UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: to agree to

Semantic entry: 33.278

Semantic domains: Communication

Subdomains: Agree

Definition: to indicate agreement with a proposition or offer

Notes: In some languages one may render ‘he agreed to it’ by simply saying ‘he said, I will do it.’

Sense 2: to profess, to confess, confession

Semantic entry: 33.274

Semantic domains: Communication

Subdomains: Profess Allegiance

Definition: to express openly one’s allegiance to a proposition or person

Notes: It is often extremely difficult, if not impossible, to translate ὁμολογέω[a], ὁμολογία, and ἐξομολογέω[b] by the usual expression for ‘confess,’ since this would usually imply that one has done something wrong. It is normally necessary, therefore, to employ quite a different type of relationship, usually involving a public utterance and an expression of confidence or allegiance. For example, in RV MAT 10:32 · LV MAT 10:32 · Read together MAT 10:32 it may be necessary to translate ‘whoever tells people publicly that he is loyal to me, I will tell my Father that I am loyal to that person.’ Similarly, in RV HEB 10:23 · LV HEB 10:23 · Read together HEB 10:23 one may translate ‘let us hold on to the hope in which we have told people we have such confidence.’ Likewise, in RV ROM 15:9 · LV ROM 15:9 · Read together ROM 15:9 one may translate ‘therefore I will tell the Gentiles how I have put my confidence in you.’|For another interpretation of ἐξομολογέομαι in RV ROM 15:9 · LV ROM 15:9 · Read together ROM 15:9, see 33.359: ἐξομολογέω.

Forms: ἐξομολογέομαι[a]

Sense 3: to admit, to confess

Semantic entry: 33.275

Semantic domains: Communication

Subdomains: Admit, Confess, Deny

Definition: to acknowledge a fact publicly, often in reference to previous bad behavior

Notes: In RV PHP 2:11 · LV PHP 2:11 · Read together PHP 2:11 the statement πᾶσα γλῶσσα ἐξομολογήσηται ὅτι κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός (‘that everyone may confess that Jesus Christ is Lord’) means simply to acknowledge a fact publicly, and in this instance there is no implication of previous bad behavior.|In translating RV MAT 3:6 · LV MAT 3:6 · Read together MAT 3:6 in some languages, it may be useful to restructure the expression somewhat, for example, ‘they admitted to people that they had sinned’ or ‘they admitted publicly to God …’

Forms: ἐξομολογέομαι[b]

Sense 4: to thank, to give thanks to

Semantic entry: 33.351

Semantic domains: Communication

Subdomains: Thanks

Definition: to acknowledge one’s thankfulness, restricted in NT usage to contexts in which God is the one being thanked

Forms: ἐξομολογέομαι[c]

Sense 5: to praise

Semantic entry: 33.359

Semantic domains: Communication

Subdomains: Praise

Definition: to express praise or honor, with a possible implication of acknowledging the nature of someone or something (occurring in the NT only in quotations from the Septuagint)

Notes: This meaning of ἐξομολογέομαι is almost guaranteed by the parallelism of the second line of the quotation in RV ROM 15:9 · LV ROM 15:9 · Read together ROM 15:9, but for another interpretation of RV ROM 15:9 · LV ROM 15:9 · Read together ROM 15:9, see 33.274: ἐξομολογέω / 33.274: ὁμολογέω / 33.274: ὁμολογία.

Forms: ἐξομολογέομαι[d]