G584 — ἀποδείκνυμι (apodeíknymi)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G584
Original: ἀποδείκνυμι
Transliteration: apodeíknymi
Pronunciation: ap-od-ike'-noo-mee
Part of Speech: Verb
Etymology: Compound of ἀπό (apo, "from, forth") + δείκνυμι (deiknymi, G1166, "to show, point out"). The ἀπό prefix adds a perfective/intensive sense: "to show forth, exhibit fully, prove by demonstration."
Occurrences: 4 in NT (4 tokens, 4 unique verses, 3 books)
First Occurrence: Acts 2:22 — "Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved (ἀποδεδειγμένον) of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs"
Hapax Legomenon: No (but quite rare; 4x only)

Lexicon Definition¶

From ἀπό (G575) + δείκνυμι (G1166); to show off, exhibit; figuratively, to demonstrate, prove, proclaim, nominate, or appoint by public display. The compound carries the sense of setting something forth publicly so that its nature or identity is made evident — "to show to be such" / "to publicly designate as." Used in classical and Koine Greek for the public appointment of officials, the demonstration of a proposition, and the public exhibition of persons or things.

Morphological Forms in NT¶

Reference	Form	Parsing
Acts 2:22	ἀποδεδειγμένον	Perfect Passive Participle, Accusative Singular Masculine
Acts 25:7	ἀποδεῖξαι	Aorist Active Infinitive
1 Cor 4:9	ἀπέδειξεν	Aorist Active Indicative, 3rd Singular
2 Thess 2:4	ἀποδεικνύντα	Present Active Participle, Accusative Singular Masculine

All four NT occurrences use different tense/voice/mood combinations — unusual spread for a word with only four tokens.

Semantic Domains¶

Louw-Nida: - Primary Domain: 28 — Know - Subdomain 28.3 — Well Known, Clearly Shown, Revealed - Subdomain 28.4 — Able To Be Known - Secondary Domain: 72 — True, False - Gloss: "to demonstrate | to show | to make clearly known"

UBS Semantic Domains: - [028] Know - [072] True, False

Closest domain neighbors (28.3 — Well Known / Clearly Shown): - δείκνυμι (G1166) — to show, make known, demonstrate - ἀναδείκνυμι (G322) — to make known, show, reveal (also a compound of deiknymi) - ἐνδείκνυμι (G1731) — to cause to be known, show, demonstrate - ἐπιδείκνυμι (G1925) — to show, prove, show to be true - ὑποδείκνυμι (G5263) — to make known, demonstrate, show - ἀποκαλύπτω (G601) — to reveal, disclose, make fully known - φανερόω (G5319) — to make manifest, show plainly - δηλόω (G1213) — to make plain, reveal - συνίστημι (G4921) — to commend, make known by action, demonstrate - τεκμήριον (G5039) — evidence, convincing proof - ἀπόδειξις (G585) — proof, evidence (the noun form of G584)

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
approved	1	25%
hath set forth	1	25%
prove	1	25%
shewing	1	25%

Each of the four occurrences receives a different English gloss — a signal that translators felt the contextual nuance shifts significantly with each use.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
2 Thessalonians	1	2.1
Acts	2	0.2
1 Corinthians	1	0.2

Pattern: concentrated in Acts (Luke's narrative history and court-scene language) and Pauline letters. Highest density in 2 Thessalonians by virtue of that book's brevity. Absent from the Gospels, General Epistles, Johannine corpus, and Revelation.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Publicly Designated / Accredited by God¶

The perfect-passive participle in Acts 2:22 means "having been demonstrated / accredited" — Jesus is one whom God publicly certified by mighty works. The state is settled and publicly visible. Translators: "approved" (KJV), "attested" (RSV/ESV), "accredited" (NIV). - Acts 2:22 — "Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved (ἀποδεδειγμένον) of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you"

2. To Prove (Forensic / Legal Demonstration)¶

In court language, to establish a charge by producing evidence. Acts 25:7 uses the aorist infinitive of what the accusers could not do. - Acts 25:7 — "many and grievous complaints against Paul, which they could not prove (ἀποδεῖξαι)"

3. To Set Forth Publicly (Exhibit as a Spectacle)¶

Aorist active: God "set forth" the apostles in a public display. The background image is the Roman arena or triumphal procession where prisoners/gladiators are displayed last (ἐσχάτους), destined for death. The word carries the sense of theatrical exhibition. - 1 Cor 4:9 — "God hath set forth (ἀπέδειξεν) us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we are made a spectacle (θέατρον) unto the world, and to angels, and to men"

4. To Proclaim/Display Oneself As (Reflexive + ὅτι Clause)¶

Present active participle with reflexive pronoun ἑαυτὸν and a ὅτι-clause: a construction meaning "displaying himself to be / proclaiming himself that he is." The ὅτι introduces the content of the self-declaration. This is the man-of-sin's public self-designation as God. - 2 Thess 2:4 — "so that he as God sitteth in the temple of God, shewing himself (ἀποδεικνύντα ἑαυτὸν) that he is God (ὅτι ἐστὶν Θεός)"

Grammatical note on the reflexive + ὅτι construction: The combination ἀποδείκνυμι + reflexive pronoun + ὅτι-clause functions as a public claim or self-proclamation to a particular identity. The verb's sense is "to cause to be recognized as" — so ἀποδεικνύντα ἑαυτὸν ὅτι ἐστὶν Θεός = "proclaiming himself (to all) that he is God," "setting himself forth as being God," "putting on public display his claim to be God." Compare the opposite case in Acts 2:22 where it is God who ἀποδείκνυσιν (accredits) another (Jesus); here the figure ἀποδείκνυσιν himself — a usurpation pattern.

Common Collocations¶

With only 4 occurrences each co-occurrence is n=1 except where noted. The only repeated collocation is ὡς (G5613, "as / as it were") in 2 verses (50%), fitting the "displaying [X] as [Y]" pattern.

Word	Strong's	Co-vv	Typical Pattern
ὡς (hōs)	G5613	2	"as" — comparative frame for the display ("as it were appointed to death" 1 Cor 4:9; "as God" 2 Thess 2:4)
δύναμις (dynamis)	G1411	1	"mighty works" — the evidential medium of Acts 2:22 accreditation
ἄγγελος (angelos)	G32	1	audience of the apostolic spectacle (1 Cor 4:9)
θέατρον (theatron)	G2302	1	the "spectacle/theater" image of 1 Cor 4:9
ἀπόστολος (apostolos)	G652	1	object of the "setting forth" (1 Cor 4:9)
ἐπιθανάτιος (epithanatios)	G1935	1	"appointed to death" — those set forth in 1 Cor 4:9
ἔσχατος (eschatos)	G2078	1	"last" in the procession (1 Cor 4:9)
ἀντίκειμαι (antikeimai)	G480	1	"opposes" — the self-proclaimer's posture (2 Thess 2:4)
Ἰησοῦς (Iēsous)	G2424	1	object accredited by God (Acts 2:22)

Word Family (δείκ- root)¶

δείκνυμι (G1166) — the base verb: to show, point out, make known. Apodeiknymi adds the ἀπό perfective/public sense.
ἀπόδειξις (G585) — noun form: "proof, demonstration" (1 Cor 2:4 — "in demonstration of the Spirit and of power")
ἀναδείκνυμι (G322) — "to show forth, appoint publicly" (Lk 10:1 — Jesus "appointed" the 70)
ἐνδείκνυμι (G1731) — "to show in, demonstrate" (Rom 9:17, 22)
ἐπιδείκνυμι (G1925) — "to show, prove" (Mt 16:1; Acts 18:28)
ὑποδείκνυμι (G5263) — "to show under, indicate" (Mt 3:7; Lk 6:47)
παραδειγματίζω (G3856) — "to expose publicly, make a public example" (cognate; rare)

Synonyms¶

No close lexical synonyms were identified by search_relationships.py beyond the δείκνυμι / revelation-domain neighbors already documented elsewhere in this study.

Antonyms¶

No direct antonyms were identified by search_relationships.py.

Easily Confused / Overlapping Sense Words¶

Word	Strong's	Overlap	Key Difference
δείκνυμι	G1166	both "to show"	deiknymi = simple showing/pointing; apodeiknymi = full public demonstration, often with forensic or official force
φανερόω	G5319	both "to make manifest"	phaneroō = to cause something hidden to become visible; apodeiknymi = to prove/establish identity or truth publicly
ἀποκαλύπτω	G601	both "to disclose"	apokalyptō = to unveil previously hidden truth (revelation); apodeiknymi = to demonstrate/accredit by public display
μαρτυρέω	G3140	both "to attest"	martyreō = testimony by word/witness; apodeiknymi = demonstration by visible evidence/action
συνίστημι	G4921	both "to commend/demonstrate"	synistēmi = to recommend, prove character; apodeiknymi = stronger "to set forth officially, prove by exhibition"
δοκιμάζω	G1381	both "to prove"	dokimazō = to test, try, examine (process); apodeiknymi = to demonstrate the result publicly
ἐνδείκνυμι	G1731	both "to show forth"	endeiknymi = show toward/against (often reflexive: display character); apodeiknymi = show forth publicly / officially certify

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

No systematic Hebrew source word emerges from LXX mapping for G584 (search_strongs.py --hebrew-source returns no entries). In LXX usage ἀποδείκνυμι appears occasionally (e.g., Est 2:9; 3:13; Dan 2:48 [LXX Theodotion]; 2 Macc 4:9; 3 Macc 4:20) most often in administrative/appointment contexts ("to appoint, designate publicly") and demonstrative contexts ("to show to be"). No single Hebrew verb dominates the mapping, reflecting both the word's rarity in the NT and its use in largely Hellenistic/administrative Greek.

Syntactic Pattern: Reflexive + ὅτι-Clause (2 Thess 2:4)¶

The construction ἀποδείκνυμι + ἑαυτόν + ὅτι + indicative is distinctive enough to note as a canonical feature:

Form: verb of public display + reflexive pronoun (self as object) + ὅτι-clause (content of the display)
Function: self-proclamation — publicly setting oneself forth as something
Force: not merely claiming in speech (λέγω), but staging a public demonstration designed to establish the identity
Parallel pattern: The passive in Acts 2:22 (God accredits Jesus) is the theological inverse — legitimate accreditation comes from God upon another; the 2 Thess 2:4 figure performs the accreditation upon himself.

Classical / Extra-Biblical Usage Notes¶

In classical Greek (Herodotus, Thucydides, Plato, Demosthenes), ἀποδείκνυμι commonly means: 1. To appoint, nominate to office (e.g., magistrates "appointed") 2. To demonstrate, prove (in argumentation/rhetoric — hence ἀπόδειξις = logical proof) 3. To display publicly, produce for inspection 4. To declare or proclaim someone as something

This same semantic spread is visible across the four NT tokens: accredit/approve (Acts 2:22), prove in court (Acts 25:7), exhibit publicly (1 Cor 4:9), proclaim-oneself-as (2 Thess 2:4).