Greek word · G2130
εὐμετάδοτος
eumetadotos
generous
Ready to share, giving freely, generous. Built from eu ('well, easily') + metadidōmi ('to give a share of, impart'). The idea is a person who gives a portion of what they have readily and without resistance.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
εὐ-μετά-δοτος, -ον
(εὖ, μεταδιδωμι),
ready to impart: assoc. with κοινωνικός (for the distinction between the two, see Field, Notes, 213; CGT, in l), 1 Timothy 6:18.†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
From the study of 1 Timothy 6:18
- Range of meaning
Ready to share, giving freely, generous. Built from eu ('well, easily') + metadidōmi ('to give a share of, impart'). The idea is a person who gives a portion of what they have readily and without resistance.
- Against the English
KJV 'ready to distribute' and YLT 'ready to impart' catch the 'readily' element. BSB/ESV/NASB 'generous' gives the sense but loses the picture of handing over a share. 'Distribute' can sound like an official handing out supplies; the Greek describes a personal disposition.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Found only here in the New Testament and not in the Septuagint. BDAG cites it from later Greek writers such as Marcus Aurelius (Meditations 1.14) and the astrologer Vettius Valens, where it describes a liberal, open-handed character. The related verb metadidōmi is used in Luke 3:11 ('whoever has two tunics, let him share') and Rom 12:8 ('the one who gives, with generosity').
Where it appears
1 Timothy · 1
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1 Timothy 6:18 εὐμεταδότους generous in distributing
Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share,
Here: Literally 'giving a share well/readily' (eu 'well' + metadidōmi 'give a share'). It describes people who part with what they have easily and without reluctance. Found only here in the New Testament.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.