and went with them into the temple, declaring the fulfillment of the days of purification, until the offering was offered for every one of them.” (Acts 21:26)

In Acts, the verb is set within a formal, time-bound temple procedure. Paul’s actions are sequential and concrete: he “took the men,” “purified himself,” and “went with them into the temple.” Within that setting he is “declaring the fulfillment of the days of purification.” The proclamation here is not a broad, open-ended announcement but a specific declaration tied to a defined period (“the days of purification”) and its completion (“the fulfillment”). The phrase “until the offering was offered for every one of them” shows that the declaration belongs to a process with an endpoint and with actions that correspond to what is declared. The verb thus marks a communicative act that accompanies ritual movement and marks progress toward completion; it is speech (or a stated notice) that makes the status of the days known in the temple context.

“For the Scripture says to Pharaoh, “For this very purpose I caused you to be raised up, that I might show in you my power, and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth.”” (Romans 9:17)

In Romans, the verb appears in a quotation where God speaks of purpose and global reach. The proclamation is not merely about an event but about “my name,” and its intended scope is expansive: “in all the earth.” The clause structure ties proclamation to divine action and divine self-disclosure: Pharaoh is raised up “that I might show in you my power,” with the further result “that my name might be proclaimed.” The verb contributes the outward, spreading dimension implied by the phrase “in all the earth”; the proclamation envisioned is not limited to a court or a nation but is meant to extend broadly. Within the quoted statement, proclaiming is linked to power made visible in history and then carried outward by report, so that the name becomes widely spoken of.

Sense and Usage

Across these three passages, proclaiming is consistently public-facing: it is communication intended to pass beyond the speaker and reach others. Luke 9:60 places the act in the mouth of Jesus as a mission—an imperative that sends a disciple outward with a defined message (“God’s Kingdom”). The verb there emphasizes priority and direction: the disciple is not only permitted but commissioned to be a herald of that Kingdom.

Acts 21:26 shows the same verb operating in a more procedural and localized way. The content proclaimed is not an abstract theme but a specific status report—“the fulfillment of the days of purification”—and the setting is the temple, a place where such declarations would matter for what may follow (“until the offering was offered for every one of them”). Proclaiming, in this context, functions as a formal declaration that makes an objective stage of the process known to others who are involved or who must recognize it. Even here, the verb retains its outward orientation: the point is not that Paul inwardly acknowledges the days are complete, but that he declares that fulfillment within the temple setting.

Romans 9:17 stretches the horizon of the verb to its widest scope. The proclaimed content is “my name,” and the stated goal is worldwide circulation—“in all the earth.” The proclamation envisioned is the kind that travels: a name spoken of far beyond the original scene. The verse itself pairs proclamation with demonstrative power (“show in you my power”), suggesting that proclamation can be driven by events that compel retelling. Thus, within these occurrences, proclaiming ranges from immediate mission speech (Luke), to procedural declaration within worship-related action (Acts), to the far-reaching spread of a name across the earth (Romans). The common thread is that proclamation is speech directed outward, intended to be heard, received, and carried beyond the initial moment.

Imagery in Context

The passages attach proclamation to distinct images of movement and reach. In Luke 9:60, the disciple is sent away from the sphere of death toward the active work of announcing a Kingdom. In Acts 21:26, proclamation is embedded in bodily movement into the temple and through a set number of days, culminating in offerings. In Romans 9:17, the proclaimed name is pictured as extending outward “in all the earth,” as though the report of displayed power travels across boundaries. Together they portray proclamation as speech that goes out—into villages and homes, into sacred courts, and out across the world.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).