Hodegos (ὁδηγός) means a guide, leader, or one who shows the road (hodos = way + hegeomai = lead). It describes someone who takes another by the hand and leads them along the path. The word appears in Matthew 15:14 (blind guides), Matthew 23:16 (woe to blind guides), Acts 1:16 (of Judas), and Romans 2:19 (Paul's ironic description of the Pharisees).
The contrast in hodegos imagery is sharp: the blind guide leads others into the ditch (Matthew 15:14), while God is described as Israel's hodegos who led them through the wilderness. Jesus as 'the Way' (hodos) is the ultimate guide — not one who shows a path but who IS the path. The Holy Spirit is sent to 'guide you into all truth' (John 16:13) — divine guidance incarnated in the Third Person.
Judas as a hodegos (Acts 1:16) is one of Scripture's darkest ironies: the one walking with the Way chose to guide murderers to Him. A guide leads where he is going — Judas was heading toward betrayal, and he took others there. Contrast: the Holy Spirit as guide (John 16:13) leads into all truth, and the One who is the Way (hodos) guides us into the Father's presence.