ἐξάγω means “to lead out,” describing purposeful movement from one place or condition to another under someone’s direction. In the New Testament it appears in scenes of escorting, delivering, and guiding—ranging from Jesus’ path to crucifixion, to liberation from prison, to Israel’s exodus from Egypt recalled in apostolic speech and covenant language.
Occurrences
“When they had mocked him, they took the purple off him, and put his own garments on him. They led him out to crucify him.” (Mark 15:20)
Here ἐξάγω marks the transition from mockery to execution. The action is controlled by the soldiers: after changing his clothing, they move him out with a fixed destination (“to crucify him”), stressing enforced escort rather than voluntary travel.
“He led them out as far as Bethany, and he lifted up his hands, and blessed them.” (Luke 24:50)
In this departure scene, ἐξάγω frames Jesus’ guidance of “them” to a specific boundary point (“as far as Bethany”). The leading out sets the stage for the blessing gesture that follows, so the verb carries an orderly, purposeful movement into the setting where his final act of blessing is given.
“The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name, and leads them out.” (John 10:3)
ἐξάγω functions within a pastoral image: the shepherd’s voice is recognized, individuals are addressed (“by name”), and the result is being led out. The verb ties to recognition and trust within the scene—movement outward occurs as the culmination of hearing, calling, and responding.
“But an angel of the Lord opened the prison doors by night, and brought them out and said,” (Acts 5:19)
The verb describes physical deliverance from confinement. The prison doors open “by night,” and the angel’s action brings “them” out of the secured space, immediately followed by speech; ἐξάγω thus anchors the shift from imprisonment to renewed mission under divine direction.
“This man led them out, having worked wonders and signs in Egypt, in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness for forty years.” (Acts 7:36)
In Stephen’s recounting, ἐξάγω summarizes Moses’ role in bringing a people out, then expands the scope with the settings that followed (“in Egypt, in the Red Sea, and in the wilderness”). The leading out is portrayed as the opening movement of a long, directed journey characterized by divine works.
“saying to Aaron, ‘Make us gods that will go before us, for as for this Moses, who led us out of the land of Egypt, we don’t know what has become of him.’” (Acts 7:40)
Here ἐξάγω is used as a defining description of Moses (“who led us out of the land of Egypt”). The people’s uncertainty about Moses’ whereabouts (“we don’t know what has become of him”) contrasts with the remembered fact of having been led out; the verb becomes a title-like marker of past deliverance and leadership.
“But he, beckoning to them with his hand to be silent, declared to them how the Lord had brought him out of the prison. He said, “Tell these things to James and to the brothers.” Then he departed and went to another place.” (Acts 12:17)
Peter’s report centers the Lord as the agent who “had brought him out of the prison.” ἐξάγω is framed as an accomplished rescue that requires explanation to the community and leads to practical next steps (“Tell these things…”; “Then he departed…”). The verb signals a decisive exit that reshapes the immediate situation.
“The God of this people chose our fathers, and exalted the people when they stayed as aliens in the land of Egypt, and with an uplifted arm, he led them out of it.” (Acts 13:17)
In Paul’s synagogue speech, ἐξάγω depicts God’s direct action on behalf of a people who had been “aliens” in Egypt. The phrase “with an uplifted arm” casts the leading out as powerful and intentional, connecting election (“chose our fathers”) and elevation (“exalted the people”) with the concrete act of bringing them out from a land where they sojourned.
“But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly without a trial, men who are Romans, and have cast us into prison! Do they now release us secretly? No, most certainly, but let them come themselves and bring us out!”” (Acts 16:37)
Paul uses ἐξάγω as a demanded public action: the authorities must “come themselves and bring us out.” The verb is tied to accountability and visibility, set against the idea of a quiet, concealed release. Leading out here is not only movement from prison to freedom but a corrective public escort that answers the injustice Paul describes.
“and they came and begged them. When they had brought them out, they asked them to depart from the city.” (Acts 16:39)
This verse narrates the requested outcome: officials arrive, plead, and “brought them out.” ἐξάγω marks the formal end of confinement and the beginning of a new directive (“depart from the city”). The leading out functions as an official transition from custody to departure.
“Aren’t you then the Egyptian, who before these days stirred up to sedition and led out into the wilderness the four thousand men of the Assassins?”” (Acts 21:38)
In the tribune’s question, ἐξάγω is associated with incitement and irregular leadership: someone “stirred up to sedition” and “led out into the wilderness” a large armed group. The verb conveys the organizer’s ability to draw people from one place into another—here, away from the city into a wilderness setting—underscoring the perceived threat of mobilization.
“not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers, in the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; for they didn’t continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them,” says the Lord.” (Hebrews 8:9)
ἐξάγω appears inside covenant speech as a remembered act of close guidance: “I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt.” The verb is paired with tender, directive imagery (“by the hand”), and the leading out becomes a benchmark for relationship—set in contrast to the later failure to “continue in my covenant.”
Sense and Usage
Across these passages, ἐξάγω consistently portrays directed movement outward, but the agent and purpose shape its force. In Mark 15:20, the leading out is coercive and lethal in intent (“to crucify him”); the verb communicates controlled transfer into suffering. In Luke 24:50 and John 10:3, the leading out is pastoral and purposeful: Jesus guides his followers to a location for blessing, and the shepherd leads responsive sheep outward after calling them by name. These scenes share outward motion, yet the relational tone differs sharply from the forced escort of Mark.
Acts repeatedly uses ἐξάγω for release from imprisonment and for the larger story of being brought out of Egypt. In Acts 5:19 and Acts 12:17, divine intervention brings people out of prison, with the exit immediately linked to speaking and acting. In Acts 16:37–39, the same outward movement is demanded and then enacted by civic authorities, highlighting that “being led out” can be a public, procedural act as well as a miraculous deliverance. The verb thus fits both extraordinary rescue and ordinary (or contested) legal transition, while retaining the same outward direction.
In Acts 7:36, Acts 7:40, Acts 13:17, and Hebrews 8:9, ἐξάγω becomes a signature description of the exodus from Egypt: Moses “led them out,” and God “led them out.” The emphasis shifts from a single doorway to the foundational movement of a people out of a land. Stephen and Paul use it as a compact way to evoke a shared historical memory, while Hebrews embeds it in covenant language: leading out is not merely relocation but an act entwined with relationship (“took them by the hand”).
Acts 21:38 shows the same outward-leading applied in a hostile frame: a leader “led out into the wilderness” men associated with violence. The verb’s sense remains that of bringing people out under someone’s direction, yet the context displays how such leadership can be construed as sedition. This breadth of contexts—crucifixion procession, blessing journey, shepherding, prison exits, national deliverance, and insurgent mobilization—demonstrates that ἐξάγω focuses on the act of leading outward itself, while the moral and emotional coloring comes from the narrative setting and the identity of the one who leads.
Imagery
The passages cluster around thresholds: a city’s route to execution (Mark 15:20), the road “as far as Bethany” (Luke 24:50), a sheepfold gate opened by a gatekeeper (John 10:3), prison doors opened “by night” (Acts 5:19), and a remembered departure “out of the land of Egypt” (Acts 13:17; Hebrews 8:9). Whether the leading out is harsh, gentle, miraculous, official, or rebellious, ἐξάγω repeatedly places a leader at the point where someone crosses from one space into another.
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).
