λόγος G3056
Word, message, or speech; also account/reckoning, the divine Logos, and reason/cause — the fullest expression of rational communication
Few Greek words carry as much theological weight as λόγος (logos). At its everyday level it simply means 'word' or 'message,' and this accounts for the vast majority of its 332 New Testament occurrences — from Jesus' parables about the 'word' sown like seed (Matt 13:19-23) to Paul's 'word of the cross' (1 Cor 1:18). But the Johannine Prologue elevates it to a Christological title: 'In the beginning was the Logos' (John 1:1), where Spanish splits between 'Palabra' and the Latinate 'Verbo,' and some traditions preserve the untranslated 'Lógos.' Meanwhile, the accounting sense — 'settling accounts' (Matt 18:23; 25:19) — preserves the word's classical Greek connection to λέγω in its sense of 'reckon, calculate,' a dimension largely invisible in modern usage.
Senses
1. word, message, speech — A spoken or written communication: 'word,' 'message,' 'speech,' 'teaching,' or 'proclamation.' With 309 occurrences this is the dominant sense, spanning Jesus' sayings ('let your word be yes,' Matt 5:37), the parabolic 'word of the kingdom' (Matt 13:19), and apostolic preaching ('the word of God'). All major languages translate with a single core term — English 'word,' Spanish 'palabra,' French 'parole,' German 'Wort' — yet the range is enormous, from casual utterance to divine revelation, unified by the thread of meaningful communication. 309×
AR["الكَلامُ", "الكَلِمَةَ", "الْخَبَرَ", "الْكَلَامِ", "كَلَامُكُمْ", "كَلِمَةً", "كَلِمَةٍ", "كَلِمَةَ", "كَلِمَةِ"]·ben["কথা", "কথা,", "বাক্য", "বাক্য।", "বাক্যকে", "বাক্যে", "বাক্যের"]·DE["Wort"]·EN["a-word", "report", "word"]·FR["parole"]·heb["דְּבַר", "דָּבָר", "הַדָּבָר"]·HI["उनसे", "बअत", "बात", "बोल", "वचन", "वचन-के", "वचन-को"]·ID["firman", "firman.", "perkataan", "perkataan,", "sepatah-kata"]·IT["parola"]·jav["cariyos", "pangandika", "pangandika,", "pangandika.", "tembung", "tembung."]·KO["말", "말-을", "말-이", "말씀", "말씀-을", "말씀을"]·PT["palavra", "palavra,", "palavra."]·RU["слова", "слова,", "слове.", "слово"]·ES["palabra"]·SW["habari", "hili", "moja", "na", "neno", "neno,", "neno.", "wala"]·TR["bir-söz", "söz", "sözle", "sözü", "sözü,", "sözü.", "sözünü", "sözünüz"]·urd["بات", "بات-کو", "کلام", "کلام-کو", "کلام-کے"]
Matt 5:37, Matt 12:32, Matt 13:19, Matt 13:20, Matt 13:21, Matt 13:22, Matt 13:22, Matt 13:23, Matt 15:6, Matt 15:12, Matt 15:23, Matt 19:11 (+38 more)
2. account, reckoning — A financial or moral reckoning: 'account,' as in settling accounts or rendering an account before a judge or God. Eleven occurrences cluster in judgment parables — the king who 'settled accounts' with his servants (Matt 18:23; 25:19) and the steward told to 'give an account' (Luke 16:2). Spanish distinctively shifts to 'cuenta/cuentas' (account) and 'razón' (reason/reckoning), making visible a sense that English 'word' obscures. This preserves the classical connection between λόγος and λέγω in its mathematical sense of 'to count up.' 11×
AR["أَعُدُّ", "جَوَابًا", "حِسابًا", "حِسابِ", "حِسَابًا", "حِسَابَ", "حِسَابَهُ", "كَلِمَةً"]·ben["কথা", "কথার", "জবাব", "বাক্য", "মূল্য", "হিসাব", "হিসাবে"]·DE["Wort"]·EN["a-word", "account", "an-account"]·FR["parole"]·heb["דִּין", "דִּין-וְחֶשְׁבּוֹן", "דִּן-וּחֶשְׁבּוֹן", "דָּבָר", "חֶשְׁבּוֹן"]·HI["उत्तर", "बअत", "बात-की", "लेख", "लेखा", "हिसाब"]·ID["alasan", "hal", "kata", "laporan", "perhitungan", "perkara", "pertanggungan", "pertanggungjawaban", "rekening", "yang-akan-memberikan"]·IT["parola"]·jav["alesan", "bab", "cathetan", "palapuran", "prekawis", "tanggel-jawab", "tanggung-jawab", "tembung", "étangan"]·KO["계산-을", "계산을", "계정", "말씀을", "말을", "말의", "보고-를", "보고를", "셈을"]·PT["coisa", "conta", "contas", "matéria", "razão"]·RU["отчёт", "слов", "слово", "счёт"]·ES["cuenta", "cuentas", "razón"]·SW["hesabu", "jambo", "kwa-neno"]·TR["hesabina", "hesap", "sözü"]·urd["بات", "بات-میں", "جواب", "حساب", "حساب-میں"]
3. the Logos, divine Word — The Logos: the pre-existent, incarnate divine Word, a Christological title unique to Johannine literature. Seven occurrences — John 1:1 (three times), 1:14, 1 John 1:1, and Revelation 19:13 — establish Jesus as God's self-expression from eternity. Spanish reveals the theological freight by offering three distinct translations: 'Palabra' (word), 'Verbo' (the Latin theological term from the Vulgate's 'Verbum'), and the transliterated 'Lógos.' French and German retain their standard 'parole' and 'Wort,' relying on context to signal the elevated meaning. 7×
AR["كَلِمَةَ", "كَلِمَةُ", "كَلِمَةِ"]·ben["বাক্য", "বাক্যের"]·DE["Wort"]·EN["Logos", "Word"]·FR["parole"]·heb["דְּבַר", "דָּבָר"]·HI["वचन", "वचन,", "वचन।"]·ID["Firman", "Firman,", "Firman."]·IT["parola"]·jav["Pangandika", "Sabda", "Sabda,", "Sabda."]·KO["말씀", "말씀이", "말씀이시다"]·PT["Palavra", "Verbo", "Verbo,", "Verbo."]·RU["Слове", "Слово", "Слово,"]·ES["Lógos", "Palabra", "Verbo"]·SW["Neno"]·TR["Söz", "Sözü"]·urd["کلام", "کلام،", "کلام۔"]
4. reason, cause, matter — The ground, reason, or cause for something, or a matter under dispute. Five occurrences use λόγος where English would say 'reason' or 'matter' — the 'except for the matter of sexual immorality' clause (Matt 5:32), Festus seeking a 'charge' to write (Acts 25:26 area; cf. Acts 18:14; 19:38), and Peter urging believers to have a 'reason' for their hope (1 Pet 3:15). Spanish 'razón' and 'causa' capture this analytical dimension, while French 'parole' struggles to stretch beyond speech — a reminder that λόγος inhabits the intersection of language and thought in a way no single modern word replicates. 5×
AR["-", "الْعَقْلِ", "حِسابًا", "دَعْوَى", "سَبَبٍ"]·ben["অভিযোগ", "কারণে", "কারণের", "বাক্য", "যুক্তি"]·DE["Wort"]·EN["matter", "reason"]·FR["parole"]·heb["דְּבַר", "דִבּוּר", "דָּבָר"]·HI["कारण-से", "न्याय", "बात", "बात-के", "वचन"]·ID["alasan", "perkara"]·IT["parola"]·jav["akal", "pitakènan", "prakawis", "prekawis,", "sabab"]·KO["말-로", "말씀을", "문제를", "이유", "이치에"]·PT["por-causa", "queixa,", "razão,"]·RU["дело,", "причине", "причины", "слово,", "справедливости"]·ES["por-causa-de", "queja", "razón"]·SW["sababu", "shauri"]·TR["akıl", "dava", "sebeple", "söz", "sözü"]·urd["بات،", "مقدمہ", "وجہ", "وجہ-سے"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
λόγος, ὁ, verbal noun of λέγω (B), with senses corresponding to λέγω (B) II and III (on the various senses of the word see Refs 2nd c.AD+ 111, compareinfr. VI. 1 a: __I computation, reckoning (compare λέγω (B) II). __I.1 account of money handled, σανίδες εἰς ἃς τὸν λ. ἀναγράφομεν Refs 5th c.BC+; συνᾶραι λόγον μετά τινος settle accounts with, NT; δεύτεροι λ. a second audit, Refs 4th c.AD+; ὁ…