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Greek verb · G1256

διαλέγομαι

dialegomaidee-al-eg'-om-ahee

to dispute

13 uses in the Greek text, one for each word STEP Bible has tagged with this key

Concordance spelling: dialégomai

Word page · Part of the concordance, one page for every word of the Hebrew and Greek text. Strong's G1256is this word's number in James Strong's 1890 index of the King James Bible.

  • 4 of 27
    New Testament books
  • 7
    spellings

The definition in full

Strong's key (1890) · G1256

to say thoroughly, i.e. discuss (in argument or exhortation)

The King James renders it: dispute, preach (unto), reason (with), speak.

James Strong, The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), public domain. Strong indexed the King James text, and this site quotes his entry as that index.

Summary

dialegomai is rendered "to dispute". It stands 13 times in the Greek text, across four books.

  • Ten of the uses stand in Acts, more than in any other book.
  • Its first use in canonical order opens the ledger below.Mark 9:34But they were silent, for on the way they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.
  • The Greek text spells it seven different ways.

The first use

But they were silent, for on the way they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.

Mark 9:34διελέχθησαν

The first use, in the order of the New Testament's books.

Where the word stands

Ten of the word's thirteen uses are in Acts.

The other 23 New Testament books never use the word.

What the word means

Each meaning, and the words it is translated by

How the Greek text is glossed, word by word

  • he was reasoning3
  • reasoning3
  • he reasoned2
  • addresses1
  • as is talking1
  • they had been discussing1
  • was talking1
  • When reasoning1

The words built on the same word-part

Each word below begins with the same letters this one begins with. A shared word-part shows a family. It does not settle what any one of them means, so each word carries its own uses on its own page. Scholars call that shared part the stem.

διαλογίζομαιdialogizomaito discussUses16
διαλογισμόςdialogismosreasoningUses14
διάλεκτοςdialektoslanguageUses6
διαλαλέωdialaleoto discussUses2
διαλύωdialyoto disperseUses1
διαλείπωdialeipoto stopUses1
διαλλάσσωdiallassobe reconciledUses1

All 13, in canonical order

Every use, in order

Every use, grouped by book, with its verse.

7 spellings and their grammar

STEP Bible tags every word of the Hebrew and Greek text with its spelling and its grammar. Both lists below count the rows printed underneath, written out in English, with the code beside each one as it was tagged.

How it is spelled

  • διελέγετο4
  • διαλεγόμενος2
  • διαλεγομένου2
  • διελέξατο2
  • διαλέγεται1
  • διαλεγόμενον1
  • διελέχθησαν1

The grammar of each form

  • verb · imperfect middle or passive form, indicative · 3rd person singular4V-INI-3S
  • verb · aorist middle form, indicative · 3rd person singular2V-ADI-3S
  • verb · present middle or passive form, participle · genitive (“of”) · masculine singular2V-PNP-GSM
  • verb · present middle or passive form, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singular2V-PNP-NSM
  • verb · aorist passive form, indicative · 3rd person plural1V-AOI-3P
  • verb · present middle or passive form, indicative · 3rd person singular1V-PNI-3S
  • verb · present middle or passive form, participle · accusative (object) · masculine singular1V-PNP-ASM

Mark

one use
  • But they were silent, for on the way they had been arguing about which of them was the greatest.

    Mark 9:34

    • διελέχθησανdielechthesanverb · aorist passive form, indicative · 3rd person pluraltagged: they had been discussing

Acts

ten uses
  • As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbaths he reasoned with them from the Scriptures,

    Acts 17:2

    • διελέξατοdielexatoverb · aorist middle form, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: he reasoned
  • So he reasoned in the synagogue with the Jews and God-fearing Gentiles, and in the marketplace with those he met each day.

    Acts 17:17

    • διελέγετοdielegetoverb · imperfect middle or passive form, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: He was reasoning
  • Every Sabbath he reasoned in the synagogue, trying to persuade Jews and Greeks alike.

    Acts 18:4

    • διελέγετοdielegetoverb · imperfect middle or passive form, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: he was reasoning
  • When they reached Ephesus, Paul parted ways with Priscilla and Aquila. He himself went into the synagogue there and reasoned with the Jews.

    Acts 18:19

    • διελέξατοdielexatoverb · aorist middle form, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: he reasoned
  • Then Paul went into the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God.

    Acts 19:8

    • διαλεγόμενοςdialegomenosverb · present middle or passive form, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: reasoning
  • But when some of them stubbornly refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way, Paul took his disciples and left the synagogue to conduct daily discussions in the lecture hall of Tyrannus.

    Acts 19:9

    • διαλεγόμενοςdialegomenosverb · present middle or passive form, participle · nominative (subject) · masculine singulartagged: reasoning
  • On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Since Paul was ready to leave the next day, he talked to them and kept on speaking until midnight.

    Acts 20:7

    • διελέγετοdielegetoverb · imperfect middle or passive form, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: was talking
  • And a certain young man named Eutychus, seated in the window, was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell from the third story and was picked up dead.

    Acts 20:9

    • διαλεγομένουdialegomenouverb · present middle or passive form, participle · genitive (“of”) · masculine singulartagged: as is talking
  • Yet my accusers did not find me debating with anyone in the temple or riling up a crowd in the synagogues or in the city.

    Acts 24:12

    • διαλεγόμενονdialegomenonverb · present middle or passive form, participle · accusative (object) · masculine singulartagged: reasoning
  • As Paul expounded on righteousness, self-control, and the coming judgment, Felix became frightened and said, “You may go for now. When I find the time, I will call for you.”

    Acts 24:25

    • διαλεγομένουdialegomenouverb · present middle or passive form, participle · genitive (“of”) · masculine singulartagged: When reasoning

Hebrews

one use
  • And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you.

    Hebrews 12:5

    • διαλέγεταιdialegetaiverb · present middle or passive form, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: addresses

Jude

one use
  • But even the archangel Michael, when he disputed with the devil over the body of Moses, did not presume to bring a slanderous charge against him, but said, “The Lord rebuke you!”

    Jude 1:9

    • διελέγετοdielegetoverb · imperfect middle or passive form, indicative · 3rd person singulartagged: he was reasoning

Where it leads

How the numbers are counted

Every count on this page comes from STEP Bible's tagged Hebrew and Greek text, the same text the ledger prints. A use is counted once each time the tagging marks a word with this key.

Spellings are counted as the Greek text spells them, with the sentence's own punctuation taken off the word first, so a form that ends a clause is not counted as a second spelling.

The family is read from the lexicon by the stem the two words share, with the accents off, and a person or a place named on the stem is left out.

Hebrew and Greek text, word tagging and grammar: STEP Bible (www.STEPBible.org), Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0. Their grammar codes are written out in English here and shown as tagged beside each one.

Meaning and senses: STEP Bible TBESG (Tyndale House, CC BY 4.0), the Brief lexicon based on Abbott-Smith (1922).

Dictionary key: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890, public domain). English verse text: Berean Standard Bible (public domain, 2023).

Revised 2026-09-05. Every cited work, the sources registry →