To assert
φημίStrong’s G5346phēmi
Appears in 66 verses of the New Testament
In short
Phēmi is the Greek word usually translated “was saying”, “says” and “said”. It appears in 66 verses of the New Testament.
“Jesus said unto him, It is written again, Thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy God.”
Meaning
Usually translated “was saying”, “says” and “said”. Open the dictionary entry below for the full range of meaning, with the verses it cites.
How it's translated
- was saying 26
- he was saying 15
- he says 8
- said 3
- says 3
- i say 3
- was speaking 2
- she says 1
Word-by-word English from the STEPBible tagged text.
Where it's used most
- Acts 26
- Matthew 16
- Luke 7
- Mark 6
- 1 Corinthians 5
- John 3
9 books in all.
Related words
Explore in Scripture
- Matthew 8:8The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldest come under my roof: but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.
- Matthew 13:28He said unto them, An enemy hath done this. The servants said unto him, Wilt thou then that we go and gather them up?
- Matthew 13:29But he said, Nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye root up also the wheat with them.
- Matthew 14:8And she, being before instructed of her mother, said, Give me here John Baptist’s head in a charger.
- Matthew 17:26Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.
- Matthew 19:21Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
All 66 verses, by book
Greek dictionary
φημί phēmi · to assert
φημί [in LXX chiefly for נָאַם, also for אָמַר; frequently in 2-4 Mac ;] to declare, say: frequently in quoting the words of another, Mat.13:29 26:61, Luk.7:40 22:58, Jhn.1:23, al.; interjected into the recorded words (cl.), Mat.14:8, Act.23:35, al.; φησί, impersonal (Bl., § 30, 4), 1Co.6:16 (Lft., Notes, 217; but cf. Bl., l.with), 2Co.10:10 (WH, mg., φασίν), Heb.8:5; joined with syn. verb (cf. LS, see word, II, 2), ἀποκριθεὶς αὐτῷ ἔφη, Luk.23:3; before -πρός, Luk.22:70, al.; with accusative of thing(s), 1Co.10:15 10:19; accusative and inf., Rom.3:8; before ὅτι (Bl., § 70, 3), 1Co.10:19 15:5 …
From STEPBible’s Greek lexicon (based on Abbott-Smith).
Webster's 1828 Dictionary
How the English word “say” was understood when the King James Version was still the common Bible of English readers.
SAY, verb transitive
preterit tense and participle passive said, contracted from sayed.
- To speak; to utter in words; as, he said nothing; he said many things; he says not a word. say a good word for me.
- To declare.
- To utter; to pronounce.“SAY now Shibboleth” Judges 12:6
- To utter, as a command.“God said, let there be light” Genesis 1:3
All definitions and other forms of “say”
- To utter, as a promise. Luke 23:29
- To utter, as a question or answer. Mark 11:3
- To affirm; to teach. Matthew 17:10
- To confess. Luke 17:6
- To testify. Acts 26:22
- To argue; to allege by way of argument.
- To repeat; to rehearse; to recite; as, to say a lesson.
- To pronounce; to recite without singing.
- To report; as in the phrases, it is said, they say
- To answer; to utter by way of reply; to tell.
SAY, noun
A speech; something said. [In popular use, but not elegant.]
SAY, noun
[for assay.]
- A sample. obsolete
- Trial by sample. obsolete
SAY, noun
A thin silk. obsolete
Noah Webster, An American Dictionary of the English Language (1828). Verse references are checked against the KJV. Read the full entry.
Verses are from the King James Version. Word meanings come from the original Greek, not from any one translation.