G1718 — ἐμφανίζω (emphanizo)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G1718
Original: ἐμφανίζω
Transliteration: emphanizo
Pronunciation: em-fan-id'-zo
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: ἐμφανής (emphanes, G1717) — "apparent, visible"; from ἐν (in) + φαίνω (phaino, G5316, to shine/appear)
Occurrences: 10 unique verses in NT
First Occurrence: Matt 27:53 — "went into the holy city, and appeared unto many"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From G1717 (emphanes); to exhibit (in person) or disclose (by words): appear, declare plainly, inform, manifest, show, signify.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

G1718 spans multiple Louw-Nida domains, reflecting its dual semantic range:

Domain 24.001 — See (sensory perception: to become visible)
Domain 28.003 — Well Known, Clearly Shown, Revealed (cognitive: to make known)
Domain 33.015 — Inform, Announce (communication: to report/disclose)
Domain 56.003 — Accusation (legal: to bring charges, inform against)

Other words in 28.003: ἀποκαλύπτω (G601), φανερόω (G5319), δηλόω (G1213), χρηματίζω (G5537)

Greek Morphological Distribution¶

Form	Parsing	Occurrences	References
ἐνεφανίσθησαν	Aor Pass Ind 3P	1	Matt 27:53
ἐμφανίσω	Fut Act Ind 1S	1	John 14:21
ἐμφανίζειν	Pres Act Inf	1	John 14:22
ἐμφανίσατε	Aor Act Impv 2P	1	Acts 23:15
ἐνεφάνισας	Aor Act Ind 2S	1	Acts 23:22
ἐνεφάνισαν	Aor Act Ind 3P	3	Acts 24:1; 25:2; 25:15
ἐμφανισθῆναι	Aor Pass Inf	1	Heb 9:24
ἐμφανίζουσιν	Pres Act Ind 3P	1	Heb 11:14

Voice distribution: Active 7x (70%), Passive 2x (20%), Infinitive split (1 active, 1 passive).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
informed	3	30%
appeared	1	10%
declare plainly	1	10%
manifest	1	10%
signify	1	10%
shewed	1	10%
to appear	1	10%
will manifest	1	10%

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Acts	5	0.5
Hebrews	2	0.7
John	2	0.2
Matthew	1	0.1

Acts accounts for 50% of all uses, entirely in the legal/judicial sense. Hebrews has the highest density (0.7/100v), with both uses in theologically significant contexts. John's two occurrences are in the same discourse (14:21-22). Absent from the Pauline epistles, the Synoptics (except one Matthew use), and Revelation.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Legal Accusation / Judicial Report (Acts)¶

The dominant NT usage: to formally bring charges or report information to authorities. - Acts 24:1 — "a certain orator named Tertullus, who informed the governor against Paul" - Acts 25:2 — "the high priest and the chief of the Jews informed him against Paul" - Acts 25:15 — "the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, desiring to have judgment against him" - Acts 23:15 — "ye with the council signify to the chief captain that he bring him down"

2. Personal Disclosure / Reporting (Acts)¶

To disclose information privately to someone in authority — not a public accusation but a confidential report. - Acts 23:22 — "tell no man that thou hast shewed these things to me" (Paul's nephew reports the ambush plot to the tribune)

3. Divine Self-Manifestation (John)¶

Christ's promise to make himself personally visible/known to those who love him — intimate theophanic disclosure. - John 14:21 — "I will love him, and will manifest myself to him" - John 14:22 — "Lord, how is it that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world?"

4. Appearing in the Presence of God (Hebrews)¶

Christ's priestly presentation of himself before God on behalf of humanity — visible appearance in the heavenly sanctuary. - Heb 9:24 — "but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us"

5. Post-Resurrection Visible Appearing (Matthew)¶

Physical, bodily appearance to human witnesses. - Matt 27:53 — "went into the holy city, and appeared unto many"

6. Open Declaration (Hebrews)¶

To make something unmistakably clear through words — verbal manifestation rather than visual. - Heb 11:14 — "they that say such things declare plainly that they seek a country"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ἀρχιερεύς (archiereus)	G749	3x (30%)	Chief priests as subjects who "inform against" someone
Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaios)	G2453	2x (20%)	Jewish authorities bringing formal charges
πρεσβύτερος (presbyteros)	G4245	2x (20%)	Elders joining chief priests in accusation
χιλίαρχος (chiliarchos)	G5506	2x (20%)	Roman tribune as recipient of the report
Παῦλος (Paulos)	G3972	2x (20%)	Paul as the object of judicial information
ἅγιος (hagios)	G40	1x (10%)	"holy city" (Matt 27:53), "holy places" (Heb 9:24)
ἀντίτυπον (antitypon)	G499	1x (10%)	Earthly sanctuary as "figure" of the true (Heb 9:24)

Word Family / Cognates¶

G1717 ἐμφανής (emphanes) — adjective: "visible, manifest, apparent" (2v: Acts 10:40, Rom 10:20)
G5316 φαίνω (phaino) — base root verb: "to shine, to appear" (31v)
G5319 φανερόω (phaneroo) — causative: "to make visible, manifest" (49v) — the most common "manifest" verb in the NT
G5318 φανερός (phaneros) — adjective: "manifest, evident, known" (18v)

Synonyms¶

G1213 δηλόω (deloo) — "to make plain, declare, signify" (7v) — verbal disclosure without the visual/personal dimension
G601 ἀποκαλύπτω (apokalypto) — "to unveil, reveal" (26v) — emphasizes removing what conceals; focuses on prior hiddenness
G5319 φανερόω (phaneroo) — "to render visible/manifest" (49v) — broader than emphanizo; applies to incarnation and final disclosure

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
φαίνω (phaino)	G5316	"appear"	Base root: to shine forth/appear — natural visibility; emphanizo adds the ἐν- prefix implying personal/direct presence
φανερόω (phaneroo)	G5319	"appear," "manifest"	Broader: to make something previously hidden now visible; emphanizo emphasizes appearing to someone or before someone in person
ἐπιφαίνω (epiphaino)	G2014	"appear"	To shine upon — luminous, radiant appearing (divine grace dawning); emphanizo is face-to-face personal presentation
ὀπτάνομαι (optanomai)	G3700	"appeared"	Passive of seeing — to be seen/let oneself be seen (post-resurrection appearances); emphanizo is active self-disclosure
ἀποκαλύπτω (apokalypto)	G601	conceptual overlap	Unveiling hidden truth — apocalyptic/prophetic; emphanizo is personal-judicial, not cosmic revelation

Hebrew Source¶

No Hebrew source found via LXX alignment data. The lexicon notes Exod 33:13 in its biblical usage outline, where Moses asks God to "shew me thy way" — the LXX uses emphanizo there, but this falls outside the quantitative LXX mapping threshold.