G2127 — εὐλογέω (eulogéō)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G2127
Original: εὐλογέω
Transliteration: eulogéō
Pronunciation: yoo-log-eh'-o
Part of Speech: Verb
Etymology: From εὖ (eu, "well") + λόγος (logos, "word") — to speak well of
Occurrences: 41 unique verses (44 tokens) across 12 NT books
First Occurrence: Mat 5:44 — "But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you..."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From a compound of εὖ and λόγος; to speak well of, i.e. (religiously) to bless (thank or invoke a benediction upon, prosper).

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 33 (Communication) — 33.055: Bless, Curse
Other words: ἀνάθεμα (G331), ἀναθεματίζω (G332), ἀρά (G685), ἐπάρατος (G1944a), ἐπικατάρατος (G1944), εὐλογία (G2129), κατάθεμα (G2652a), καταθεματίζω (G2653b), κατάρα (G2671), καταράομαι (G2672)
Domain 33 (Communication) — 33.037: Praise
Other words: αἴνεσις (G133), αἰνέω (G134), αἶνος (G136), δόξα (G1391), δοξάζω (G1392), ἐξομολογέω (G1843), ἐπαινέω (G1867), ἔπαινος (G1868)
Domain 88 (Moral and Ethical Qualities) — 88.009: Kindness, Harshness
Other words: ἐνευλογέω (G1757), εὐλογία (G2129), χάρις (G5485), χαριτόω (G5487)

Domain Neighbors (088.009 — Kindness, Harshness)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Vv	Primary KJV Translation(s)
G663	ἀποτομία	1	severity
G664	ἀποτόμως	2	sharply
G1757	ἐνευλογέω	4	be blessed, shall
G2129	εὐλογία	9	blessing
G5363	φιλανθρωπία	3	kindness, love
G5485	χάρις	111	grace
G5487	χαριτόω	3	accepted
G5541	χρηστεύομαι	1	is kind

Verb Form Distribution¶

Tense-Voice-Mood	Count	Typical Usage
Perfect Passive Participle	10	Acclamation formula: "Blessed [is] he that comes" (εὐλογημένος)
Aorist Active Indicative	9	Narrative: "he blessed" — patriarchal and meal blessings
Aorist Active Participle	5	Circumstantial: "having blessed [the bread]" in meal narratives
Present Active Participle	5	Ongoing action: "blessing God," "blessing you"
Present Active Imperative	3	Command: "Bless them that curse you"
Present Active Indicative	3	Habitual: "we bless God," "we bless"
Present Passive Indicative	2	Resulting state: "are blessed," "is blessed"
Future Active Indicative	1	Promise: "I will bless thee" (Heb 6:14)
Present Active Subjunctive	1	Conditional: "when thou shalt bless with the spirit"
Present Active Infinitive	1	Purpose: "while he blessed them"
Perfect Active Indicative	1	Completed: "hath blessed him" (Heb 7:6)

Morphological note: The perfect passive participle εὐλογημένος dominates public acclamation (10 of 41 occurrences = 24%), functioning as a formulaic title — "Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord" (Psalm 118:26 LXX). The aorist active forms cluster in narrative contexts of meal blessing and patriarchal blessing transmission.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
blessed / Blessed	18	43.9%
and blessed	5	12.2%
he blessed	3	7.3%
bless / Bless	4	9.8%
blessing	2	4.9%
we bless	2	4.9%
and praised	1	2.4%
Other forms	6	14.6%

Note: KJV renders eulogéō exclusively with "bless/blessed/blessing" in 97.6% of occurrences. The single exception is "praised" at Luke 1:64, where Zechariah's speech restoration leads to eulogizing God.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Hebrews	6	2.0
Luke	13	1.1
1 Peter	1	1.0
Mark	6	0.9
James	1	0.9
1 Corinthians	3	0.7
Galatians	1	0.7
Matthew	6	0.6
Ephesians	1	0.6
Romans	1	0.2
John	1	0.1
Acts	1	0.1

Pattern: Luke has the highest raw count (13 = 32% of all uses), reflecting Luke's emphasis on praise and blessing motifs — from the birth narratives through the Emmaus meal to the Ascension. Hebrews has the highest density (2.0/100v), concentrated in the Melchizedek-Abraham blessing hierarchy (ch. 7) and the patriarchal faith chapter (ch. 11). Absent from Revelation, 2 Corinthians, Philippians, Colossians, Thessalonians, the Pastorals, Philemon, 2–3 John, and Jude.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Pronouncing the Blessed State — Acclamation of Persons/Things¶

Mat 21:9 — "Blessed [is] he that cometh in the name of the Lord" (triumphal entry)
Mat 25:34 — "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom"
Luk 1:42 — "Blessed [art] thou among women, and blessed [is] the fruit of thy womb"
Jhn 12:13 — "Blessed [is] the King of Israel that cometh in the name of the Lord"

2. Blessing Food — Thanksgiving at Meals¶

Mat 14:19 — "took the five loaves... and looking up to heaven, he blessed"
Mat 26:26 — "Jesus took bread, and blessed [it], and brake [it]"
Mar 8:7 — "he blessed, and commanded to set them also before [them]"
Luk 24:30 — "he took bread, and blessed [it], and brake, and gave to them"

3. Praising / Blessing God — Doxological Worship¶

Luk 1:64 — "his tongue [loosed], and he spake, and praised God"
Luk 2:28 — "Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God"
Luk 24:53 — "continually in the temple, praising and blessing God"
Eph 1:3 — "Blessed [be] the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us"

4. Blessing Persons — Authoritative Pronouncement of Favor¶

Luk 2:34 — "Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother"
Luk 24:50 — "he lifted up his hands, and blessed them"
Mar 10:16 — "he took them up in his arms... and blessed them"
Heb 7:1 — "Melchisedec... who met Abraham... and blessed him"

5. Blessing Enemies — Ethical Command¶

Mat 5:44 — "Love your enemies, bless them that curse you"
Luk 6:28 — "Bless them that curse you"
Rom 12:14 — "Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not"
1 Cor 4:12 — "being reviled, we bless"

6. Patriarchal / Covenantal Blessing Transmission¶

Heb 6:14 — "Surely blessing I will bless thee, and multiplying I will multiply thee"
Heb 7:6 — "blessed him that had the promises"
Heb 7:7 — "the less is blessed of the better"
Heb 11:20 — "By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau concerning things to come"
Heb 11:21 — "By faith Jacob, when he was a dying, blessed both the sons of Joseph"

7. Receiving the Abrahamic Blessing through Faith¶

Gal 3:9 — "they which be of faith are blessed with faithful Abraham"
Acts 3:26 — "God, having raised up his Son Jesus, sent him to bless you"
1 Pet 3:9 — "contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	9× (22%)	"in the name of the Lord" — Psalm 118:26 acclamation formula
ἔπω (epō)	G2036	9× (22%)	Narrative speech: "and said" introducing the content of the blessing
λέγω (legō)	G3004	8× (20%)	"saying, Blessed..." — triumphal acclamation
ἄρτος (artos)	G740	7× (17%)	Meal blessing: "took bread and blessed"
ἔρχομαι (erchomai)	G2064	7× (17%)	"he that cometh" — messianic advent formula
θεός (theos)	G2316	7× (17%)	"blessed God" — doxological praise
λαμβάνω (lambanō)	G2983	7× (17%)	"took [bread/loaves] and blessed" — eucharistic gesture
ὄνομα (onoma)	G3686	7× (17%)	"in the name of the Lord" — paired with κύριος
κλάω (klaō)	G2806	5× (12%)	"blessed and brake" — bread-breaking sequence
οὐρανός (ouranos)	G3772	5× (12%)	"looking up to heaven, and blessed" — pre-blessing gesture
καταράομαι (kataraomai)	G2672	4× (10%)	"bless... curse" — antithetical pair
Ἀβραάμ (Abraam)	G11	3× (7%)	Abrahamic blessing — Heb 7:1, 7:6; Gal 3:9

Word Family / Cognates¶

G2128 εὐλογητός (eulogētos) — blessed, adorable (adjective; 8v — exclusively applied to God: "Blessed be God")
G2129 εὐλογία (eulogia) — blessing, fine speaking (noun; 9v — the content or act of blessing)
G1757 ἐνευλογέω (eneulogeō) — to bless in (compound; 4v — "in thee shall all nations be blessed")

Synonyms¶

G134 αἰνέω (aineō) — to praise (specifically verbal praise of God; narrower — lacks the "confer favor" sense)

Antonyms¶

G2672 καταράομαι (kataraomai) — to curse (direct opposite; paired in Mat 5:44, Luk 6:28, Rom 12:14, Jas 3:9)

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
μακάριος (makarios)	G3107	"blessed" (42v)	makarios = happy/fortunate state (Beatitudes); eulogeō = active verbal blessing/pronouncement
εὐλογητός (eulogētos)	G2128	"blessed" (8v)	eulogētos = adjective reserved for God ("Blessed be God"); eulogeō = the verb of blessing
βָּרַךְ (barak)	H1288	"blessed" (85v for this translation)	barak = the Hebrew equivalent; eulogeō is the standard LXX rendering of barak

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI	Notes
בָּרַךְ (barak)	H1288	230×	33.44	Primary — virtually one-to-one LXX bridge
בְּרָכָה (berakah)	H1293	15×	12.15	Noun "blessing" sometimes rendered by verb εὐλογέω in LXX
בְּרַךְ (berak)	H1289	3×	7.95	Aramaic cognate of H1288

The H1288 barak → G2127 eulogeō bridge is one of the strongest in the LXX (co-occurrence 230×, PMI 33.44). This means the NT usage of eulogeō carries the full semantic weight of the OT barak — including patriarchal blessing (Gen 12:2-3), priestly benediction (Num 6:23-24), and the covenant blessing-curse framework (Deut 28).

Semantic Domain¶

Communication → Bless/Curse (L-N 33.055): eulogeō sits at the center of the biblical blessing-curse vocabulary. In the NT, it pairs antithetically with καταράομαι (G2672, "curse") in 4 of 41 verses (10%), continuing the OT barak/arar framework. The domain includes the cognate noun εὐλογία (G2129) and the compound ἐνευλογέω (G1757), both of which appear in the Abrahamic promise context.

Moral and Ethical Qualities → Kindness (L-N 88.009): The blessing-as-kindness subdomain places eulogeō alongside χάρις (G5485, "grace") and φιλανθρωπία (G5363, "kindness toward humans"), highlighting that blessing is both speech-act and beneficent action.