Greek word · G3614
οἰκία
oikia
home
A house as a building, a household (family members, servants and dependants), and the property and line of a family. It overlaps heavily with oikos.
Appears 93 times in 84 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
οἰκία, -ας, ἡ
(οἶκος), [in LXX chiefly (very freq.) for בַּיִת ;]
a house, dwelling: Matthew 2:11 7:24-27, Mark 1:29, al.; ἐν οἰκίᾳ (= cl. κατ ̓ οἰκίαν), at home, Luke 8:27; εἰς οἰ., 2 John 1:10; οἰ, with genitive of person(s), usually has the art. (Matthew 8:14, al., but cf. οἶκος and see Bl., § 46, 9); ἡ οἰ. τ. πατρός μου, John 14:2.
Metaphorical,
(a) of the body as the dwelling of the soul: 2 Corinthians 5:1;
(b) of property (as בַּיִת, Genesis 45:18, LXX, τ. υπάρχοντα; 1 Kings 13:8, LXX, οἶκος) = οἶκος (which see): Mark 12:40, Luke 20:47;
(with) of the inmates of the dwelling, the household: Matthew 12:25; with genitive of person(s), John 4:53, 1 Corinthians 16:15
SYN.: οἶκος, which in Attic law denoted the whole estate, οἰκία, the dwelling only. In cl. poets οἶκος has also the latter sense, but not in prose, except in metaphorically usage, where it signifies both property and household. The foregoing distinction is not, however, consistently maintained in late Greek; cf. MM, ii, xvii, and see Thayer, see word οἰκία (AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
A house as a building, a household (family members, servants and dependants), and the property and line of a family. It overlaps heavily with oikos.
- Against the English
'House' is accurate, but a modern reader pictures a single-family home. An ancient house with 'many rooms' was an extended-family compound: married sons, their wives and children, and servants, all living under the father's authority. NLT's 'home' brings out the warmth but loses the building image that 'many rooms' depends on.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In John: 4:53 (the official 'and his whole household', oikia = family); 8:35 (the son, unlike the slave, 'remains in the house' forever); 11:31 and 12:3 (houses as places of mourning and of hospitality). 'My Father's house' in 2:16 (using oikos) is the Jerusalem Temple, and Luke 2:49 probably means the Temple too. Philo and Jewish writers could call heaven God's house or palace.
From the study of Sirach 26:16
- Range of meaning
House, dwelling. Also household: the people, property and work of a family, including servants and dependants.
- Against the English
'House' (Brenton, KJV) and 'home' (WEB, NRSV). 'Home' suggests a private family refuge. The ancient household was also where things were made and stored.
- How it drifted
In modern English, 'home' has come to mean a private, emotional space apart from the economy. That is a modern picture. In Ben Sira's world the household was where food, cloth and wealth were produced and managed.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Proverbs 31:10–31, the 'woman of strength' who runs a busy household, is the clear background to Sirach 26:1–4 and 26:13–18. Sirach 26:13 praises the wife whose skill 'puts fat on [her husband's] bones'.
From the study of 1 Corinthians 16:15
- Range of meaning
A house as a building. A household: family members, slaves, freed slaves and clients under one head. It can also mean a family line.
- Against the English
'House' (KJV) can sound like just a building. 'Household' is better. BSB's 'Stephanas and his household' makes it clear that people are meant.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Compare 1:16 ('the household of Stephanas'), Acts 16:15 and 31–34 (Lydia and the jailer, whose households were baptised), and the Greco-Roman household codes.
Where it appears
Matthew · 25
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Mark · 18
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Luke · 24
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John · 5
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Acts · 12
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1 Corinthians · 2
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2 Corinthians · 2
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Philippians · 1
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1 Timothy · 1
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2 Timothy · 2
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2 John · 1
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Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.