ἔφη

phēmí

he said

To say, to speak, to declare; denotes the act of expressing an idea, thought, or statement in words, frequently with a sense of affirming or stating something explicitly. While primarily a verb of reporting speech, it often carries a connotation of making a pronouncement or issuing a formal or significant utterance, as opposed to simply chatting or narrating.

G5346

Luke 15:17 · Word #5

Lexicon G5346

Lemmaφημί
Transliterationphēmí
Strong'sG5346
DefinitionTo say, to speak, to declare; denotes the act of expressing an idea, thought, or statement in words, frequently with a sense of affirming or stating something explicitly. While primarily a verb of reporting speech, it often carries a connotation of making a pronouncement or issuing a formal or significant utterance, as opposed to simply chatting or narrating.

Morphology V IMPF ACT IND 3P SG All morphology codes

Part of Speech V — Verb — An action or state of being
Tense IMPF — Imperfect — Continuous or repeated past action
Voice ACT — Active — The subject performs the action
Mood IND — Indicative — States a fact or reality
Person 3P — 3rd person — The one spoken about ("he/she/it/they")
Number SG — Singular — One

Common Translation

Phrasehe said
Literalhe-said

Lexical Info

Lemmaφημί
Strong'sG5346

SIBI-P1 Translation G5346-01

was declaring

Morphological NotesVerb; imperfect tense (past ongoing), active voice, indicative mood, 3rd person singular.
Rendering RationaleThe imperfect active indicative (3rd singular) conveys past ongoing or repeated verbal expression. "Was declaring" preserves the root sense of making something known by spoken pronouncement while reflecting the continuous aspect of the imperfect.

View full lexicon entry for G5346 →

SILEX v2

SIBI-P2 (Context-Aware)

he said

Same as P1No — adjusted for context
RationaleP1 'was declaring' is not the normal or most contextually accurate rendering for ἔφη, which carries the plain meaning 'he said.' Adjusted for standard reported speech.
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