Quick Definition
κατηχέω v. I instruct orally
Strong's Definition
from 2596 and 2279; to sound down into the ears, i.e. (by implication) to indoctrinate ("catechize") or (genitive case) to apprise of
KJV Usage: inform, instruct, teach
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
verb | ἠχέω
33.225 · Communication · Teach
to instruct, to teach to teach in a systematic or detailed manner It is also possible to understand κατηχέω in LUK 1:4 as denoting merely what has been told rather than what has been taught (see κατηχέω[b], 33.190). This distinction is an important one since it implies a quite different relationship of Theophilus to the text of the Gospel of Luke. If LUK 1:4 pertains merely to Theophilus ‘being told’ something, then one might assume that Theophilus was not a Christian, in which case he may have been a government official to whom the joint publications (the Gospel of Luke and the Acts of the Apostles) would have been directed as a defense of Christianity. On the other hand, if one understands κατηχέω in the sense of ‘to be taught’ or ‘to be instructed,’ then one would assume that Theophilus was a Christian who had been instructed in the faith. The relationship of Theophilus to the message would then determine in a number of contexts the difference between ‘we’ inclusive and ‘we’ exclusive.
LUK 1:4 · ACT 18:25 · ROM 2:18 · 1CO 14:19 · GAL 6:6 · GAL 6:6
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
κατ-ηχέω, -@: 1 aor. κατήχησα; Pass., pres. κατηχοῦμαι; ΡΥ. κατήχημαι ; 1 aor. κατηχήθην ; nowhere met with in the O. T.; very rare in prof. auth. ; 1. prop. to sound towards, sound down upon, resound: ἁρμονία κατηχεῖ τῆς θαλάττης, Philostr. p. 791 [icon. 1,19]; to charm with resounding sound, to fascinate, τινὰ μύθοις, Leian. Jup. trag. 39. 2. to teach orally, to instruct: Leian. asin. δ 48; Philopatr.17. In the N. T. only used by Luke and Paul: τινά, 1 Co. xiv. 19; pass. ἐκ τοῦ νόμου, by hearing the law, wont to be publicly read in the synagogues, Ro. ii. 18; w. acc. of the thing, αὐτός σε πολλὰ Kaτηχήσω τῶν ἀγνοουμένων, Joseph. de vita sua § 65 fin.; w.ace. of a thing and of a pers., rod ἀληθοῦς λόγου βραχέα κατηχήσας με, Clem. hom. 1, 13; pass. w. ace. of the thing: τὴν ὁδὸν τοῦ κυρίου, Acts xviii. 25; τὸν λόγον, Gal. vi. 6; hence some [(see Meyer in loc.)] resolve Lk. i. 4 thus: περὶ τῶν Adyar, ods κατηχήθης (see below). 3. to inform by word of mouth; pass. to be orally informed : foll. by ὅτι, Philo de leg. ad Gaium § 30; περί τινος (gen. of pers.), foll. by ὅτι, Acts xxi. 21; w. acc. of the thing, ὧν κατήχηνται περὶ σοῦ i. 6. τούτων, ἃ κτλ. ibid. 24 (κατηχηθεὶς περὶ τῶν συμβεβηκότων, [pseudo-] Plut. de fluviis [7, 2]; 8,1; 7,1). To this construction the majority refer Lk. i. 4, construing it thus: τὴν ἀσφάλ. τῶν λόγων, περὶ ὧν κατηχήθης [W. 165 (156); B.§ 148,7; (see ἀθον6}1}. ΟἿ. Gilbert, Dissertatio de christianae catecheseos historia (Lips. 1836) Pt. i. p. 1 sqq.; Zezschwitz, System der christl. Katechetik (Leipz. 1863) i. p. 17 sqq.; [and for 600]. usage, Suicer, Thes. ii. 69 sqq.; Soph. Lex. s. v.].* κατ᾽ ἰδίαν, see ἴδιος, 2.
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
κατηχέω katēcheō 8x
pr. to sound in the ears, make the ears ring; to instruct orally, to instruct, inform, 1 Cor. 14:19; pass. to be taught, be instructed, Lk. 1:4; Rom. 2:18; Gal. 6:6; to be made acquainted, Acts 18:25; to receive information, hear report, Acts 21:21, 24*
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
*† κατ-ηχέω, -ῶ, to resound.
to teach by word of mouth, instruct, inform (v. Bl., Phil. Gosp., 20, 31): Ga 6:6; c. acc. pers., I Co 14:19; pass. c. acc. rei, Lk 1:4 (ICC, in l.), Ac 18:25 21:24 (cf. Lk 1:4), Ga 6:6; seq. ἐκ, c. gen. rei, Ro 2:18; περί, c. gen. pers., Ac 21:21.†
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
κατηχέω is used of legal ‘‘instruction” in P Strass I. 4137 (a.p. 250) ἐμὲ οὐδέποτε κατήχησεν (“‘mich hat sie in keiner Weise iiberzeugt * Ed.)—an advocate speaks. Cf. the use of περιηχέω in P Oxy VIII. 11197 (A.D. 254) αὐτοί τε εὐθέως περιηχηθέντες, “Sand we immediately on receiving information of it” (Ed.). With reference to the application of κατηχημένος to Apollos in Ac 18%, Blass (Philology of the Gospels, p. 31) argues that this does not necessarily imply that Apollos was wholly dependent upon oral instruction. Even as early as A.D. 50 he may have been in possession in Egypt of a written Gospel, not improbably that of Mark— “let κατηχεῖσθαι be employed of hearing even in the passage of the Acts: the book will still be there.” >
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
κατηχέω (katēcheō) — to instruct. κατηχ-έω, sound over or through, ἁρμονία κ. τῆς θαλάττης [Refs 2nd c.AD+]
2. sound amiss, opposed to συνηχέω, [Refs 1st c.BC+]
II. teach by word of mouth: hence generally, instruct, κ. τινὰ πολλὰ τῶν ἀγνοουμένων Agrippa 11 cited in [Refs 1st c.AD+]:—passive, to be informed or instructed, περί τινος [NT]; κ. ὅτι.. [Refs 1st c.AD+]
II.2. in NT, instruct in the elements of religion, [NT]:—passive, περὶ ὧν κατηχήθης λόγων [NT+3rd c.AD+]