Greek word · G1493

εἰδωλεῖον

eidōleion

idol's temple

An 'idol-house': a temple or shrine where an image of a god stood, including the dining rooms attached to it. The word appears only here in the NT.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

εἰδώλον (Rec. -εῖον), -ου, τό

(εἴδωλον), [in LXX: Dan LXX 1:2 (בֵּית אוֹצַר אֱלֹהִים), Bel 9, I Esther 2:10, 1Ma.1:47 10:83 * ;]

an idol's temple: 1 Corinthians 8:10 (cf. Ἀσταρτεῖον, 1 Samuel 31:10; see ICC, in I Co, l.with).†

(AS)

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

Range of meaning: An 'idol-house': a temple or shrine where an image of a god stood, including the dining rooms attached to it. The word appears only here in the NT.
Against the English: 'Idol's temple' is accurate. English readers usually do not realize that Greek and Roman temples regularly held banquets, so they picture a believer slipping into a worship service rather than reclining at a dinner party in a god's dining hall.
Used elsewhere in the period: Found in Jewish Greek: 1 Esdras 2:10; 1 Maccabees 1:47 and 10:83 (εἰδώλιον); Bel and the Dragon 10. No pagan would call his own sanctuary this. Archaeology at Corinth has found dining rooms with couches at the Asklepieion and many dining halls at the sanctuary of Demeter and Kore on Acrocorinth. Egyptian papyri preserve invitations such as 'X invites you to dine at the couch of the lord Sarapis in the Sarapeion' (e.g. P.Oxy. 110, 1484).

1 Corinthians · 1

1 Corinthians 8:10 εἰδωλείῳ an idol’s temple

For if someone with a weak conscience sees you who are well informed eating in an idol’s temple, will he not be encouraged to eat food sacrificed to idols?

Here: A Jewish insult-word for a pagan temple, literally 'idol-house'. A pagan would have called it a hieron (sanctuary) or named the god's temple. The word already passes judgment on the place.

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