φων-ή G5456
Voice, vocal sound, or spoken utterance; rarely, a non-vocal sound or noise from instruments or nature.
One of the New Testament's most vivid sensory words, phonē covers the full range of audible expression from the human voice to heavenly proclamations. It is the word chosen for the divine voice at Jesus's baptism ('This is my beloved Son,' Matt 3:17) and transfiguration, for John the Baptist as 'the voice crying in the wilderness,' and for the cries of demons, crowds, and angels in Revelation. Cross-lingual evidence is remarkably stable—Spanish 'voz,' French 'voix,' German 'Stimme' all denote voice consistently. In two rare instances (1 Cor 14:10; Rev 8:13), phonē extends to non-vocal sounds or noises, where Spanish shifts to 'sonidos' and English to 'sounds,' signaling the semantic stretch.
Senses
1. voice, sound — Voice or vocal sound produced by a living being—human, angelic, or divine. This overwhelmingly dominant sense (137 of 139 occurrences) spans the full register from whispered speech to thunderous heavenly declarations. All four major translation languages converge: Spanish 'voz,' French 'voix,' German 'Stimme,' English 'voice.' Anchoring passages include the heavenly voice at baptism (Matt 3:17), the Baptist's self-identification as 'a voice' (John 1:23), and the apocalyptic voices of Revelation. 137×
AR["صَوت", "صَوتًا", "صَوتٍ", "صَوتَهُ", "صَوْتاً", "صَوْتًا", "صَوْتٌ", "صَوْتَ", "صَوْتُ", "صَوْتِ"]·ben["কণ্ঠস্বর", "কণ্ঠস্বরের", "রব", "রবের", "স্বর", "স্বরের"]·DE["Stimme"]·EN["a-cry", "a-voice", "sound", "voice"]·FR["voix"]·heb["קוֹל", "קוֹלוֹ"]·HI["अअवअज़", "आवाज", "आवाज़", "वाणी"]·ID["suara"]·IT["voce"]·jav["swanten", "swanten,", "swara"]·KO["소리-가", "소리-를", "소리가", "소리다", "소리로", "소리를", "음성", "음성-을", "음성-이", "음성을", "음성이"]·PT["uma-voz", "voz"]·RU["глас", "голос", "голоса", "голосом", "голосу"]·ES["la-voz", "sonido", "voz"]·SW["sauti"]·TR["ses", "sesi", "sesin,", "sesinden", "sesini"]·urd["آواز", "اُس-کی"]
Matt 3:17, Matt 12:19, Matt 17:5, Mark 1:11, Mark 9:7, Mark 15:37, Luke 1:44, Luke 3:22, Luke 9:35, Luke 9:36, Luke 11:27, Luke 17:13 (+38 more)
2. sound, noise (non-vocal) — A non-vocal audible sound or noise—from instruments, natural forces, or cosmic events. Attested just twice in the NT: Paul's discussion of different 'kinds of sounds' in the world (1 Cor 14:10) and the eagle's cry introducing woes in Rev 8:13. Spanish shifts from 'voz' to 'sonidos' and English from 'voice' to 'sounds,' marking the semantic extension from vocal utterance to broader acoustic phenomena. 2×
AR["أصواتٍ", "أَصْوَاتِ"]·ben["ধ্বনিগুলির", "ধ্বনির"]·DE["Stimme"]·EN["of-sounds", "sounds"]·FR["voix"]·heb["קוֹלוֹת"]·HI["आवाज़ों-के", "आवाजों"]·ID["suara-suara"]·IT["voce"]·jav["-ing-swanten-swanten", "swanten"]·KO["소리들", "소리들-의"]·PT["de-vozes", "sons"]·RU["голосов", "звуков"]·ES["de-voces", "sonidos"]·SW["sauti", "za-sauti"]·TR["kalan", "oluyorsa"]·urd["آوازوں", "آوازوں-کی"]
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
φων-ή, ἡ, sound, tone, properly, the sound of the voice, whether of men or animals with lungs and throat (ἡ φωνὴ ψόφος τίς ἐστιν ἐμψύχου Refs 4th c.BC+; opposed to φθόγγος (see. φθόγγος Refs __I mostly of human beings, speech, voice, utterance, φ. ἄρρηκτος Refs 8th c.BC+; φ. δέ οἱ αἰθέρ᾽ ἵκανεν, of Ajax' battle-cry, Refs; of the battle-cry of an army, Τρώων καὶ Ἀχαιῶν.. φ. δεινὸν ἀϋσάντων Refs:…