"without speech or reason, irrational, brute, 2 Pet. 2:12; Jude 10; unreasonable, absurd, Acts 25:27*"
Definition and meaning
without speech or reason, irrational, brute, 2 Pet. 2:12; Jude 10; unreasonable, absurd, Acts 25:27*
In the original Greek the word is written: ἄλογος
Historical context
The Roman Empire provided infrastructure no previous civilization had built — roads, sea routes, a common language in Greek, and relative peace across the Mediterranean. Jewish synagogues existed in every major city, giving Paul a starting point everywhere he traveled. The early church had no buildings, no political power, no social standing — and spread faster than any movement in ancient history.
The people who first heard this word were not reading a book — they were living through empires, oppression, exile, and covenant. Every word carried the weight of that reality. Understanding it changes how you read Scripture.
Scripture references
These are the most notable occurrences of alogos (G249) across the King James Bible.
For it seemeth to me unreasonable to send a prisoner, and not withal to signify the crimes laid against him.
But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption;
But these speak evil of those things which they know not: but what they know naturally, as brute beasts, in those things they corrupt themselves.
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Common questions
Strong's G249 (alogos) is a Greek word that means: without speech or reason, irrational, brute, 2 Pet. 2:12; Jude 10; unreasonable, absurd, Acts 25:27* It appears 3 times in the King James Bible.
The word alogos (G249) appears 3 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G249 is alogos, a Greek word defined as: without speech or reason, irrational, brute, 2 Pet. 2:12; Jude 10; unreasonable, absurd, Acts 25:27*. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
alogos is a Greek word found in the New Testament.