εὔσημ-ος G2154
Clear, intelligible, easily understood; marked by clarity and distinctness
This adjective describes something easily known or understood—clear, intelligible, distinct. Paul uses it in 1 Corinthians 14:9 when discussing tongues in worship: 'Unless you utter speech that is intelligible, how will anyone know what is said?' The word emphasizes clarity of communication, the quality that enables understanding—exactly what uninterpreted tongues lack in public worship.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Paul's tongues discussion (1 Corinthians 14:9) insists on intelligibility in corporate worship. Speaking mysteries in uninterpreted languages, however genuinely spiritual, fails to edify the church because clarity is missing. The translations ('intelligible,' 'clara,' 'deutlich') emphasize comprehensibility. Paul's point is pastoral: worship should build up the body through clear communication, not mystify it through impressive but incomprehensible utterances. 1×
AR["واضِحًا"]·ben["স্পষ্ট"]·DE["deutlich"]·EN["intelligible"]·FR["εὔσημον"]·heb["בָּרוּר"]·HI["स्पष्ट"]·ID["jelas"]·IT["comprensibile"]·jav["cetha"]·KO["분명한"]·PT["inteligível"]·RU["понятное"]·ES["clara"]·SW["wazi"]·TR["söz"]·urd["واضح"]
Related Senses
H3045 1. Qal: to know, perceive, understand (829×)H5315 1. soul, inner being (647×)H3820a 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (572×)H4672 1. Qal: find, discover (289×)G1492 1. know facts or truths (285×)H3824 1. heart, inner self (mind/will/emotion) (250×)H1245 1. seek, search for (200×)G1097 1. know, be acquainted with (196×)H2142 1. Qal: remember, recall (173×)G2588 1. heart (inner self, mind, will) (158×)H0977 1. choose, select (Qal active) (145×)G2147 1. find, discover (144×)G5590 1. soul, inner self (100×)H4672 2. Niphal: be found, be discovered (99×)H1875 1. seek, search for (96×)H5315 2. life, vitality (94×)H1847 1. knowledge, discernment (90×)H2450 1. wise, prudent (84×)H7911 1. Qal: to forget (83×)H3684 1. fool, dullard (70×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
εὔσημ-ος, Doric dialect εὔσᾱμος, ον, of good signs or omens, φάσμα ναυβάταις Refs 5th c.BC+ __II easily known by signs, conspicuous, εὔσημον γὰρ οὔ μελανθάνει [τὸ πλοῖον] Refs 5th c.BC+; ἴχνη Refs 4th c.BC+; οὐκ εὔσημον, ὅθεν.. not easy to distinguish, Refs; legible, clear, ὅπως -σαμοτέρα ὑπάρχῃ ἁ ἀναγραφά Refs 3rd c.BC+; εὔ. γράμματα Refs 1st c.AD+; εὔ. προσαγόρευσις Refs 4th c.BC+; of sound,…