Word study
Welcome
4 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: welcomed, welcome, welcomes, welcoming. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “welcome” or one of its forms.
Compare the Greek words side by side
Greek words (New Testament)
- δέχομαι déchomaiI take, receive, accept, welcometranslated this way 25 times of its 56 uses · Strong’s G1209Verb · Translated: welcomes 10, welcome 9, receives 6, receive 6Full study and all 45 verses →
Matthew 10:14 And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.
Mark 6:11 If anyone will not welcome you or listen to you, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that place, as a testimony against them.”
- ἀποδέχομαι apodéchomaiI receive, welcome, entertaintranslated this way 5 times of its 7 uses · Strong’s G588Verb · Translated: welcomed 3, embraced 1, welcome 1, acknowledge 1Full study and all 7 verses →
Luke 8:40 When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him.
Acts 18:27 When Apollos resolved to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On his arrival, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.
- ὑποδέχομαι hypodéchomaiI receive as a guesttranslated this way 4 times of its 4 uses · Strong’s G5264Verb · Translated: welcomed 3, welcomed them into his home 1Full study and all 4 verses →
Luke 10:38 As they traveled along, Jesus entered a village where a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home.
Acts 17:7 and Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, named Jesus!”
- προσδέχομαι prosdéchomaiI expect, welcome, accepttranslated this way 3 times of its 14 uses · Strong’s G4327Verb · Translated: waiting 5, Welcome 2, await 2Full study and all 14 verses →
Luke 15:2 So the Pharisees and scribes began to grumble: “This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.”
Romans 16:2 Welcome her in the Lord in a manner worthy of the saints, and assist her with anything she may need from you. For she has been a great help to many people, including me.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Short definition: Dodson Greek Lexicon (2010, public domain). Full entry: G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922, public domain). Strong’s Greek Dictionary (1890) in the edition by Ulrik Sandborg-Petersen (CC0). These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.