Greek word · G1430

δῶμα

dōma

housetop

House, but in the New Testament always the roof, the flat housetop of a Near Eastern dwelling (BDAG).

Appears 7 times in 7 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 31, 2026

What it means

δῶμα, -τος, τό

(δέμω, to build), [in LXX for גָּג ;]

chiefly in poets and late (not Attic) prose;

1. a house, hall.

2. In LXX (and Hom., Od., x, 554; cf. MGr., terrace), house-top: ἐπὶ τ. δῶμα, Luke 5:19, Acts 10:9; ἐπὶ τ. δώματος, -άτων, Matthew 10:27 24:17, Mark 13:15, Luke 12:3 17:31.†

(AS)

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

Range of meaning: House, but in the New Testament always the roof, the flat housetop of a Near Eastern dwelling (BDAG).
Against the English: "Housetops" or "rooftops" can suggest a modern pitched roof that nobody climbs, which makes "shout it from the rooftops" sound like pure exaggeration. A first-century flat roof was ordinary space that people used every day.
How it drifted: Northern European and modern architecture changed what readers picture when they hear "roof".
Used elsewhere in the period: Roofs of beams, brush and packed clay were reached by an outside stair or ladder (Mark 2:4; Mark 13:15). Deut 22:8 requires a parapet so that no one falls. Rahab hid the spies on her roof (Josh 2:6). Saul slept on a roof (1 Sam 9:25–26), David walked on one (2 Sam 11:2), and Peter prayed on one (Acts 10:9). People mourned on housetops (Isa 15:3; Jer 48:38) and climbed them to watch events (Isa 22:1). Later rabbinic tradition describes the synagogue attendant sounding the shofar from a high roof to announce the Sabbath (cf. b. Shabbat 35b).

Range of meaning: In older Greek, 'house' or 'room/chamber'. In the Septuagint (the Greek Old Testament) and the New Testament it regularly means the flat roof of a house, translating Hebrew gag. The roof was living space: produce was dried there, people slept there in hot weather, built booths there at the Feast of Tabernacles, talked privately, and sometimes worshipped there.
Against the English: KJV/ESV/NASB 'housetop' and BSB/NIV 'roof' are both correct. But a modern reader tends to picture a sloped roof you would only climb onto for repairs. NLT's 'flat roof' gets the picture right.
How it drifted: Western roofs are pitched and unused, so 'went up on the roof' sounds odd or risky to modern ears. In the ancient Levant it was as ordinary as going out to the patio.
Used elsewhere in the period: LXX: Deut 22:8 (a parapet required around the roof so no one falls); Josh 2:6 (Rahab hides the spies among flax drying on the roof); 1 Sam 9:25–26 (Samuel talks with Saul on the roof, and Saul sleeps there); 2 Sam 11:2 (David walking on the palace roof); Neh 8:16 (booths built on roofs). Roof worship is also condemned when directed to other gods (Jer 19:13; Zeph 1:5). NT: Luke 5:19; 12:3; 17:31; Matt 24:17.

Range of meaning: Originally 'house, building' in older Greek. In Hellenistic and biblical Greek it usually means the flat roof or roof terrace of a house (BDAG s.v. δῶμα).
Against the English: 'Housetop' (KJV, BSB, WEB) is accurate but old-fashioned. Modern readers picture a sloping, tiled roof nobody stands on, so the scene seems odd or dangerous.
How it drifted: The word did not change. What changed is the reader's architecture: Western roofs are not living spaces.
Used elsewhere in the period: In the Greek Old Testament it translates Hebrew gag, 'roof': Rahab hides the spies on the roof (Josh 2:6), David walks on the palace roof (2 Sam 11:2), and booths are built on roofs (Neh 8:16). In the NT, Peter prays on the roof (Acts 10:9) and 'proclaim on the housetops' (Matt 10:27; Luke 12:3). Deut 22:8 requires a parapet because people walked there.

Matthew · 2

Matthew 10:27 δωμάτων. housetops!

What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops.

Here: The flat roofs of Palestinian houses, which people used as everyday living space. A voice raised there carried over the whole village, so the roof was the most public place a household had.
Matthew 24:17 δώματος housetop

Let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve anything from his house.

Mark · 1

Mark 13:15 δώματος housetop

Let no one on the housetop go back inside to retrieve anything from his house.

Luke · 3

Luke 5:19 δῶμα housetop

but they could not find a way through the crowd. So they went up on the roof and lowered him on his mat through the tiles into the middle of the crowd, right in front of Jesus.
Luke 12:3 δωμάτων.¶ housetops.

What you have spoken in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the housetops.
Luke 17:31 δώματος housetop

On that day, let no one on the housetop come down to retrieve his possessions. Likewise, let no one in the field return for anything he has left behind.

Here: The flat roof of a Palestinian house. It was a working and living space reached by an outside stair, used for drying produce, sleeping, prayer and talk. Someone up there could get down to the street without passing through the house.

Acts · 1

Acts 10:9 δῶμα housetop

The next day at about the sixth hour, as the men were approaching the city on their journey, Peter went up on the roof to pray.

Here: The flat, walkable roof of a Levantine house, used as an extra room for work, sleeping, and quiet. It gave Peter privacy and open air, and an open sky for the vision that follows.

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