Luke 23:21

Οἱ δὲ ἐπεφώνουν, λέγοντες, Σταύρωσον, σταύρωσον αὐτόν.

RBT Greek Interlinear:

Strongs 3588; hoi; οἱ; the; Art-NMP

Strongs 1161; de; δὲ; and; Conj

Strongs 2019; epephōnoun; ἐπεφώνουν; they were crying out; V-IIA-3P

Strongs 3004; legontes; λέγοντες; those who say; V-PPA-NMP

Strongs 4717; Staurou; Σταύρου; Stake; V-PMA-2S

Strongs 4717; staurou; σταύρου; stake; V-PMA-2S

Strongs 846; auton; αὐτόν; himself; PPro-AM3S

RBT Hebrew Literal:

And the ones were calling upon/invoking,⁸⁷ those who are saying, "Stake Stakehimself!"

Julia Smith Literal 1876 Translation:
And they exclaimed, saying, Crucify, crucify him.

LITV Translation:
But they shouted, saying, Crucify! Crucify him!

ESV Translation:
but they kept shouting, “Crucify, crucify him!”

Footnotes

87

ἐπεφώνουν does not primarily mean “shout” in the generic sense of loud yelling.

Its core meaning is more precise:

“to call upon,” “to invoke aloud,” or “to utter in directed speech.”

That can include shouting, if the context implies volume, but the verb itself does not inherently denote loudness or force.

Compare:

• βοάω — “to shout,” “to cry out loudly” (focus on volume)

• κράζω — “to scream,” “to shriek” (intensely vocal)

• φωνέω / ἐπιφωνέω — “to speak,” “to call (upon)” (focus on direction, not volume)

So if a mob ἐπεφώνουν, they were likely vocally invoking or calling upon someone—perhaps loudly, but the verb itself does not mean “to shout” by default.

Primary meaning (according to Middle Liddell):

“to mention by name, tell of”
— e.g., Sophocles, where the sense is naming or referring to something aloud.

This directly reflects the literal sense of ἐπιφωνέω as “to voice upon” — that is, to direct speech toward something with specificity, such as naming it, calling it out, or designating it.

Secondary:

“to say upon or with respect to” — τινί (to someone), εἴς τι (with reference to something)
— Seen in Plutarch, and aligns with uses like applying a phrase or label to someone or something.

(cf. Middle Liddell ἐπιφωνέω)