Greek word · G2026

ἐποικοδομέω

epoikodomeō

to build up/upon

To build on top of something already there; figuratively, to build up or strengthen. It belongs to the oik- word family (oikos, "house").

Appears 7 times in 6 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 24, 2026

What it means

ἐπ-οικοδομέω, -ῶ

in NT, always metaphorically, of the spiritual life regarded as a building (Cremer, 449);

2. to build up: Colossians 2:7, 1 Peter 2:5 (T, οἰκοδ- WH, Rec.), Jude 1:20.†

(AS)

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

Range of meaning: To build on top of something already there; figuratively, to build up or strengthen. It belongs to the oik- word family (oikos, "house").
Against the English: KJV "are built" reads like a present state. BSB "built" and WEB/YLT "being built" are close. None quite catches the aorist passive, "having been built upon," which presents this as an act God has already done.
Used elsewhere in the period: 1 Corinthians 3:10–14 (each one builds on the foundation), Colossians 2:7 (rooted and built up in him), Jude 20. In Ephesians 2:19–22 it is one link in a deliberate run of oik- words: paroikoi ("resident aliens," literally "beside-the-house people"), oikeioi ("household members"), epoikodomēthentes ("built upon"), oikodomē ("building," v. 21), synoikodomeisthe ("being built together," v. 22).

Range of meaning: To build on top of something, to add to an existing structure. In figurative use, to build up or strengthen a community or a person.
Against the English: English versions render it fairly ('builds on it', 'buildeth thereon'). Readers can lose the sense that the present tense describes work still going on at Corinth.
Used elsewhere in the period: Used again in vv. 12 and 14, and in Col 2:7 and Eph 2:20 ('built upon'). Related to Paul's frequent word oikodomē, 'building up' the community (1 Cor 14:3–5, 12, 26).

Range of meaning: Literally 'to build on top of': to add a storey, extend a wall upward, or build on a foundation already in place. Used figuratively of building up a community or a person on a given basis (BDAG: 'build on something').
Against the English: 'Build on' is accurate. The risk is not the word but what readers picture being built: today 'build on' is often heard as building one's personal life or character.
How it drifted: Devotional language ('build your life on Christ', often blended with the wise and foolish builders of Matt 7:24–27) moved the building image from the community to the individual. In 1 Corinthians the building is the congregation itself: 'you are God's building' (3:9), 'you are God's temple' (3:16).
Used elsewhere in the period: Used in classical Greek (e.g. Thucydides, Xenophon) of building on top of existing structures. In the New Testament: Eph 2:20 (built upon the foundation of apostles and prophets), Col 2:7, Jude 20. Paul uses it four times in this passage (3:10 twice, 3:12, 3:14). The related noun oikodomē ('building up') becomes a key word later in the letter: 'love builds up' (8:1), and everything in worship is to build up the church (14:26).

1 Corinthians · 4

1 Corinthians 3:10 ἐποικοδομεῖ. ἐποικοδομεῖ. is building upon [it]., he builds upon [it].

By the grace God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is building on it. But each one must be careful how he builds.

Here: 'Is building on top of it', in the present tense. The work goes on after the founder has left, and it rests on what he laid.
1 Corinthians 3:12 ἐποικοδομεῖ builds

If anyone builds on this foundation using gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw,

Here: Present tense: 'is building on'. The building work is going on now. The 'epi-' (upon) prefix pictures the walls and roof rising on a foundation already laid by someone else (Paul, v. 10).
1 Corinthians 3:14 ἐποικοδόμησεν, he built up,

If what he has built survives, he will receive a reward.

Here: 'He built on top'. The prefix epi- ('upon') assumes a foundation is already there, the one Paul laid, which is Jesus Christ (verses 10–12). The builder did not lay the foundation, only what stands on it.

Ephesians · 1

Ephesians 2:20 ἐποικοδομηθέντες having been built

built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus Himself as the cornerstone.

Here: An aorist passive participle: "having been built upon." It points to something already done, and done to them, by God as the unnamed builder. It continues the house-words of v. 19 (oikeioi, "household members"): the people of the household are now the house itself.

Colossians · 1

Colossians 2:7 ἐποικοδομούμενοι being built up

rooted and built up in Him, established in the faith as you were taught, and overflowing with thankfulness.

Here: Present passive participle: 'being built on' as an ongoing process. The prefix ἐπι- ('upon') pictures courses of stone rising on a foundation already laid.

Jude · 1

Jude 1:20 ἐποικοδομοῦντες building up

But you, beloved, by building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit,

Here: A building word: put up a structure on a foundation that is already laid. The present tense pictures ongoing construction. It is a participle (an "-ing" form) attached to the command "keep yourselves" in v. 21.

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