G2782 — κήρυγμα (kērygma)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G2782
Original: κήρυγμα
Transliteration: kērygma
Pronunciation: kay'-roog-mah
Part of Speech: Neuter noun
Root: κηρύσσω (kēryssō, G2784) — to herald, proclaim publicly
Occurrences: 8 unique verses in NT (9 in Greek text including Mark 16 shorter ending)
First Occurrence: Matt 12:41 — "they repented at the preaching (kērygma) of Jonas"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

(Thayer) That which is promulgated by a herald or public crier, a proclamation by herald. In the NT: the message or proclamation by the heralds of God or Christ — (1) the proclamation of the necessity of repentance made by the prophet Jonah (Matt 12:41; Luke 11:32; cf. Jonah 3:4); (2) the announcement of salvation procured by Christ and to be had through him (1 Cor 1:21; Titus 1:3); with the genitive of the subject = made by one (1 Cor 2:4; 15:14); with the genitive of the object = concerning Jesus Christ (Rom 16:25); the act of publishing (2 Tim 4:17).

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 33.019 — Preach, Proclaim
Parent Domain: 33 — Communication
Glosses: preaching, what is preached
Other words in subdomain: θεόπνευστος (G2315), κῆρυξ (G2783), κηρύσσω (G2784), λόγος (G3056), προκηρύσσω (G4296)

UBS Semantic Domains¶

[033] Communication — proclamation as a message communicated publicly by a herald.

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
preaching	7	87.5%
of preaching	1	12.5%

Nearly uniform rendering. The KJV translates kērygma as "preaching" in every occurrence, with the prepositional phrase "of preaching" reflecting genitive construction in 1 Cor 1:21.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Titus	1	2.17
2 Timothy	1	1.20
1 Corinthians	3	0.69
Romans	1	0.23
Matthew	1	0.09
Luke	1	0.09

Concentrated in Paul's letters (6 of 8 occurrences, 75%). The Synoptic uses (Matt 12:41; Luke 11:32) both reference the same event — Jonah's proclamation. Absent from John, Acts, the General Epistles, and Revelation.

Grammatical Forms¶

Form	Parsing	Occurrences
κήρυγμα	Accusative singular neuter	Matt 12:41, Luke 11:32, Rom 16:25
κήρυγμά	Nominative singular neuter	1 Cor 2:4
κήρυγμα	Nominative singular neuter	1 Cor 15:14, 2 Tim 4:17
κηρύγματος	Genitive singular neuter	1 Cor 1:21
κηρύγματι	Dative singular neuter	Titus 1:3

Only singular forms occur. No plural usage in the NT.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Prophetic Proclamation Calling to Repentance¶

Matt 12:41 — "The men of Nineveh shall rise in judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: because they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here."
Luke 11:32 — "The men of Nineve shall rise up in the judgment with this generation, and shall condemn it: for they repented at the preaching of Jonas; and, behold, a greater than Jonas is here."

Both refer to Jonah's kērygma — a divine proclamation that produced repentance. The word denotes the authoritative content proclaimed, not the act of speaking itself.

2. The Apostolic Proclamation of Christ (Gospel Content)¶

Rom 16:25 — "Now to him that is of power to stablish you according to my gospel, and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery"
1 Cor 1:21 — "it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe"
1 Cor 15:14 — "And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain"

Here kērygma refers to the proclaimed message about Christ — its content, not merely the activity. In 1 Cor 15:14, the validity of the kērygma depends entirely on the factual reality of the resurrection.

3. The Act and Manner of Proclaiming¶

1 Cor 2:4 — "And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power"
2 Tim 4:17 — "the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear"
Titus 1:3 — "But hath in due times manifested his word through preaching, which is committed unto me according to the commandment of God our Saviour"

In these uses kērygma shades toward the act of proclamation — the heralding itself as a divine instrument. In 1 Cor 2:4, Paul contrasts the manner of his kērygma (Spirit-empowered) with rhetorical persuasion.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θεός (theos)	G2316	2x (25%)	God as the one who saves through kērygma (1 Cor 1:21; Tit 1:3)
μετανοέω (metanoeō)	G3340	2x (25%)	Repentance as the response to kērygma (Matt 12:41; Luke 11:32)
πιστεύω (pisteuō)	G4100	2x (25%)	Belief/faith as the intended result of kērygma (1 Cor 1:21; 15:14)
σοφία (sophia)	G4678	2x (25%)	Wisdom contrasted with kērygma's "foolishness" (1 Cor 1:21; 2:4)
λόγος (logos)	G3056	2x (25%)	Speech/word paired with kērygma (1 Cor 2:4; Tit 1:3)
Χριστός (Christos)	G5547	2x (25%)	Christ as the object/subject of kērygma (Rom 16:25; 1 Cor 15:14)
κρίσις (krisis)	G2920	2x (25%)	Judgment as the context for kērygma's vindication (Matt 12:41; Luke 11:32)

Word Family / Cognates¶

G2784 κηρύσσω (kēryssō) — verb: to herald, proclaim publicly (61 occurrences)
G2783 κῆρυξ (kēryx) — masculine noun: a herald, preacher (3 occurrences: 1 Tim 2:7; 2 Tim 1:11; 2 Pet 2:5)
G4296 προκηρύσσω (prokēryssō) — verb: to herald in advance, preach beforehand (2 occurrences: Acts 3:20; 13:24)

The kēryx- word family derives from the civic herald who publicly announced official decrees. The noun kērygma denotes the content of the announcement, kēryx the person announcing, and kēryssō the act of announcing.

Synonyms¶

No synonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G2782.

Antonyms¶

No antonyms were returned by search_relationships.py for G2782.

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
κηρύσσω (kēryssō)	G2784	"preaching" (8x)	The verb = the act of heralding; kērygma = the proclaimed message/content
εὐαγγελίζω (euangelizō)	G2097	"preaching" (5x)	Focuses on the good-news character of the message; kērygma is the authoritative announcement regardless of content
διαλέγομαι (dialegomai)	G1256	"preaching" (1x)	Dialogical reasoning/disputing; kērygma is one-directional public proclamation
λαλέω (laleō)	G2980	"preaching" (1x)	General speaking; kērygma carries the authority of the sender
λόγος (logos)	G3056	"preaching" (1x)	Broader: word, speech, discourse; kērygma is specifically heralded proclamation

Domain Neighbors (Louw-Nida 33.019 — Preach, Proclaim)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV	Key Difference
G2315	θεόπνευστος (theopneustos)	1	given by inspiration of God	Source of scripture; kērygma is the proclaimed content
G2783	κῆρυξ (kēryx)	3	a preacher	The person who heralds; kērygma is what is heralded
G2784	κηρύσσω (kēryssō)	19	preaching, preach	The act of heralding; kērygma is the message heralded
G3056	λόγος (logos)	212	word, words	General "word/message"; kērygma is specifically an authoritative public proclamation
G4296	προκηρύσσω (prokēryssō)	2	before was preached	Heralding in advance; kērygma is the content without temporal prefix

Hebrew Source¶

No Hebrew sources found via LXX mapping. The kēryx- word family does not correspond to a single dominant Hebrew term in the Septuagint. The concept of prophetic proclamation (as in Jonah 3:4, referenced by Matt 12:41) maps more broadly to קרא (qara', H7121 — to call, proclaim).