1234. diagogguzó
Lexical Summary
diagogguzó: To murmur, to grumble, to complain

Original Word: διαγογγύζω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: diagogguzó
Pronunciation: dee-ag-ong-GOO-zo
Phonetic Spelling: (dee-ag-ong-good'-zo)
KJV: murmur
NASB: grumble
Word Origin: [from G1223 (διά - through) and G1111 (γογγύζω - grumble)]

1. to complain throughout a crowd

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
murmur.

From dia and gogguzo; to complain throughout a crowd -- murmur.

see GREEK dia

see GREEK gogguzo

HELPS Word-studies

1234 diagoggýzō (an onomatopoetic term imitating the sound of cooing doves and humming bees) – constantly, intensely murmur (grumble, complain) – an intensified form of 1111 /goggýzō ("murmur") to convey "heavy complaining," i.e. the constant "buzz" of negative murmuring (note the prefix, dia).

[Lk 5:30 uses the simple form (1111 /goggýzō), which likewise is uncommon. But the "compound with dia- (1234 /diagoggýzō) is still rarer . . . and more expressive" (WP, 2, 240).]

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from dia and gogguzó
Definition
to murmur among themselves
NASB Translation
grumble (2).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 1234: διαγογγύζω

διαγογγύζω: imperfect διεγόγγυζον; to murmur (διά, i. e. either through a whole crowd, or 'among one another,' German durch einander (cf. διά, C.)); hence, it is always used of many indignantly complaining (see γογγύζω): Luke 15:2; Luke 19:7. (Exodus 16:2, 7, 8; (Numbers 14:2); Joshua 9:24 (18), etc.; Sir. 34:24 (Sir. 31:24); Clement of Alexandria, i, p. 528, Pott. edition; Heliodorus 7, 27, and in some Byzantine writings) Cf. Winer's De verb. comp. etc. Part v., p. 16f.

Topical Lexicon
Definition and Nuance of the Term

Strong’s Greek 1234 depicts a collective under-the-breath protest. It is not a private passing complaint but a ripple of discontent that spreads through a group, fostering shared resistance or disdain. Luke alone employs the verb, tracing the undercurrent of opposition that surfaces whenever Jesus extends grace to those branded “outsiders.”

Occurrences in the New Testament

1. Luke 15:2 – “But the Pharisees and scribes were muttering, ‘This Man welcomes sinners and eats with them.’”
2. Luke 19:7 – “And all who saw it began to grumble, saying, ‘He has gone to be the guest of a sinful man.’”

Both settings revolve around table fellowship—first with tax collectors and sinners, then with Zacchaeus. In each scene, the discontented are a religious majority offended by the inclusiveness of Jesus.

Historical Background

In Second-Temple Judaism, table fellowship symbolized covenant loyalty and purity. Sharing a meal could be construed as tacit approval of the guest’s spiritual condition. Jesus’ readiness to dine with the ritually suspect shattered prevailing social boundaries. The communal murmur captured by Strong’s 1234 therefore signals more than annoyance; it registers a perceived threat to the very identity markers that distinguished the righteous from the unrighteous.

Theological Themes

1. Divine Initiative Toward Sinners. The verb frames the backdrop against which Jesus reveals the heart of God (Luke 15’s parables of the lost sheep, coin, and son). The son is welcomed home amid the servants’ celebration, while an elder brother echoes the earlier grumblers, refusing to join the joy.
2. Reversal of Expectations. In Luke 19, the crowd assumes Zacchaeus is beyond covenant mercy. Jesus’ self-invitation—“Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9)—upends that verdict.
3. Community Discernment. The murmuring majority imagines itself as the guardian of holiness, yet Scripture judges the grumble, not the grace, to be the real foe of divine purpose.

Relation to Old Testament Grumbling

The Septuagint regularly uses cognate forms (for example, Exodus 16:2, Numbers 14:2) to portray Israel’s complaints against the Lord’s provision. Luke’s choice of this rarer, intensified compound verb recalls those wilderness scenes, casting the religious establishment in the role of the rebellious generation. Their reaction, like Israel’s, betrays unbelief in God’s redemptive plan.

Lucan Emphasis on Table Fellowship

Luke consistently links meals with revelation and mission—Levi’s banquet (Luke 5:29), the hospitality at Emmaus (Luke 24:30-31), and the early church’s breaking of bread (Acts 2:46). Strong’s 1234 surfaces precisely where such meals provoke scandal. Grumbling thus becomes a literary cue: whenever it rises, expect a fresh unveiling of grace.

Implications for Christian Ministry

• Evangelistic Outreach. The church’s commission includes seeking those considered unreachable. Collective murmuring can stifle mission by elevating cultural taboos over gospel necessity.
• Hospitality as Witness. Shared tables embody reconciliation (Romans 15:7). When hospitality is withheld to protect reputation, the same spirit of Luke’s grumblers re-emerges.
• Guarding Community Unity. Philippians 2:14 warns, “Do everything without complaining or arguing.” Strong’s 1234 illustrates how murmuring quickly becomes a corporate sin that corrodes fellowship and quenches joy.

Warnings Against Corporate Murmuring

1 Corinthians 10:10 records that “some of them complained, and were killed by the destroyer.” Grumbling is not a harmless pastime but a rebellion against God’s revealed agenda. The Lucan scenes remind believers that murmuring typically targets divine mercy extended to others.

Conclusion

Strong’s Greek 1234 exposes the dissonance between heaven’s celebration of the found and earth’s suspicion of grace. It calls the people of God to renounce communal murmuring, to rejoice in every sinner welcomed home, and to mirror the Savior who “came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10).

Forms and Transliterations
διαγεγραμμένα διαγεγραμμέναι διαγογγύζετε διαγραφήν διαγραψάτωσαν διαγράψεις διαγράψω διαγράψωμεν διεγόγγυζε διεγόγγυζεν διεγογγυζον διεγόγγυζον διεγόγγυσαν διεγογγύσατε diegonguzon diegongyzon diegóngyzon
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Englishman's Concordance
Luke 15:2 V-IIA-3P
GRK: καὶ διεγόγγυζον οἵ τε
NAS: and the scribes [began] to grumble, saying,
KJV: and scribes murmured, saying, This man
INT: and grumbled both

Luke 19:7 V-IIA-3P
GRK: ἰδόντες πάντες διεγόγγυζον λέγοντες ὅτι
NAS: it, they all [began] to grumble, saying,
KJV: [it], they all murmured, saying, That
INT: having seen [it] all grumbled saying

Strong's Greek 1234
2 Occurrences


διεγόγγυζον — 2 Occ.

1233
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