Exploring the Meaning of Megaluno in Greek

μεγαλύνω expresses the act of magnifying. In the passages where it appears, it can describe either a visible enlargement in outward religious practice or the public exaltation of God, Christ, mercy, and a name through speech, reputation, and lived experience.

Occurrences

Matthew 23:5 — “But they do all their works to be seen by men. They make their phylacteries broad, enlarge the fringes of their garments,”

Here μεγαλύνω is attached to tangible objects: phylacteries and garment fringes. The action is a physical “making large,” but the verse frames it as performance: “to be seen by men.” The magnifying is not neutral sizing; it functions within a social economy of visibility, where what is enlarged is meant to draw attention to the wearer’s piety.

Luke 1:46 — “Mary said, “My soul magnifies the Lord.”

In Mary’s statement, the act of magnifying is internal (“My soul”) and directed toward “the Lord.” The verse locates magnifying as a personal, wholehearted response rather than a change in external dimensions. The subject is the soul, and the object is the Lord, giving the verb a devotional and doxological setting within spoken praise.

Luke 1:58 — “Her neighbors and her relatives heard that the Lord had magnified his mercy toward her, and they rejoiced with her.”

Here the Lord is the one who magnifies, and what is magnified is “his mercy.” The magnifying is something that can be “heard” about and becomes a shared cause for rejoicing. The verb thus marks mercy as having been made great in its expression toward Elizabeth, with a communal response (“they rejoiced with her”) arising from recognition of that magnified mercy.

Acts 5:13 — “None of the rest dared to join them, however the people honored them.”

In this scene, μεγαλύνω contributes the sense of public elevation through the people’s response. Even without joining the group, “the people honored them,” indicating a magnifying that operates through reputation and esteem. The verb’s effect is social: it describes how a community can make someone’s standing great while still keeping distance.

Acts 10:46 — “For they heard them speaking in other languages and magnifying God. Then Peter answered,”

Magnifying here is an audible activity paired with “speaking in other languages.” The object is explicitly “God,” and the action is something others “heard,” making magnifying a public, verbal expression rather than a private disposition. The verse presents magnifying as part of the observed phenomenon that leads into Peter’s response, highlighting its evidential role in the moment.

Acts 19:17 — “This became known to all, both Jews and Greeks, who lived at Ephesus. Fear fell on them all, and the name of the Lord Jesus was magnified.”

The verb describes what happens to “the name of the Lord Jesus” in the wake of widely shared knowledge and communal fear. Magnifying is linked to the spread of news (“became known to all”) and a strong public reaction (“Fear fell on them all”). The name is magnified as its weight and prominence increase in the city’s consciousness, indicating magnifying through heightened recognition and reverent regard.

2 Corinthians 10:15 — “not boasting beyond proper limits in other men’s labors, but having hope that as your faith grows, we will be abundantly enlarged by you in our sphere of influence,”

Here μεγαλύνω is used for being “enlarged” within “our sphere of influence.” The context is restrained ministry boasting: “not boasting beyond proper limits.” The enlargement Paul speaks of is tied to the Corinthians’ growth in faith and results in a widening or strengthening of influence connected with them (“by you”). Magnifying thus works within relational and ministerial dynamics, describing increased scope rather than physical size.

Philippians 1:20 — “according to my earnest expectation and hope, that I will in no way be disappointed, but with all boldness, as always, now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death.”

This occurrence places magnifying in the arena of embodied existence: “in my body.” The means are comprehensive—“whether by life or by death”—and the posture is courageous (“with all boldness”). Magnifying Christ here is not merely verbal praise; it is Christ being made great through the visible, concrete reality of Paul’s bodily life and even the manner of his death, so that Christ’s significance is displayed through what happens to him.

Sense and Usage

Across these passages, μεγαλύνω consistently carries the idea of making something great in the way it is perceived or manifested, but it does so through different channels. In Matthew 23:5 it operates at the level of material display: religious items are enlarged to be noticed. The verb’s force is sharpened by the motive clause “to be seen by men,” which frames enlargement as an attempt to increase public impression.

In Luke and Acts, magnifying most often takes an explicitly Godward direction. Mary’s “My soul magnifies the Lord” (Luke 1:46) places magnifying in worshipful speech rooted in the inner self. Luke 1:58 shifts agency to the Lord, who magnifies “his mercy,” and this divine magnifying becomes something the community can recognize and celebrate. Acts 10:46 shows magnifying as heard praise—verbal magnification accompanying extraordinary speech. Acts 19:17 extends the verb to “the name of the Lord Jesus,” where magnifying describes a community-wide escalation in the recognized weight of that name following events that spread through Ephesus and produced fear.

The word also functions in interpersonal and communal valuation. Acts 5:13 depicts a situation where people “honored them” despite reluctance to join them; magnifying here belongs to social honor, in which a group’s standing becomes great in public estimation. Similarly, 2 Corinthians 10:15 uses magnifying for expansion in “sphere of influence,” tied to faith’s growth and bounded by “proper limits” regarding boasting. Magnifying in this context is not self-inflation; it is enlargement linked to the spiritual progress of others and constrained by ethical concern about overstating one’s role.

Philippians 1:20 gathers many of these threads into a striking formulation: magnifying Christ “in my body.” Magnifying is neither confined to speech nor detached from material life; it can be enacted through the tangible realities of bodily existence under pressure, with “boldness” and with outcomes as stark as “life or… death.” The verb here suggests that what is magnified can be made great in the public meaning of a life—how it is lived, endured, and concluded—so that Christ’s greatness is displayed through an embodied witness.

Imagery

The passages place μεγαλύνω along a spectrum from the literal to the figurative. At one end stands the enlargement of visible religious markers (Matthew 23:5). At the other end are realities like the Lord, mercy, a name, influence, and Christ in a body—things magnified not by changing their essence, but by making their greatness conspicuous in community hearing (Acts 10:46), communal reaction (Luke 1:58; Acts 19:17), social regard (Acts 5:13), widening impact (2 Corinthians 10:15), and a courageous, embodied life (Philippians 1:20).

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).