Refute (1651) (elegcho or elencho is a primary verb but is related to elegchos = bringing to light) means to bring to the light (to reveal hidden things) with the implication that there is adequate proof of wrongdoing. To expose, to convict, to reprove, to shame or disgrace and thus to rebuke another in such a way that they are compelled to see and to admit the error of their ways. To show someone that they have done something wrong and summon them to repent. Elegcho is used 17 times in NT (15" class="scriptRef">Matt. 18:15; Lk. 3:19; Jn. 3:20; 46" class="scriptRef">8:46; 16:8; 1 Co. 14:24; Eph. 5:11, 13" class="scriptRef">13; 1 Tim. 5:20; 2 Tim. 4:2; Titus 1:9, 13; 2:15; Heb. 12:5; Jas. 2:9; Jude 1:15; Rev. 3:19). There are 48 uses of elegcho in the non-apocryphal Septuagint (21.25" class="scriptRef">Gen. 21:25; 31:37, 42; Lev. 6:5; 19:17; 2 Sam. 7:14; 1 Chr. 12:17; 16:21; 2 Chr. 26:20; Job 5:17; 9:33; 13:3, 10, 15; 15:3, 6; 22:4; 32:12; 33:19; 40:2, 4; Ps. 6:1; 38:1; 50:8, 21; 94:10; 105:14; 141:5; Prov. 3:11; 9:7f; 10:10; 15:12; 18:17; 19:25; 24:25; 28:23; 30:6; Isa. 2:4; 11:3f; 29:21; Jer. 2:19; Ezek. 3:26; Hos. 4:4; Amos 5:10; Hab. 1:12; Hag. 2:14) There is another verb, epitimao, which is somewhat similar to elegcho and also can mean rebuke but in contrast to elegcho, the rebuke associated with epitimao does not bring the individual rebuked to a conviction of fault. It might be because the one rebuked was innocent of the charge or that he was guilty but refused to acknowledge his guilt. Epitimao is used by Mark, for Satan, the fallen angels, and the demons who are incorrigible, refuse to be convicted of their sin and will not acknowledge it nor repent. For example, Mark records that when Jesus saw that a crowd was rapidly gathering, He rebuked (epitimao) the unclean spirit, saying to it, “You deaf and dumb spirit, I command you, come out of him and do not enter him again. (Mk 9:25) Elegcho means: 1) To scrutinize or examine carefully, bring to light, expose. Jesus said that everyone who does evil hates the light, and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed (elegcho). (Jn 3:20) And do not participate in the unfruitful deeds of darkness, but instead even expose (elegcho) them 12 for it is disgraceful even to speak of the things which are done by them in secret. 13 But all things become visible when they are exposed (elegcho) by the light, for everything that becomes visible is light. (see notes Ephesians 5:11; 12; 13) 2) To convict, to show to be wrong. Jesus for example said Which one of you convicts (elegcho) Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me? (Jn 8:46) Elegcho was used in the Greek law courts not merely of a reply to an opposing attorney, but of a refutation of his argument. No one could prove any charges of sin against our Lord. No one could bring charges against Him in such a way as to convince Him that He was guilty. (because of course He wasn't) Jesus describing the role of the Holy Spirit says that He, when He comes, will convict (elegcho) the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment (Jn 16:8). The Spirit’s coming would result in heightened conviction among unbelievers concerning sin, righteousness, and judgment. Before the Spirit's coming that conviction had come mainly from the Old Testament, John the Baptist, Jesus and the disciples’ influence. Here the purpose of the Holy Spirit is not condemnation but conviction of the need for the Savior. The Spirit would not just accuse people of sin, but would bring an inescapable sense of guilt before God upon them. Wuest adds that here elegcho refers to those of the unsaved who are brought by the Holy Spirit into the place of salvation. The reproof spoken of is an effectual one. The rest of the unsaved hate the light and do not come to the light, lest their deeds be (exposed) proven to be evil and they be put under obligation to confess their guilt (Jn 3:20). (Wuest, K. S. Wuest's Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: Studies in the Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament: Grand Rapids: Eerdmans) 3) To convince someone of error. To refute (prove wrong by argument or evidence 4) show to be false or erroneous). To confute (to overwhelm in argument = refute conclusively). Elihu for example said there was no one who refuted (Lxx = elegcho) Job (Job 32:12). 5) To reprove, admonish in the sense of setting right. For example Jesus said if your brother sins, go and reprove (elegcho) him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. (Mt 18:15). 6) To rebuke, reprove by chastisement. For example, the writer of Hebrews tells his readers you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons, “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor faint when you are reproved (elegcho) by Him. (see note Hebrews 12:5) Job says Behold, how happy is the man whom God reproves (Lxx = elegcho)... (Job 5:17) The person who has spiritual understanding will respond to a rebuke from God by acknowledging his guilt and confessing The idea behind refute is that one present evidence so that the arguments of the opponents are beaten down and shown to have no merit. Apollos powerfully refuted (elegcho) the Jews in public, demonstrating by the Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ. (Acts 18:28) Barclay adds that... Demosthenes said that (elegcho) describes the situation in which a man unanswerably demonstrates the truth of the things that he has said. Aristotle said that (elegcho) means to prove that things cannot be otherwise than as we have stated them. Christian rebuke means far more than flinging angry and condemning words at a man. It means speaking in such a way that he sees the error of his ways and accepts the truth. (Barclay, W: The Daily Study Bible Series, Rev. ed. Philadelphia: The Westminster Press) Vincent has a lengthy discussion of the meaning of elegcho explaining that it has several phases of meaning. In earlier classical Greek it signifies to disgrace or put to shame. Thus Ulysses, having succeeded in the trial of the bow, says to Telemachus, “the stranger who sits in thy halls disgraces (elegchei) thee not” (“Odyssey, xxi., 424). Then, to cross-examine or question, for the purpose of convincing, convicting, or refuting; to censure, accuse. So Herodotus: “In his reply Alexander became confused, and diverged from the truth, whereon the slaves interposed, confuted his statements (elegchon, cross-questioned and caught him in falsehood), and told the whole history of the crime” (1:115). The messenger in the “Antigone” of Sophocles, describing the consternation of the watchmen at finding Polynices’ body buried, says: “Evil words were bandied among them, guard accusing (elegchon) guard” (260). Of arguments, to bring to the proof; prove; prove by a chain of reasoning. It occurs in Pindar in the general sense of to conquer or surpass. “Having descended into the naked race they surpassed (elegzan) the Grecian band in speed (“Pythia,” xi., 75). (Bolding added. Vincent, M. R. Word studies in the New Testament. Vol. 2, Page 1-102) Vincent goes on to add that In the New Testament elegcho is found in the sense of (1) reprove ("But when Herod the tetrarch was reproved by him on account of Herodias, his brother’s wife, and on account of all the wicked things which Herod had done" Lk 3:19; "Those who continue in sin, rebuke in the presence of all, so that the rest also may be fearful of sinning." 1Ti 5:20, "And if your brother sins, go and reprove him in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother." Mt 18:15 etc.). (2) Convince of crime or fault ("But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or an ungifted man enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all" 1Cor 14:24; "But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors." James 2:9). (3) To bring to light or expose by conviction (Jas 3:20; Eph. 5:11, 13" class="scriptRef">Eph. 5:13; Jn 8:46). So of the exposure of false teachers, and their refutation (Titus 1:9, 13; 2:15). (4) To test and expose with a view to correction, and so, nearly equivalent to chasten (Heb 12:5). The different meanings unite in the word convict. Conviction is the result of examination, testing, argument. The test exposes and demonstrates the error, and refutes it, thus convincing, convicting, and rebuking the subject of it. This conviction issues in chastening, by which the error is corrected and the erring one purified. If the conviction is rejected, it carries with it condemnation and punishment. The man is thus convicted of sin, of right, and of judgment ("And He (the Holy Spirit), when He comes, will convict (elegcho) the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment" Jn 16:8). In this passage the evil-doer is represented as avoiding the light which tests, that light which is the offspring of love and the consequent exposure of his error. Compare Eph. 5:13; Jn1:9, 10, 11." (Vincent, M. R. Word studies in the New Testament. Vol. 2, Page 1-102) (Bolding added)