Understanding the Meaning of Doxazo in Greek

δοξάζω expresses the act of glorifying. In the passages below it appears in scenes where God is honored openly—sometimes by a crowd, sometimes by an individual—and once where a person receives honor from others.

Occurrences

“Even so, let your light shine before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” (Matthew 5:16)

Here δοξάζω is the intended outcome of visible “good works.” The verb places the focus not on the observer’s admiration of the deeds themselves but on the resulting honoring of “your Father who is in heaven.” The scene assumes a public setting (“before men”), and glorifying is presented as the fitting response once the works are “seen.”

“Therefore when you do merciful deeds, don’t sound a trumpet before yourself, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may get glory from men. Most certainly I tell you, they have received their reward.” (Matthew 6:2)

This occurrence sets glorifying within a warning about publicity and motive. The concern is a pursuit of “glory from men” rather than a God-directed honoring. δοξάζω in this setting marks the difference between glory that is sought and received as social approval (“from men”) and glory that is not to be manufactured by display (“don’t sound a trumpet before yourself”).

“But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.” (Matthew 9:8)

δοξάζω follows a public reaction to something witnessed: the multitudes “saw,” “marveled,” and then “glorified God.” The verb ties their amazement to a theological conclusion drawn from what occurred—God is honored specifically as the one “who had given such authority to men.” Glorifying here is not vague reverence; it is directed praise anchored in what God is perceived to have done.

“so that the multitude wondered when they saw the mute speaking, the injured healed, the lame walking, and the blind seeing—and they glorified the God of Israel.” (Matthew 15:31)

This use places δοξάζω after a catalog of restorations witnessed by a “multitude.” The verb gathers the crowd’s wonder into an explicit honoring of “the God of Israel.” In this scene, glorifying is a communal response to visible change—speech, healing, walking, and sight—where the honor is assigned to God in view of the transformations named.

“He arose, and immediately took up the mat, and went out in front of them all; so that they were all amazed, and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”” (Mark 2:12)

δοξάζω is paired with astonishment and voiced testimony. The physical actions (“took up the mat,” “went out in front of them all”) create a public moment, and the crowd’s glorifying is expressed as a shared reaction (“they were all amazed”) that spills into speech: “We never saw anything like this!” The verb highlights honor directed toward God as the proper recipient of credit for what has happened before their eyes.

“The shepherds returned, glorifying and praising God for all the things that they had heard and seen, just as it was told them.” (Luke 2:20)

Here δοξάζω is joined with “praising,” and both are grounded in experience: “all the things that they had heard and seen.” The verb portrays glorifying as something carried away from the scene—“returned”—rather than confined to a single moment. It is a continuing response, shaped by the correspondence between what was “told” and what was then encountered.

“He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all.” (Luke 4:15)

This occurrence presents δοξάζω with a human object: “He” is “being glorified by all.” The setting is ordinary and repeated (“their synagogues”), and the verb depicts the reception of honor as a broad social response (“by all”) to his teaching activity. Glorifying here functions as public esteem expressed toward a person within communal worship spaces.

“Immediately he rose up before them, and took up that which he was laying on, and departed to his house, glorifying God.” (Luke 5:25)

δοξάζω describes an individual response immediately attached to a dramatic change of condition and ability. The actions are quick and concrete (“Immediately,” “rose up,” “took up,” “departed”), and glorifying God accompanies his departure rather than remaining with the crowd. The verb shows honor directed to God as the healed person’s own interpretation of what has just occurred.

“Amazement took hold on all, and they glorified God. They were filled with fear, saying, “We have seen strange things today.”” (Luke 5:26)

Here glorifying is the community’s answer to being overtaken by “amazement” and “fear.” δοξάζω stands as a corporate reaction (“they glorified God”) and is framed by their confession of unprecedented experience: “We have seen strange things today.” The verb marks the movement from astonished perception to God-directed honor.

“Fear took hold of all, and they glorified God, saying, “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and, “God has visited his people!”” (Luke 7:16)

δοξάζω is again connected with fear and collective speech. The glorifying is not silent; it is articulated in two exclamations that interpret the event: “A great prophet has arisen among us!” and “God has visited his people!” The verb thus conveys honoring God as the crowd frames what has happened in terms of God’s action toward “his people.”

“He laid his hands on her, and immediately she stood up straight and glorified God.” (Luke 13:13)

This verse presents δοξάζω as the immediate, personal response to being made able to stand “straight.” The action sequence is direct: touch (“laid his hands”), instantaneous change (“immediately”), and then glorifying God. The verb depicts honoring God as a spontaneous acknowledgment arising from embodied restoration.

“One of them, when he saw that he was healed, turned back, glorifying God with a loud voice.” (Luke 17:15)

Here δοξάζω is intensified by audibility: it is done “with a loud voice.” The verb is attached to recognition (“when he saw that he was healed”) and to a deliberate reversal of direction (“turned back”). Glorifying God is presented as a chosen public act, not merely an inward sentiment, and it is tied to the man’s clear perception of what has happened to him.

Sense and Usage

Across these scenes δοξάζω consistently names an act of honoring that is responsive: it rises out of what people “see” (Matthew 5:16; Matthew 9:8; Matthew 15:31; Luke 17:15), what they “heard and seen” (Luke 2:20), and what provokes communal astonishment or fear (Mark 2:12; Luke 5:26; Luke 7:16). The verb appears where recognition crystallizes into a directed action—God is the recipient in most instances, and the honor is often narrated as the fitting conclusion to a chain of events.

Several passages show how glorifying can be voiced. In Mark 2:12 and Luke 7:16 it is accompanied by quoted exclamations, and in Luke 17:15 it is explicitly “with a loud voice.” Even where no words are recorded, the verb functions as more than a private feeling: Matthew 5:16 places it in public visibility (“before men”), and Luke 13:13 places it directly after an observable change (“she stood up straight”).

δοξάζω can also mark the social direction of honor. Matthew 6:2 contrasts the pursuit of “glory from men” with the kind of action that does not advertise itself; Luke 4:15 depicts a person “being glorified by all” in response to teaching in synagogues. Set beside the Godward uses, these lines show glorifying operating in both human-to-human honor and human-to-God honor, with the surrounding wording indicating whether the honor is sought as a “reward” (Matthew 6:2) or offered as a response to witnessed deeds and perceived divine action (e.g., Matthew 9:8; Luke 7:16).

Imagery

The repeated narrative setting for δοξάζω is a moment of public exposure: light shining where “men” can see (Matthew 5:16), a crowd reacting to a man carrying his mat out “in front of them all” (Mark 2:12), and people speaking out of fear and wonder (Luke 5:26; Luke 7:16). Even when the actor is a single healed person (Luke 5:25; Luke 13:13; Luke 17:15), glorifying is portrayed as outward-facing—something done, sometimes loudly, in the wake of a visible change.

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).