οἰκοδομέω
oikodoméō · G3618 · Greek · 41 occurrences
Meanings
-
to build, to construct
To make or erect any kind of construction
ExamplesMatthew 7:24 “Therefore, everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.
Matthew 7:26 “And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not act on them, will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.
Matthew 16:18 “And I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it.
-
to strengthen, to make more able, to build up
To increase the potential of someone or something, with focus upon the process involved
ExamplesActs 9:31 So the church throughout Judea, Galilee, and Samaria enjoyed peace, as it was being built up; and as it continued in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy Spirit, it kept increasing.
1 Corinthians 8:1 Now concerning food sacrificed to idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge makes one conceited, but love edifies people.
1 Corinthians 8:10 For if someone sees you, the one who has knowledge, dining in an idol’s temple, will his conscience, if he is weak, not be strengthened to eat things sacrificed to idols?
How it’s used In 9 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
40 occurrences in 20 groups
- Not stated (participle) 8
- Not stated: I 5
- Not stated: you (more than one) 4
- αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 3
- Not stated (infinitive) 3
- Other words · 15 groups that occur once or twice (17) 17
What it acts on, or what is saidObject
20 occurrences in 13 groups
- οἰκίαhouse, home, dwelling 4
- πύργοςtower 3
- Other words · 11 groups that occur once or twice (13) 13
To or for whomIndirect object
3 occurrences in 2 groups
- ἐγώI, we 2
- αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 1
With prepositionsPrepositional phrases
13 occurrences in 13 groups
- Other words · 13 groups that occur once or twice (16) 16
With adverbsAdverbs
4 occurrences in 3 groups
- οὐnot 2
- καλῶςwell, rightly 1
- πάλινagain, and, also 1
Named alongside itApposition
3 occurrences in 2 groups
- ἀνήρman, husband 2
- ὄροςmountain 1
What it doesIt is the subject
4 occurrences in 1 groups
- ἀποδοκιμάζωto regard as not worthy 4
What is done to itIt is the object
9 occurrences in 6 groups
- λέγωto say 3
- δύναμαιcan 2
- ἔπωto say 1
- θέλωto want, to wish, to desire 1
- λαλέωto speak 1
- φιλοτιμέομαιto aspire to 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
1 occurrences in 1 groups
- διάthrough 2
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.
Near synonyms 1 word
- κατασκευάζω kataskeuázō · G2680 · to prepare, to make ready, to build
- Both verbs converge in the sense of physical construction or building. οἰκοδομέω centers on building or edification, while κατασκευάζω emphasizes thorough preparation, with construction as one of its applications.
In the other Testament 2 words
- בָּנָה bânâh · H1129 · to build, to rebuild, to establish
- Hebrew בָּנָה (bânâh, H1129) is the standard Old Testament verb for physical and metaphorical building that Greek οἰκοδομέω (oikodoméō, G3618) translates in the Septuagint; both denote literal construction of structures and figurative edification or establishment, making them direct cross-linguistic translation equivalents with overlapping semantic ranges across physical and metaphorical domains.
- בְּנָא bᵉnâʼ · H1124 · build, make
- οἰκοδομέω (oikodoméō, G3618) οἰκοδομέω is the standard Greek rendering of Aramaic בְּנָא (bᵉnâʼ, H1124) בְּנָא in its literal construction sense ('build'), sharing the core semantic domain of physical building and architectural construction.
Semantic domains 3 entries
- To build, to construct45.1
- Concluding the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 7:24 states “everyone who hears these words of Mine, and acts on them, will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock,” where “built” renders this verb for physical construction.
- To strengthen, to make more able, to build up74.15
- Contrasting spiritual gifts, 1 Corinthians 14:4 states “The one who speaks in a tongue edifies himself; but the one who prophesies edifies the church,” where “edifies” renders this same verb, here in its figurative sense of strengthening believers rather than constructing a physical building.
- Builder45.7
- Citing the Psalms concerning Jesus, Acts 4:11 states “He is the STONE WHICH WAS REJECTED by you, THE BUILDERS, but WHICH BECAME THE CHIEF CORNERSTONE,” where “THE BUILDERS” renders a substantival form of this same verb naming those who construct.
Word family 35 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon οἰκοδομῶ; imperfect ᾠκοδόμουν; future οἰκοδομήσω; 1 aorist ᾠκοδόμησα (ὀικοδόμησα Tr WH in…
a. properly, α. to build (up from the foundation): absolutely, Lk 11:48 G T WH Tr text Lk 14:30; ; οἱ οἰκοδομοῦντες, a substantive, the builders (cf. Winers Grammar, § 45, 7; Buttmann, § 144, 11), Mt 21:42; Mk 12:10; Lk 20:17; Acts 4:11 Rec.; 1 Pet 2:7, from Psalm 117:22 (Ps. 118>); ἐπ' ἀλλότριον θεμέλιον, to build upon a foundation laid by others, i. e. (without a figure) to carry on instruction begun by others, Rom 15:20; οἰκοδομεῖν τί, Gal 2:18; πύργον, Mt 21:33; Mk 12:1; Lk 14:28; ἀποθήκας, Lk 12:18; ναόν, Mk 14:58; passive Jn 2:20 (on the aorist cf. 2 Esdr. 5:16); οἶκον, passive, 1 Pet 2:5 ((here T ἐποικον), cf. Winer's Grammar, 603 (561), and add ὀικούργειν τά κατά τόν οἶκον, Clement of Rome, 1 Cor. 1, 3 [ET]); (οἰκίαν, Lk 6:48 (cf. Winer's Grammar, the passage cited)); συναγωγήν or οἶκον τίνι, for the use of or in honor of one, Lk 7:5; Acts 7:47, Acts 7:49 (Gen 8:20; Ezek 16:24); οἰκίαν ἐπί τί, Mt 7:24, Mt 7:26; Lk 6:49; πόλιν ἐπ' ὄρους, Lk 4:29. β. contextually equivalent to to restore by building, to rebuild, repair: τί, Mt 23:29; Mt 26:61; Mt 27:40; Mk 15:29; Lk 11:47 and R (L brackets Tr marginal reading) in 48.
b. metaphorically, α. equivalent to to found: ἐπί ταύτῃ τῇ πέτρα οἰκοδομήσω μου τήν ἐκκλησίαν, i. e. by reason of the strength of thy faith thou shalt be my principal support in the establishment of my church, Mt 16:18. β. Since both a Christian church and individual Christians are likened to a building or temple in which God or the Holy Spirit dwells (1 Cor 3:9, 1 Cor 3:16ff; 2 Cor 6:16; Eph 2:21), the erection of which temple will not be completely finished till the return of Christ from heaven, those who, by action, instruction, exhortation, comfort, promote the Christian wisdom of others and help them to live a correspondent life are regarded as taking part in the erection of that building, and hence, are said οἰκοδομεῖν, i. e. (dropping the figure) to promote growth in Christian wisdom, affection, grace, virtue, holiness, blessedness: absolutely, Acts 20:32 L T Tr WH; 1 Cor 8:1; 1 Cor 10:23; τινα, ; 1 Thess 5:11; passive to grow in wisdom, piety, etc., Acts 9:31; 1 Cor 14:17; universally, to give one strength and courage, dispose to: εἰς τήν πίστιν, Polycarp, ad Philip. 3, 2 [ET] (yet here to be built up into (in) etc.); even to do what is wrong (A. V. embolden), εἰς τό τά εἰδωλόθυτα ἐσθίειν, 1 Cor 8:10 (cf. Winer's Grammar, § 39, 3 N. 3). This metaphorical use of the verb Paul, in the opinion of Fritzsche (Ep. ad Romans, iii., p. 205f), did not derive from the figure, of building a temple, but from the O. T., where "בָּנָה and הָרַס with an accusative of the person (to build one up and to pull one down) denote to bless and to ruin; to prosper and to injure, anyone"; cf. Ps 27:5; Jer 24:6; Jer 40:7. (Compare: ἀνοικοδομέω, ἐποικοδομέω, συνοικοδομέω.)
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 2 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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