Greek word · G2844

κοινωνός

koinōnos

participant

A partner or co-sharer: a business partner (Luke 5:10, James and John as Simon's partners), a companion, or one who has a share in something. In worship settings, it meant someone who shares in the sacrifice and so is bound to the altar and the deity.

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

κοινωνός, -ή, -όν

(κοινός), [in LXX: Proverbs 28:24, Isaiah 1:23 (חָבֵר), Malachi 2:14 (חֲבֶרֶת), Esther 8:13, al. ;]

1. as adj., = κοινός.

2. As subst., ὁ, ἡ κ.,

(a) a partner, associate, companion: 2 Corinthians 8:23, Phm 17; with dative of person(s), Luke 5:10; with genitive of person(s), Hebrews 10:33; id. before ἐν, Matthew 23:30;

(b) a partaker, sharer: with genitive of thing(s), 1 Corinthians 10:18 10:20, 2 Corinthians 1:7, 1 Peter 5:1, 2 Peter 1:4 (see Deiss., BS, 368 n2).†

(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 Corinthians 10:20

Range of meaning

A partner or co-sharer: a business partner (Luke 5:10, James and John as Simon's partners), a companion, or one who has a share in something. In worship settings, it meant someone who shares in the sacrifice and so is bound to the altar and the deity.

Against the English

BSB, NIV and ESV say 'participants with', NASB 'sharers in', KJV and WEB 'have fellowship with'. In modern church usage, 'fellowship' suggests friendly social contact (a 'fellowship hall', coffee after the service). Paul means a real partnership created by sharing a sacred meal.

How it drifted

'Fellowship' came to mean social gathering in English church life. Paul's koinōnia vocabulary is about a shared stake, and it often has commercial or ritual overtones.

Used elsewhere in the period

Philo (Special Laws 1.221) says the person who offers a sacrifice is made by God a 'partner (koinōnos) of the altar and table-companion'. Very close to Paul. Within this passage: 10:16 (koinōnia of Christ's blood and body) and 10:18 (Israelites as koinōnoi of the altar).

From the study of 2 Peter 1:4

Range of meaning

A partner, companion or sharer: someone who holds something in common with others. It was used for business partners (Luke 5:10, James and John as Simon's partners), sharers in worship at an altar (1 Cor 10:18, 20), sharers in sufferings and comfort (2 Cor 1:7), and sharers in glory (1 Pet 5:1).

Against the English

KJV/ESV/BSB 'partakers' is accurate but old-fashioned. NIV 'participate in' and NLT 'share' are clear. All of them keep the idea of taking part in something without becoming identical to it.

Used elsewhere in the period

The word is common in papyri and inscriptions for commercial and legal partners. The LXX uses it for companions (Isa 1:23, 'companions of thieves'). In Greek philosophy koinōnia with the divine described human kinship with the gods through reason and virtue.

From the study of Hebrews 10:33

Range of meaning

Partner, associate, sharer. Someone who holds something in common with another, whether a business, a lot in life, or a cause. In the papyri it is a standard word for a business partner.

Against the English

KJV 'companions' sounds like friendly company. BSB 'partners' and WEB 'partakers' are better. NIV 'stood side by side with' catches the public solidarity but loses the idea of a shared stake.

How it drifted

Modern 'companion' suggests friendship or keeping someone company, not taking on a common liability.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Luke 5:10 James and John are Simon's κοινωνοί, his fishing partners. Paul calls Titus 'my partner' (2 Cor 8:23) and asks Philemon to receive Onesimus 'if you count me a partner' (Philem 17). The related verb in 10:34 (συνεπαθήσατε, 'you suffered with') carries the same idea.

Similar words

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 23:30 κοινωνοὶ partakers

    And you say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’

    Here: Associates or co-participants. The word is used of business partners and accomplices. They deny they would have been in on it with their ancestors.

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 5:10 κοινωνοὶ partners

    and so were his partners James and John, the sons of Zebedee. “Do not be afraid,” Jesus said to Simon. “From now on you will catch men.”

    Here: Business associates who shared in a common enterprise and its profits. Here it means a fishing partnership or cooperative with Simon's crew.

1 Corinthians · 2

  1. 1 Corinthians 10:18 κοινωνοὶ fellow partakers

    Consider the people of Israel: Are not those who eat the sacrifices fellow partakers in the altar?

    Here: This is the word the argument rests on. It means "partners, co-sharers": people joined in a shared relationship, not just people who happen to eat something. It picks up "sharing" (koinōnia) in 10:16 and is repeated in 10:20, where Paul warns against becoming "partners of demons."

  2. 1 Corinthians 10:20 κοινωνοὺς fellow partakers

    No, but the sacrifices of pagans are offered to demons, not to God. And I do not want you to be participants with demons.

    Here: Partners or co-sharers. It is the same word used in v.18 for Israelites who are 'partners of the altar' by eating sacrifices, and related to the koinōnia ('sharing') in Christ's blood and body in v.16. Eating at a god's meal makes you a partner in that god's worship.

2 Corinthians · 2

  1. 2 Corinthians 1:7 κοινωνοί partners

    And our hope for you is sure, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you will share in our comfort.

    Here: 'Partners, co-sharers'. In everyday Greek this was the word for business partners and co-owners. It means having a real share in something, not just feeling for someone who has it.

  2. 2 Corinthians 8:23 κοινωνὸς [he is] partner

    As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you. As for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ.

Philemon · 1

  1. Philemon 1:17 κοινωνόν, a partner,

    So if you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me.

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 10:33 κοινωνοὶ partners

    Sometimes you were publicly exposed to ridicule and persecution; at other times you were partners with those who were so treated.

    Here: Partners who hold something in common, the word used for business partners. They did more than sympathise from a distance: they joined the abused, publicly sided with them, and took on part of their shame and cost.

1 Peter · 1

  1. 1 Peter 5:1 κοινωνός, a partaker,

    As a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings, and a partaker of the glory to be revealed, I appeal to the elders among you:

    Here: A co-sharer or partner with a real stake — the same word Luke uses for Simon's fishing partners (Luke 5:10). Placed last for emphasis: 'a sharer'.

2 Peter · 1

  1. 2 Peter 1:4 κοινωνοὶ partakers

    Through these He has given us His precious and magnificent promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, now that you have escaped the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

    Here: People who hold something in common with another: business partners, co-sharers. It means sharing in something, not merging into it or becoming identical with it.

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