G1843 — ἐξομολογέω (exomologeo)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G1843
Original: ἐξομολογέω
Transliteration: exomologeo
Pronunciation: ex-om-ol-og-eh'-o
Part of Speech: Verb
Root: ἐκ (G1537, "out of") + ὁμολογέω (G3670, "to confess/agree") — to confess openly, acknowledge fully
Occurrences: 11 unique verses in NT (10 morphological attestations)
First Occurrence: Matt 3:6 — "And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From ek (G1537) and homologeo (G3670); to acknowledge or agree fully — to confess, to profess, to give thanks/praise. Carries the intensifying force of the ek- prefix: not merely to agree (homologeo) but to acknowledge openly, fully, publicly.

Louw-Nida Semantic Domains¶

Domain 33.021: Profess Allegiance — other words: ὁμολογέω (G3670), ὁμολογία (G3671)
Domain 33.022: Admit, Confess, Deny — other words: ἀπαρνέομαι (G533), ἀρνέομαι (G720), ὁμολογέω (G3670)
Domain 33.036: Thanks — other words: εὐχαριστέω (G2168), εὐχαριστία (G2169), χάρις (G5485)
Domain 33.037: Praise — other words: αἴνεσις (G133), αἰνέω (G134), δοξάζω (G1392), εὐλογέω (G2127)

The multi-domain placement captures the word's dual semantic range: confession/acknowledgment on one side, thanksgiving/praise on the other.

Morphological Distribution¶

Form	Parsing	Occurrences	Verses
ἐξομολογούμενοι	Pres Mid Ptcp Nom Pl M	3	Matt 3:6; Mark 1:5; Acts 19:18
Ἐξομολογοῦμαί	Pres Mid Ind 1S	2	Matt 11:25; Luke 10:21
ἐξομολογήσεται	Fut Mid Ind 3S	1	Rom 14:11
ἐξομολογήσομαί	Fut Mid Ind 1S	1	Rom 15:9
ἐξομολογήσηται	Aor Mid Subj 3S	1	Phil 2:11
ἐξομολογεῖσθε	Pres Mid Impv 2P	1	James 5:16
ἐξωμολόγησεν	Aor Act Ind 3S	1	Luke 22:6

All occurrences are middle voice except Luke 22:6 (active, "he promised/agreed"). The middle voice dominates, emphasizing personal involvement in the act of confessing or giving thanks.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
confessing / confess / confessed / shall confess / should confess	7	64%
I thank	2	18%
he promised	1	9%
I will confess (= "give thanks")	1	9%

The KJV renders "confess" when sin or allegiance is in view, and "thank" when praise to God is the context. Rom 15:9 "I will confess to thee among the Gentiles" is a Psalm quotation where "confess" carries the thanksgiving sense.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
James	1	0.93
Romans	2	0.46
Matthew	2	0.19
Luke	2	0.17
Revelation	1	0.25
Mark	1	0.15
Acts	1	0.10
Philippians	1	0.96

Spread across 8 books with no concentration in any single author. The word appears in Synoptic, Pauline, General Epistle, and Apocalyptic literature.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Confession of Sin¶

Matt 3:6 — "And were baptized of him in Jordan, confessing their sins."
Mark 1:5 — "were all baptized of him in the river of Jordan, confessing their sins."
Acts 19:18 — "And many that believed came, and confessed, and shewed their deeds."
James 5:16 — "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed."

Present middle participle in the baptism contexts (ongoing action concurrent with baptism). James uses present middle imperative — a standing instruction for mutual confession.

2. Thanksgiving / Praise to God¶

Matt 11:25 — "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise..."
Luke 10:21 — "I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that thou hast hid these things from the wise..."

Jesus addresses the Father with exomologeo in the sense of grateful acknowledgment — "I openly acknowledge you, Father." The parallel accounts use identical wording.

3. Public Confession / Acknowledgment of Lordship¶

Phil 2:11 — "And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father."
Rom 14:11 — "every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God."

Eschatological/universal acknowledgment. Phil 2:11 (aorist middle subjunctive) presents confession as a decisive future act. Rom 14:11 quotes Isa 45:23 where the Hebrew has H3034 yadah.

4. Praise / Acknowledgment Among the Nations¶

Rom 15:9 — "For this cause I will confess to thee among the Gentiles, and sing unto thy name."

Quoting Psa 18:49 (LXX 17:50) where Hebrew yadah is rendered exomologeo. The parallel with "sing" confirms the praise/thanksgiving sense.

Luke 22:6 — "And he promised, and sought opportunity to betray him unto them."

The only active voice occurrence. Judas "agreed fully" (exomologeo in the sense of open consent/promise). This is the outlier usage — consent rather than confession or praise.

6. Confession of Name¶

Rev 3:5 — "I will confess his name before my Father, and before his angels."

Christ's public acknowledgment of the overcomer — reciprocal to the believer's confession of Christ.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	4x (36%)	"confess that Jesus Christ is Lord" / "confess to God"
πατήρ (pater)	G3962	4x (36%)	"I thank thee, O Father" / "to the glory of God the Father"
θεός (theos)	G2316	3x (27%)	object of thanksgiving or confession
Ἰησοῦς (Iesous)	G2424	3x (27%)	"Jesus Christ is Lord" confession
ἁμαρτία (hamartia)	G266	2x (18%)	"confessing their sins" at baptism
βαπτίζω (baptizo)	G907	2x (18%)	confession accompanying baptism
γλῶσσα (glossa)	G1100	2x (18%)	"every tongue shall confess"
ὄνομα (onoma)	G3686	2x (18%)	"confess his name" / "sing unto thy name"

Word Family / Cognates¶

G3670 ὁμολογέω (homologeo) — root verb: to confess, profess, agree (9v). Exomologeo adds the ek- prefix intensifying the openness/fullness of the acknowledgment.
G3671 ὁμολογία (homologia) — profession, confession (6v). The noun form of homologeo.

Synonyms¶

G134 αἰνέω (aineo) — to praise (9v); praise with focus on laudatory speech
G2168 εὐχαριστέω (eucharisteo) — to give thanks (38v); the standard NT thanksgiving verb
G1867 ἐπαινέω (epaineo) — to commend, praise (6v); human-directed commendation
G5567 ψάλλω (psallo) — to sing praise (5v); musical praise

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
εὐχαριστέω (eucharisteo)	G2168	"I thank" (9v vs 2v)	eucharisteo = standard gratitude/thanksgiving; exomologeo = confessional acknowledgment that can shade into thanks
ὁμολογέω (homologeo)	G3670	"confess" (5v vs 7v)	homologeo = to agree, profess a position; exomologeo = intensified open acknowledgment (sin or praise)

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Key Observation
יָדָה (yadah)	H3034	78x	33.14	Primary equivalent — dominates overwhelmingly; yadah's dual range (confess sins + give thanks/praise) maps directly onto exomologeo's NT usage
זָמַר (zamar)	H2167	10x	14.53	"To sing praise" — musical contexts
חֶסֶד (chesed)	H2617	19x	13.30	Co-occurring in psalmic praise contexts ("give thanks for his mercy")
הָלַל (halal)	H1984	13x	12.37	"To praise" — broader praise term
פָּלָא (pala)	H6381	7x	10.01	"To be wonderful" — co-occurs in thanksgiving psalms

The H3034 yadah connection (PMI 33.14) is the strongest LXX bridge. Both words carry the same dual semantic range: confession of sin and confession/acknowledgment as praise. This is not a coincidence of translation but a structural feature — the Hebrew concept of "openly declaring" God's nature encompasses both admitting one's failure before God and declaring God's greatness.