Greek word · G2843
κοινωνικός
koinōnikos
generous
In Greek ethics, 'disposed to partnership or common life, sociable, community-minded'. In contexts about property it means 'willing to share, liberal'. From the koinōn- family: koinos (common), koinōnia (partnership, fellowship, sharing), koinōneō (to share in, contribute).
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
κοινωνικός, -ή, -όν
(κοινωνία),
1. sociable.
2. ready to communicate or impart (R, mg., ready to sympathize, see Field, Notes, 213 f.): 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
In Greek ethics, 'disposed to partnership or common life, sociable, community-minded'. In contexts about property it means 'willing to share, liberal'. From the koinōn- family: koinos (common), koinōnia (partnership, fellowship, sharing), koinōneō (to share in, contribute).
- Against the English
BSB/ESV/NASB 'ready to share' and NIV 'willing to share' give the main sense. KJV 'willing to communicate' meant exactly this in 1611, but most modern readers hear it as 'willing to talk'. No single English word carries both the sharing of goods and the partnership/fellowship side of the word.
- How it drifted
English 'communicate' (from Latin communicare, 'to make common, share') once meant 'to share goods'. Over later centuries it narrowed to 'pass on information', so the KJV wording now misleads.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Found only here in the New Testament. In Aristotle and later moral philosophers (including Marcus Aurelius) it describes the human being as a creature made for common life. Elsewhere Paul uses koinōnia and koinōneō for financial sharing: the collection for Jerusalem (Rom 15:26; 2 Cor 8:4; 9:13) and supporting teachers (Gal 6:6). Hebrews 13:16 pairs 'doing good and koinōnia' as sacrifices pleasing to God.
Similar words
Where it appears
1 Timothy · 1
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1 Timothy 6:18 κοινωνικούς, ready to share,
Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, and to be generous and ready to share,
Here: From the koinōn- family (common, partnership, fellowship): disposed to hold things in common and share them with others. It carries a sense of partnership and community, not only handing out money. Found only here in the New Testament.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.