"to open, Mk. 7:34, 35; Lk. 2:23; 24:31; Acts 7:56; met. to open the sense of a thing, explain, expound, Lk. 24:32; Acts 17:3; διανοίγειν τὸν νοῦν, τὴν καρδίαν, to open the mind, the heart, so as to understand and receive, Lk. 24:45; Acts 16:14*"
Definition and meaning
to open, Mk. 7:34, 35; Lk. 2:23; 24:31; Acts 7:56; met. to open the sense of a thing, explain, expound, Lk. 24:32; Acts 17:3; διανοίγειν τὸν νοῦν, τὴν καρδίαν, to open the mind, the heart, so as to understand and receive, Lk. 24:45; Acts 16:14*
In the original Greek the word is written: διανοίγω
Historical context
The Gospel of Mark moves urgently — the word "immediately" appears over 40 times. It was written for a Roman audience familiar with power and action. Jesus is portrayed as a man who acts, heals, and commands authority that the Roman world had never seen from a Jewish teacher.
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 dianoigo (G1272) across the King James Bible.
And looking up to heaven, he sighed, and saith unto him, Ephphatha, that is, Be opened.
And straightway his ears were opened, and the string of his tongue was loosed, and he spake plain.
(As it is written in the law of the Lord, Every male that openeth the womb shall be called holy to the Lord;)
And their eyes were opened, and they knew him; and he vanished out of their sight.
And they said one to another, Did not our heart burn within us, while he talked with us by the way, and while he opened to us the scriptures?
Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,
And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, that she attended unto the things which were spoken of Paul.
Opening and alleging, that Christ must needs have suffered, and risen again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom I preach unto you, is Christ.
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Common questions
Strong's G1272 (dianoigo) is a Greek word that means: to open, Mk. 7:34, 35; Lk. 2:23; 24:31; Acts 7:56; met. to open the sense of a thing, explain, expound, Lk. 24:32; Acts 17:3; διανοίγειν τὸν νοῦν, τὴν καρδίαν, to open the mind, the heart, so as to un... It appears 8 times in the King James Bible.
The word dianoigo (G1272) appears 8 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G1272 is dianoigo, a Greek word defined as: to open, Mk. 7:34, 35; Lk. 2:23; 24:31; Acts 7:56; met. to open the sense of a thing, explain, expound, Lk. 24:32; Acts 17:3; διανοίγειν τὸν νοῦν, τὴν. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
dianoigo is a Greek word found in the New Testament.