ἀλληγορέω
allēgoréō
G238 verb
SILEX Entry
Definition
To interpret (a narrative, text, or event) as having a figurative, symbolic, or hidden meaning beyond its literal sense. The primary lexical meaning is 'to interpret allegorically,' with the semantic range including making figurative comparisons, drawing symbolic equivalence, or reading a passage with a non-literal or deeper meaning, especially within literary or scriptural analysis.
Semantic Range
to interpret allegorically, to explain something as an allegory, to assign a symbolic meaning, to read figuratively, to make a figurative comparison or equivalence
Root / Etymology
From ἄλλος ('other, another') and ἀγορεύω ('to speak in the assembly, to address'); ἀλληγορέω literally suggests 'to say something other (than what is literal or plain),' i.e., to interpret such that the overt narrative is understood to signify something else or symbolic.
Historical & Contextual Notes
The verb ἀλληγορέω is rare, with the chief New Testament example found in Galatians 4:24, where Paul uses it to describe an interpretive practice in which a narrative is read as a figurative representation of spiritual truths or historical realities beyond the apparent story. The word emerges from an older Greek practice of allegorical interpretation, particularly of Homer and later philosophical or religious texts, where hidden or moral meanings were sought beneath mythic or paradoxical stories. In the context of Second Temple Judaism and early Christian literature, allegorical interpretation became especially prominent in Hellenistic circles (notably in Philo), where scriptural passages were interpreted for philosophical and ethical meanings. Standard English versions often render ἀλληγορέω as 'to be interpreted allegorically' or 'to speak allegorically,' but this may obscure the technical sense of interpreting or explaining a text as allegory, a well-attested method among Hellenistic interpreters. The related noun ἀλληγορία ('allegory') similarly describes the practice or result of such interpretation. The verb is not found in pre-Koine classical texts and is characteristic of learned, exegetical discourse in the Hellenistic and Roman periods.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from ἄλλος and (to harangue (compare ἀγορά)); to allegorize:--be an allegory (the Greek word itself).
Root Family
ἀλληγορέω (allēgoreō) — to interpret figuratively, to explain as having another symbolic meaning, to allegorize
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G238-01 |
ἀλληγορούμενα | allegoroumena | V PRS PASS PTCP NOM N PL |
allegorized | being allegorically interpreted | being allegorically interpreted | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G238-01 |
Galatians 4:24 | ἀλληγορούμενα | allegoroumena | V PRS PASS PTCP NOM N PL |
allegorized | being allegorically interpreted | being allegorically interpreted |