δέχομαι
déchomai · G1209 · Greek · 56 occurrences
Meanings
-
to receive, receiving, to accept
To receive or accept an object or benefit for which the initiative rests with the giver, but the focus of attention in the transfer is upon the receiver
ExamplesActs 3:21 whom heaven must receive until the period of restoration of all things, about which God spoke by the mouths of His holy prophets from ancient times.
Acts 7:38 “This is the one who was in the assembly in the wilderness together with the angel who spoke to him at length on Mount Sinai, and who was with our fathers; and he received living words to pass on to you.
Acts 7:59 They went on stoning Stephen as he called on the Lord and said, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!”
-
to welcome, to receive, to accept, to have as a guest
To accept the presence of a person with friendliness
ExamplesMatthew 10:14 “And whoever does not receive you nor listen to your words, as you leave that house or city, shake the dust off your feet.
Matthew 10:40 “The one who receives you receives Me, and the one who receives Me receives Him who sent Me.
Matthew 10:41 “The one who receives a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet’s reward; and the one who receives a righteous person in the name of a righteous person shall receive a righteous person’s reward.
-
to receive readily, to accept, to believe
To readily receive information and to regard it as true
ExamplesMatthew 11:14 “And if you are willing to accept it, John himself is Elijah who was to come.
Mark 10:15 “Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child will not enter it at all.”
Luke 8:13 “Those on the rocky soil are the ones who, when they hear, receive the word with joy; and yet these do not have a firm root; they believe for a while, and in a time of temptation they fall away.
-
to take hold of, to grasp, to grab
To take hold of something or someone, with or without force
ExamplesLuke 16:6 “And he said, ‘A hundred jugs of oil.’ And he said to him, ‘Take your bill, and sit down quickly and write fifty.’
Luke 16:7 “Then he said to another, ‘And how much do you owe?’ And he said, ‘A hundred kors of wheat.’ He said to him, ‘Take your bill, and write eighty.’
Luke 22:17 And when He had taken a cup and given thanks, He said, “Take this and share it among yourselves;
How it’s used In 10 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Who or what does itSubject
56 occurrences in 18 groups
- ὅςwho, which, that 11
- Not stated (participle) 9
- Not stated: you (more than one) 8
- δέχομαιto receive, to welcome, to accept 7
- Not stated: they 6
- Not stated: you (one person) 3
- Other words · 12 groups that occur once or twice (12) 12
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
55 occurrences in 23 groups
- ἐγώI, we 11
- σύyou 8
- λόγοςword, saying, message 6
- αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 5
- γράμμαwriting, letter, the written law 3
- παιδίονchild 3
- Other words · 17 groups that occur once or twice (21) 21
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
20 occurrences in 20 groups
- ἐπίon+ ὄνομαname 3
- Other words · 19 groups that occur once or twice (21) 21
With adverbsAdverbs
13 occurrences in 3 groups
- μήnot 8
- οὐnot 5
- κἄνeven if 1
Named alongside itApposition
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- γίνομαιto become, to happen, to be 1
- εὐαγγέλιονthe gospel, the good news 1
- ΜάρκοςMarcus 1
What it doesIt is the subject
12 occurrences in 4 groups
- δέχομαιto receive, to welcome, to accept 7
- εἰσέρχομαιto enter, to go into, to come into 2
- λαμβάνωto receive, to take 2
- δέωto bind, to tie 1
What is done to itIt is the object
10 occurrences in 7 groups
- λέγωto say 3
- ἀκούωto hear 2
- ἔπωto say 2
- εἴδωto know 1
- εὐχαριστέωto give thanks, to thank 1
- παρακαλέωto plead for, to appeal to, to encourage 1
Second object ofSecond object
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- ἀναμιμνήσκωto remind 1
What is said to be itIt is the predicate
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- πέτραrock 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- ἀντίfor, instead of 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
In the other Testament 3 words
- לָקַח lâqach · H3947 · to take, to receive, to adopt
- Hebrew לָקַח and Greek δέχομαι share the core sense of 'to receive/take,' with both expressing the act of receiving something offered or accepting what is given, though לָקַח has broader semantic range including commercial transactions (buy) and forceful acquisition (seize) that δέχομαι lacks.
- רָצָה râtsâh · H7521 · to be acceptable, to accept, to take pleasure
- רָצָה (râtsâh, H7521) רָצָה denotes favorable reception with connotations of approval, pleasure, or acceptance (often divine favor), while δέχομαι (déchomai, G1209) δέχομαι is the broader Greek term for receiving in general (persons, objects, messages); the Hebrew term is rendered by δέχομαι in LXX contexts where reception carries evaluative favor.
- קָבַל qâbal · H6901 · to take hold of, to receive, to accept
- Aramaic קָבַל and Greek δέχομαι share the core semantic range of 'receive' and 'accept,' functioning as direct translation equivalents in the LXX Daniel passages where both languages overlap.
Semantic domains 4 entries
- To take hold of, to grasp, to grab18.1
- Used of the physical act of taking something offered, drawn from the same broad range of meaning as the reception entries below.
- To receive readily, to accept, to believe31.51
- Used of accepting a message or person favorably, as of Elijah accepted as John the Baptist for those willing to receive it in Matthew 11:14.
- To welcome, to receive, to accept, to have as a guest34.53
- Used of hospitable reception, as of not receiving the disciples nor listening to their words as they leave a house or city in Matthew 10:14.
- To receive, receiving, to accept57.125
- Used of receiving a person as representing another, as of the one who receives a disciple receiving Jesus Himself, and the one who receives Jesus receiving the One who sent Him, in Matthew 10:40-41, and receiving a child in Jesus' name in Matthew 18:5.
Word family 50 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Also from the root δέχομαι
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon (future 2 person plural δεξεσθε, Eph 6:17 Rec.bez); 1 aorist ἐδεξάμην; perfect δεδεγμαι…
1. to take with the hand: τό γράμμα (L text T Tr WH τά γράμματα), Lk 16:6f; τό ποτήριον, Lk 22:17; to take hold of, take up, τήν περικεφαλαίαν... τήν μάχαιραν, Eph 6:17; τό παιδίον εἰς ἀγκάλας, Lk 2:28.
2. to take up, receive (German aufnehmen,annehmen);
a. used of a place receiving one: ὅν δεῖ οὐρανόν δέξασθαι (οὐρανόν is subject), Acts 3:21 (Plato, Theact., p. 177 a. τελευτησαντας αὐτούς... ὁ τῶν κακῶν καθαρός τόπος οὐ δέξεται).
b. with the accusative of person to receive, grant access to, a visitor; not to refuse contact or friendship: Lk 9:11 R G; Jn 4:45; 2 Cor 7:15; Gal 4:14; Col 4:10; to receive to hospitality, Mt 10:14, Mt 10:40; Mk 6:11; Lk 9:5, Lk 9:53; Lk 10:8, Lk 10:10; Acts 21:17 Rec.; Heb 11:31 (often in Greek writings from Homer down); παιδίον, to receive into one's family in order to bring up and educate, Mt 18:5; Mk 9:37; Lk 9:48; to receive εἰς τούς οἴκους, τάς σκηνάς, Lk 16:4, Lk 16:9; δέξαι τό πνεῦμα μου, to thyself in heaven, Acts 7:59.
c. with the accusative of the thing offered in speaking, teaching, instructing; to receive favorably, give ear to, embrace, make one's own, approve, not to reject: τόν λόγον, Lk 8:13; Acts 8:14; Acts 11:1; Acts 17:11; 1 Thess 1:6; 1 Thess 2:13; Jas 1:21; τά τοῦ πνεύματος 1 Cor 2:14; τήν παράκλησιν, 2 Cor 8:17; τήν ἀγάπην τῆς ἀληθείας namely, commended to them, 2 Thess 2:10; (add the elliptical construction in Mt 11:14) (often in Greek writings); to receive a benefit offered, not to reject it, 2 Cor 8:4 Rec. d. to receive equivalent to to take upon oneself, sustain, bear, endure: τινα, his bearing and behavior, 2 Cor 11:16 τήν ἀδικίαν, Hebrew נָשָׂא, Gen 50:17; πᾶν, ὁ ἐάν ἐπαχθῇ, Sir. 2:4; μυθον χαλεπόν, Homer, Odyssey 20, 271, and often in Greek writers).
3. to receive, get, (German empfangen): ἐπιστολάς, Acts 22:5; γράμματα, Acts 28:21; τήν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, to become a partaker of the benefits of God's kingdom, Mk 10:15; Lk 18:17; λόγια ζῶντα, Acts 7:38; εὐαγγέλιον, 2 Cor 11:4; τήν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ, 2 Cor 6:1; — equivalent to to learn: Phm 4:18 ((?) see the commentaries at the passage).
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 4 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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