Greek word · G3353

μέτοχος

metochos

partaker

Sharer, participant, partner: someone who has a share in something along with others. In papyri it is used for business partners and co-holders of a contract. In Luke 5:7 it means fishing partners.

Appears 6 times in 6 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

μέτοχος, -ον

(μετέχω), [in LXX chiefly for חָבֵר ;]

1. sharing in, partaking of: with genitive of thing(s), Hebrews 3:1 6:4 12:8; τ. Χριστοῦ, Hebrews 3:14.

2. As subst., ὁ μ., a partner, associate: Luke 5:7, Hebrews 1:9" (LXX)

(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 Hebrews 1:9

Range of meaning

Sharer, participant, partner: someone who has a share in something along with others. In papyri it is used for business partners and co-holders of a contract. In Luke 5:7 it means fishing partners.

Against the English

"Companions" (BSB, NIV, ESV, NASB) and "fellows" (KJV, WEB) sound like friends or peers. "Partners" (YLT) is closer to the root sense of sharing in something. KJV's "fellows" can now sound like simply "men."

Used elsewhere in the period

Ps 44[45]:8 LXX translates Hebrew ḥaverim, "associates, comrades." Hebrews uses μέτοχος five times, more than the rest of the NT: 1:9; 3:1 ("partakers of a heavenly calling"); 3:14 ("we have become partners of Christ"); 6:4 ("partakers of the Holy Spirit"); 12:8 (sharers in discipline).

From the study of Hebrews 3:1

Range of meaning

A sharer or participant, someone who holds a share together with others. That covers business partners, companions, associates, and 'sharers' in an experience.

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'partakers' is accurate but archaic. BSB/NIV 'who share in' is good. NLT turns it into 'partners with those called to heaven', which shifts the partnership onto fellow believers rather than the calling itself.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke 5:7: the fishermen's 'partners' in the other boat. LXX Ps 44:8 (Eng. 45:7), quoted at Heb 1:9: God anointed the king 'above your companions (metochous)'. Moulton–Milligan cite business partnerships in the papyri. Hebrews uses it again at 3:14, 6:4 and 12:8.

From the study of Hebrews 3:14

Range of meaning

Someone who has a share in something together with others: a sharer, participant, partner, associate or companion. It can be used with the thing shared ('sharers in a calling') or with a person ('partners/companions of someone').

Against the English

KJV, WEB and NASB say 'partakers', and BSB, NIV and ESV say 'come to share in'. Both are fair. 'Partakers' sounds archaic and passive, and 'share in' can suggest only a mystical union. Neither brings out the sense of being a partner or member of someone's company, which the word can also carry.

How it drifted

'Partaker' has become church vocabulary, mostly heard in connection with communion ('partaking'). That pushes the word toward receiving something rather than belonging to a shared company or enterprise.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke 5:7 uses it of Peter's fishing partners in the other boat. Papyri use it of business partners and co-holders of property (Moulton & Milligan). In the LXX, Psalm 44:8 (= 45:7) says God anointed the King 'above your companions (metochous)', and Hebrews quotes this line in 1:9. Hebrews also uses the word in 3:1 ('sharers in a heavenly calling'), 6:4 ('sharers in the Holy Spirit') and 12:8 (sharers in discipline).

Similar words

Where it appears

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 5:7 μετόχοις partners

    So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.

Hebrews · 5

  1. Hebrews 1:9 μετόχους companions

    You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, Your God, has anointed You above Your companions with the oil of joy.”

    Here: "Partners, sharers." In the psalm these are the king's fellows: other princes or members of the court. In Hebrews the word comes back for believers ("partners of Christ," 3:14), so it carries more than "friends" or "peers."

  2. Hebrews 3:1 μέτοχοι, partakers,

    Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, set your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.

    Here: People who hold a share in something together with others, as business partners do. The same word called the anointed king's 'companions' in 1:9 and comes back in 3:14 ('we have become partners of Christ, if we hold firm').

  3. Hebrews 3:14 μέτοχοι Partakers

    We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first.

    Here: Placed first for emphasis: 'partners' is what the hearers are. The word means people who share something with others, and was used of business partners and companions. Hebrews has already used it of the King's 'companions' (1:9) and of believers as 'sharers in a heavenly calling' (3:1).

  4. Hebrews 6:4 μετόχους partakers

    It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, who have shared in the Holy Spirit,

    Here: A partner or co-sharer, the word for business partners in Luke 5:7. Hebrews uses it for those who share in a heavenly calling (3:1) and in Christ (3:14, "if we hold firm"). They had a real share in the Spirit.

  5. Hebrews 12:8 μέτοχοι partakers

    If you do not experience discipline like everyone else, then you are illegitimate children and not true sons.

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