Bible Lexicons

νῦνί ,

an Attic strengthened form of νῦν

(in cl. always of time, and most often strictly of the pres.),

[in LXX : Job 5:1-27, Psalms 2:1-12; Psalms 2:1-12, 4 Maccabees 4:1-26, Ep. Je*;]

now;

1. of time: c. praes., Acts 24:13, Romans 15:23; Romans 15:25, 1 Corinthians 13:13, 2 Corinthians 8:11; 2 Corinthians 8:22, Philemon 1:9; Philemon 1:11; c. pf., Romans 3:21; c. pret., Romans 6:22; Romans 11:30 (WH, mg.) Romans 7:6, Ephesians 2:13, Colossians 1:21; Colossians 3:8; ἡ ν . ἀπολογία , Acts 22:1.

2. Of logical sequence (not so in cl.): Romans 7:17, 1 Corinthians 5:11 (νῦν , WH) 1 Corinthians 12:18 (νῦν , WH, txt.) 1 Corinthians 15:20, Hebrews 8:6 (νῦν , WH, txt.), Hebrews 9:26 (cf. WM, 24, 579n).†

The root meaning of this verb ";agree with"; is seen in the contract P Oxy II. 275.1 (A.D. 66) ὁ [μ ]ο [λ ]ογοῦσιν ἀλλή [λ ]οις Τρύφων. . . καὶ Πτολεμαῖο [ς, ";agreement between Tryphon and Ptolemaeus"; : cf. the legal formula ἐπερωτηθεὶς ὡμολόγησα, ";in answer to the formal question I have given my consent,"; as in P Ryl II. 100.15 (A.D. 238). From this the transition is easy to the sense ";acknowledge,"; ";publicly declare,"; e.g. ib. 125.26 (A.D. 28–9) ὡμολ [ό ]γησεν τὴν πυξίδα ὡς προφέρεται κενήν, ";he acknowledges (having found) the box but alleges that it was empty"; (Edd.), ib. 180.2 (A.D. 124) ὁμολογῶ μὴ ἐγκαλεῖν σοι μηδ᾽ ἐγκαλέσειν σοι περὶ μηδενὸς πράγματος ἁπλῶς, ";I acknowledge that I neither make nor will make any claim upon you on any matter whatever"; (Edd.), ib. 157.3 (A.D. 135) ὁμολογοῦμεν διῃρῆσθαι πρὸς ἀλλήλας ἐπὶ τοῦ παρόντος [ὃ ἔχομεν ἐ ]ν ̣ μισθώσει οὐσιακ [ὸ ]ν ἀμπελικὸν κτῆμα, ";we acknowledge that we have divided between ourselves at the present time the domain-land vineyard which we hold on lease"; (Edd.), and the recurring formula in receipts ὁμολογῶ ἀπέχειν, ";I acknowledge that I have received,"; e.g. BGU II. 394.22 (A.D. 137) ὁμολογῶι ἀπέχειν [π ]αρὰ τοῦ Στοτοήτιος τὰ [ς ] προκιμένας [ἀρ ]γυρίου [δρα ]χ [μὰς ] δ [ιακο ]σίας τε [σ ]σ ̣α [ρ ]ά [κο ]ντα ὀκτὼ. . . With the usage ";praise,"; ";celebrate,"; in Hebrews 13:15, which Grimm-Thayer pronounces as ";unknown to Grk. writ.,"; we may compare the somewhat similar phrase ὁμολογῶ χάριτα in petitions, e.g. P Ryl II. 114.32 (c. A.D. 280) ὅπως. . . τῇ τύχῃ σου χάριτας ὁμολογεῖν δυνηθῶ, ";that I may avow my gratitude to your fortune,"; P Oxy I. 67.22 (A.D. 338) ὅπως ταύτ [ης ἡμεῖ ]ν τῆς εὐεργεσίας ὑπαρχθείσης εἰσαεὶ σοῦ τῇ τύχῃ χάριτας ὁμολογήσωμεν, and the Christian letter P Oxy VI. 939.6 (iv/A.D.) καὶ εἵη διὰ παντὸς ἡμᾶς χάριτας ὁμο [λογοῦντα ]ς διατελεῖν ὅτι ἡμῖν ἵλεως ἐγένετο, ";and may it be granted us to continue for ever to acknowledge our thanks to Him because He was gracious to us"; (Edd.). A good ex. of the meaning ";promise";(class.), as in Matthew 14:7, is afforded by the Phrygian inscr. Cagnat IV. 542 θεῷ ὑψίστῳ εὐχὴν Αὐρήλιος Ἀσκλάπων, ἣν [ὡ ]μολό [γ ]ησεν ἐ [ν ] Ῥώμῃ. On the Semitism in ὁμολογῶ ἐν (Matthew 10:32, Luke 12:8) cf. Nestle ZNTW vii. p. 279 f., ix. p. 253, Burkitt Earliest Sources for the Life of Jesus, p. 19 f., and see s.v. ἐξομολογέω. MGr μολογῶ.