A. The keryx in the Greek World.

1. The Dignity and Social Position of the Herald. The herald has a high place in Greek antiquity; he belongs to the court, carries a sceptre, and is renowned for cleverness and wisdom. Yet he also performs menial tasks and runs very ordinary errands. Later there are heralds of mysteries, games, festivals, and markets. As state officials heralds come to be poorly regarded but still render important services, belong to the higher classes, and are often given high honors and rewards.

2. The Qualities Demanded of a Herald. A strong and resonant voice is the basic requirement, since the herald has to issue summons, keep the peace, and make announcements. The games include contests to test the strength and diction of heralds. To restrict garrulity and exaggeration, it is important that heralds deliver news or pass on messages strictly as these are given to them. In negotiations they seldom act on their own initiative but simply deliver short messages, put a few questions, and report back for further instructions. In the assembly or in court they act only as the voice of the chairman or president.

3. The Religious Significance of the Herald.

a. His Inviolability on Diplomatic Missions. Since politics and religion are inseparable for the Greeks, heralds on foreign missions are regarded as under the protection not only of their country but also of the gods. To violate them is to bring down divine wrath. Even if their message is unwelcome, they must be hospitably received. They have a special sanctity which enables them to speak without fear or favor. For this reason they often accompany envoys. Even in war they may go to the enemy camp to open up negotiations for peace. Similarly, they may go to an enemy capital to declare war.

b. His Participation in Cultic Life. Heralds offer prayers at the opening of assemblies or the mustering of the army. They invoke divine blessing on their cities and cursing on traitors and public offenders. They also have a part in preparations for sacrifices and lead in prayer at the actual sacrifices. They have a part, too, in the religious act of making treaties. Their intimation of festivals and games may also have a cultic aspect, and some heralds are specifically employed by cultic societies (cf. their role in the Eleusinian mysteries, in which they issue the call to worship, lead in prayer, help in the sacrifices, and make important announcements).

4. The Herald of the Gods. While all heralds stand under the protection of the gods, the gods have their own special heralds. Hermes is the herald-god who plays the herald role in the divine assemblies. Birds are also at times heralds of the gods. So, too, are Stoic philosophers, who, according to Epictetus, go through the world in simple style with the task of presenting divine teaching with its truth and claim, bringing a higher peace than even the emperor can grant, but also issuing a call for decision, chiding error, and summoning to emulation. Formally one sees a close parallel here to the work of early Christian missionaries. A primary distinction is that the Stoic sees himself as a katáskopos, an inspector of people who declares his message on the basis of his observations. The Stoic starting point, then, is human need or wickedness, whereas the Christian starting point is God’s gracious presence in Christ. This points to the fundamental difference, namely, between the god whose heralds the Stoics are and the Father of Christ whose message the apostles declare. The message itself differs in consequence, for while the Stoics have high ideals, they can finally hope only to quicken a slumbering seed of morality, whereas the gospel ushers in the new age of the kingdom which involves radical conversion and renewal. Philosophical heralds proclaim human development and divinization, apostolic messengers the incarnation, the forgiveness of sins, and the gift of eternal life.

B. The Herald and the Jewish World.

1. Josephus and Philo. The use in Josephus seems mainly to be in connection with war and diplomacy; Philo avoids the term.

2. The LXX. kḗryx occurs only four times in the LXX. In Gen. 41:43 there is no Hebrew original. In Dan. 3:4 Nebuchadnezzar’s herald commands the people to worship. The use in 4 Macc. 6:4 is similar (the herald of Antiochus). Sir. 20:15 has the word in a comparison. That there is no true equivalent shows that the idea is an alien one.

3. The Rabbis. In the rabbis, however, the herald is again prominent with the adoption of the loanword kārôz. The origin of this term is disputed (Greek? Persian?), but it finds frequent and varied use for town criers, court heralds, temple criers to awaken the priests, the announcers of rabbinic judgments, and God’s angelic or human heralds (e.g., Noah in the generation of the flood).

C. The kḗryx in the NT. The herald is strangely unimportant in the NT. There are only three instances of the term. Noah is a herald of righteousness in 2 Pet. 2:5 (cf. 1 Clem. 7.6; 9.4), and Paul is a herald and apostle (and teacher) in 1 Tim. 2:7 and 2 Tim. 1:11. (Some texts also have the word in Col. 1:23.) Since the word might seem to be so suitable for the NT preacher, this paucity of use is surely intentional. There are perhaps two main reasons for it. First, the focus of the NT is on the message rather than the messenger, or on God himself as the real messenger. Second, the Greek concept is too precisely defined; NT preachers are not sacral personages who can claim inviolability. Rather, they are like sheep among wolves (Mt. 10:16), will be persecuted as their Master was (Jn. 15:20), and are as it were dedicated to death (Rev. 12:11). Yet this does not prevent the message from taking its irresistible and victorious course through the world (2 Tim. 2:9; 2 Th. 3:1). The stress, then, falls on the verb kerýssō, not the noun kḗryx.

kērýssō.

A. kērýssō in the Greek World.

1. Shades of Meaning and Synonyms. The verb is a much less significant word in Greek than the noun. It means “to cry out loud, declare, announce.” It may carry such nuances as “to offer, order, forbid, ask,” and commercially “to offer for sale, auction.” A general sense is “to make known,” though specifically it may also mean “to herald.”

2. kērýssō in Passages of Religious Significance.

a. A first religious use is for announcements relative to games and feasts, e.g., in proclaiming contests, announcing winners, conferring honors.

b. Another use is in aretalogies for declaring the works of deity by divine instruction and, in spite of hesitation, by divine constraint.

c. In the Hermetic writings we find close parallels to the NT in the concept of prophetic proclamation. The message, however, is not that of forgiveness and liberation from sin, but of liberation from the body and divinization. Nor is there any declaration of God’s rule and act; the proclamation is instruction in what to do, and exhortation to do it, in order to move from error to knowledge.

B. kērýssō in the OT. In the Greek OT the word occurs 33 times for various Hebrew equivalents. It may have the general sense “to cry” but also denotes proclamation, either by a herald (Gen. 41:43) or in a more general sense (Ex. 36:6; 2 Chr. 24:9). The proclamation may even be in writing (2 Chr. 36:22). Only rarely does kērýssō describe the work of prophets, e.g., false prophets in Mic. 3:5, Jonah in 1:2; 3:2, and Jeremiah in 20:8. Is. 61:1 refers to the proclamation of liberty to the captives in an efficacious, eschatological event (fulfilled by Jesus in Lk. 4:21). In Hos 5:8 the sense is to “sound the alarm” in face of the approaching enemy. This is also the point in Joel 2:1, except that now it is the day of the Lord that is imminent. In Joel 3:9, however, we have a summons to arms, while in Zeph. 3:14 and Zech. 9:9 the call is to exultation because the salvation of God has come. In the OT kērýssō never has the prominent place it has in the NT.

C. krz in the Rabbis. In rabbinic writings we find four main uses of krz: to clear the way for an important person, to give legal findings validity by proclamation, to make cultic intimations, and (with God as subject) to reveal, either directly or through Scripture.

D. kērýssō in the NT.

1. kērýssō and Other Words for Proclamation. The NT uses many words for the proclaiming of the Christian message, e.g., légein, laleín, martyreín, didáskein. It is a mistake simply to render such terms, and kērýssein itself, by “to preach.” Fundamentally kērýssein is the declaration of an event. Except in Rev. 5:2 we do not find it in the Johannine writings, which prefer martyreín, nor in Hebrews. It occurs 61 times in the NT (nine in Matthew, 14 in Mark, 17 in Luke-Acts, 19 in Paul, once in 1 Peter, and once in Revelation.) Its greater importance than kḗryx or kḗrygma shows that the stress is on dynamic proclaiming.

2. The Use of kērýssō. The use is mainly active. The content is denoted by an accusative noun, an infinitive, hóti or hína, a relative clause, or direct speech (at times with légōn). The person addressed is in the dative, and place may be indicated by en or eis. The verb also occurs in the absolute (e.g., Mt. 11:1; Mk. 1:39).

3. The Secular Meaning in Lk. 12:3. The reference in Lk. 12:3 is not to the work of the disciples; Jesus is here adducing a popular saying to indicate that the hidden designs of the Pharisees will be made public.

4. Proclamation by different preachers.

a. The Jews. These proclaim the law (Rom. 2:21). Moses is proclaimed in the synagogue (Acts 15:21).

b. The Baptist. John heralds the messianic age in the desert (Mk. 1:4 and par.). He does not preach the law but calls for repentance, and points prophetically to Christ in a promise that is sure of immediate fulfilment. His baptism seals those who await God’s rule and anticipates messianic remission (Acts 13:24).

c. Jesus Christ. (i) Incarnate. Proclaiming God’s word is Jesus’ mission in Mk. 1:38. He delivers the same message as the Baptist (Mk. 4:17), but does so as the prophet of fulfilment, so that the declaration is itself the event (Lk. 4:18ff.). In him the word is a creative force; it gives what it declares. (ii) Crucified. Between Good Friday and Easter Day Jesus proclaims remission in the realm of the dead (1 Pet. 3:19-20). The spirits are probably the souls of the dead rather than the OT righteous or fallen angels. The prison seems to be a special place in Hades. The timing falls between the death (v. 18) and the resurrection and ascension (vv. 21-22). The preacher is Christ. The content of the message is not given but is surely the gospel, as the immediate context in vv. 18-22 suggests. (iii) Risen. The risen Christ is also present in the word of his messengers (cf. Lk. 10:16), though only believers hear his summons in it (cf. Rom. 10:14ff.). Paul relates Christ and his message very closely in 2 Cor. 1:18-19. The NT word is God’s act as Christ himself speaks through it.

d. The Healed. Those who are healed by Jesus tell others what has happened even though he orders them not to do so (Mk. 1:44). Since they do not do so by commission, their action is witness (cf. Mk. 1:44-45) rather than proclamation in the true NT sense (even though kērýssō is used). The prohibition seems designed to prevent astonishment at the miracle taking the place of faith. Where the miracle is opposed, as in Mk. 5: 17ff., Jesus authorizes the cured person to tell what has been done, and so he begins to proclaim it.

e. Disciples and Apostles. The disciples are sent out to proclaim repentance and the nearness of the kingdom, and also to heal. They are to proclaim fearlessly what they have heard from Jesus (Mt. 10:17). The end will come when the whole world has heard (Mt. 24:14). Like the life, death, and resurrection of Christ, this proclamation is part of God’s saving plan. It is the declaration of the saving facts in order that they may be also a saving reality for believers. The word of the cross, as well as the cross itself, is God’s power (1 Cor. 1:18). Sinners are commissioned to declare it. The efficacy does not depend on them, whether on their skills, or on their purity of motive (1 Cor. 1:22-23; Phil. 1:15). The Christ whom they preach is greater than they are; they proclaim him, not themselves (2 Cor. 4:5). Although there should be no discrepancy between their message and their conduct, they do not act in their own interests but seek to win people to Christ, presenting themselves only as servants for his sake.

f. An Angel. In Rev. 5:2 an angel puts to the world the question who is worthy to open the book with seven seals.

5. The Content of the Specific NT Message. While the stress in the NT is on the act of proclamation, the content is by no means secondary. If the word enacts what it proclaims, the content is indeed of supreme importance. It is not determined either by the situation of the hearers or by the ideas of the proclaimer but by the divine kingdom or lordship that Jesus himself announces and brings. The imminence of the kingdom poses the demand for metánoia as the possibility of participation. With this demand goes the declaration of forgiveness as a divine act of judgment and grace that will mean condemnation for some and deliverance for others. Which it will be depends on the response to Christ (1 Cor. 1:23-24). The king is intrinsic to the kingdom: the total Christ who is Lord by death and resurrection, and who is proclaimed as such (2 Cor. 4:5). Here is no myth of a dying and rising god, for the reference is to the factual event of a life in history. Yet the mere life, edifying though it might be, has significance only in the light of the resurrection. What is proclaimed, then, is not just a human history any more than it is merely human dogma. Salvation history is proclaimed, and its proclamation is itself saving event. At work here is not just the content of what is proclaimed, but God himself. For this reason, it is God’s power (1 Cor. 1:24), it will permit no adulteration (Gal. 5:11), and it must be proclaimed in season and out (2 Tim. 4:2). As in the Greek world, kērýssein stands linguistically in close relation to euangelízesthai (cf. also kḗryx and euángelos), although with the special nuances and content which the NT gives to both terms.

6. The Hearers. The goal of proclamation is faith rather than understanding. Jesus does not bring a teaching but a message. People of all cultures resist it (1 Cor. 1:21ff.) but believers accept it. Proclamation is important because through it faith arises. True hearing brings the faith that is also obedience; this is effected by the word (Rom. 10:8). Since faith comes by proclamation, the two have the same content (1 Cor. 15:14).

7. Sending and Proclamation. Proclamation demands messengers, and messengers imply commissioning. During his life Jesus commissions the Twelve and the Seventy (Mt. 10:7; Lk. 9:2; 10:1). He renews the commission after the resurrection (Mk. 16:15). The sending is now to the world and not just to Israel (Mk. 13:10; Col. 1:23). If the sending entails restriction, it also confers authority. Those who are sent proclaim what they are commissioned to proclaim (Mt. 10:27). They do not report their own experiences but declare the acts and will of him who sends them. If there were no sending, there would be no divine proclamation, only human propaganda.

8. Teaching and Proclamation in the Synoptists. In the NT, especially the Synoptists, kērýssein and didáskein often go together (Mt. 4:23; 11:1; cf. Acts 28:31). In the main, teaching is synagogue exposition that is designed for believers, while proclaiming may take place anywhere as a call to sinners. Yet Jesus “proclaims” in the synagogue, too, for his teaching is no mere exposition. Even as exposition, it takes the form of an address that demands decision in the light of God’s present action (cf. Mt. 7:29).

9. Miracles and Proclamation. If proclamation is God’s active word, and God’s rule is a present reality, signs and wonders occur, accompanying and confirming the word (Mk. 16:20; Heb. 2:3-4). For believers miracles demonstrate the reality of the message, but signs are refused to unbelievers, for they are not meant to force faith on people. Jesus himself plays them down (cf. Mt. 4:3ff.; Mk. 5:43). After the healings of Mk. 1:32ff., he moves on to preach in other towns, for that is why he has come (v. 38). Proclamation is what counts; the mighty acts are simply signs that God’s kingdom has indeed come therewith (Mt. 11:5).

kḗrygma.

A. Outside the NT.

1. The Greek World. This word denotes both the act and the content of proclamation. It can have such senses as “news,” “declaration,” “decree,” “announcement,” etc.

2. Philo. Philo often uses the term for the herald’s “cry,” a “decree,” or especially the “publication” of honors or victories (figuratively).

3. The LXX makes little use of the word (cf. 2 Chr. 30:5; Jon. 3:2).

4. The rabbis have it for court proclamations or in connection with property.

B. In the NT. In Mt. 12:41 par. Lk. 11:32 Jonah’s preaching is meant. The act is at issue in 1 Cor. 2:4; it is effective, not as oratory, but in the spirit and power. What is meant in Mk. 16 is the content or message, but this in itself is powerful to save in 1 Cor. 1:21. It includes the resurrection in 1 Cor. 15:14. Paul’s gospel is the same as the preaching of Jesus in Rom. 16:25. The act is again meant in Tit. 1:3; by it the divine Word comes to us, and it is entrusted to the apostle by divine command. The preaching office comes into view in 2 Tim. 4:17. God has strengthened the apostle to fulfil the office of a preacher (cf. 4:5, 7). He does not stand as a defendant but as a herald, so that representatives of all nations hear the word through him.

prokērýssō. pro in Greek can mean either “forth” or “before,” thus yielding the sense “to speak forth‘” or, rarely, “to proclaim beforehand.” “To offer publicly” (i.e., “auction”) and “to promise” are other meanings. In the one solid use in the NT in Acts 13:24 the addition of pro suggests that John is the last of the prophets before the time of fulfilment, although even here John preaches rather than foretells the baptism of repentance. Due to the imminence of the kingdom, this is no mere promise but anticipation.     [G. Friedrich, III, 683-718]

kephalḗ gōnías → gōnía; Kēphás → Pétros