Greek word · G1317

διδακτικός

didaktikos

able to teach

Able to teach, skilled in teaching, apt for instruction. It is a rare word before the NT (it appears in Philo).

Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 23, 2026

What it means

διδακτικός, -ή, -όν

(= cl. διδασκαλικός)

apt at teaching: 1 Timothy 3:2, 2 Timothy 2:24.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: Able to teach, skilled in teaching, apt for instruction. It is a rare word before the NT (it appears in Philo).
Against the English: 'Able to teach' (BSB, ESV, NASB, NIV) and KJV 'apt to teach' are accurate. KJV's 'apt' means 'fit, capable,' not 'inclined.'
Used elsewhere in the period: In the NT only here and 2 Tim 2:24, where the Lord's servant must be 'able to teach, patient,' correcting opponents gently. Titus 1:9 spells it out: the overseer must hold to the trustworthy word so he can encourage with sound teaching and refute those who contradict it.

Range of meaning: Skilled in teaching, able to instruct. The word is about competence and fitness for the task, not eagerness to lecture.
Against the English: KJV "apt to teach" used "apt" in its older sense of "fit, skilled". Modern readers may hear "inclined or likely to teach". BSB, WEB, NIV, ESV and NASB all have "able to teach", which is accurate.
How it drifted: "Apt" now mostly means "likely to" ("apt to forget") or "appropriate", so the older sense of "skilled" has faded.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the New Testament only here and 1 Tim 3:2, where it is a qualification for an overseer (dei … didaktikon). The parallel suggests 2:24 has church leadership in view. The word is rare before the New Testament; it appears in Philo in connection with learning virtue by instruction.

1 Timothy · 1

1 Timothy 3:2 διδακτικόν, able to teach,

An overseer, then, must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach,

Here: Capable of teaching. This is the one item on the list that is a skill for the role, not only a trait of character. It matters because false teaching was troubling Ephesus (1:3–7).

2 Timothy · 1

2 Timothy 2:24 διδακτικόν, able to teach,

And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing.

Here: Able to teach, competent at explaining the truth. The answer to error is instruction, not combat.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.