Greek word · G3661

ὁμοθυμαδόν

homothymadon

united

'With one mind or passion, unanimously, all together.' It can stress inner agreement or simply that people acted together at the same time.

Appears 11 times in 11 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ὁμοθυμαδόν

(ὁμός, θυμός), [in LXX for יַחַד (frequently in Jb), Wisdom of Solomon 10:20 18:5, 12, al. ;]

with one mind, with one accord: Acts 1:14 2:46 4:24 5:12 7:57 8:6 12:20 15:25 18:12 19:29, Romans 15:6 (Hatch, Essays, 63 f., argues that the un-cl. sense together, which is found in Job 3:18 38:33, Numbers 24:24, Wisdom of Solomon 18:5, 12 (but not Wisdom of Solomon 10:20), al., should be attached to the NT instances, but see Abbott, Essays, 96; MM, xviii).†

(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 Acts 12:20

Range of meaning

'With one mind or passion, unanimously, all together.' It can stress inner agreement or simply that people acted together at the same time.

Against the English

KJV/WEB/YLT 'with one accord' keep the sense of a shared purpose. BSB 'convened' and NIV 'joined together' bring out the joint action but lose some of the sense of shared feeling.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in the Septuagint and in classical and Hellenistic Greek. It is a favourite word of Luke: 10 of its 11 New Testament uses are in Acts (1:14; 2:46; 4:24; 5:12; 7:57; 8:6; 12:20; 15:25; 18:12; 19:29). The other is Romans 15:6.

From the study of Acts 18:12

Range of meaning

Literally 'with one thymos': one passion or one impulse. It covers 'unanimously', 'with one mind' and simply 'all together'.

Against the English

'With one accord' (KJV, WEB, NASB) keeps the old flavour. 'United attack' (ESV, NIV) and 'coordinated' (BSB) fold the word into the verb. Readers who know Acts 1–2 may not notice that the same word appears in both places.

Used elsewhere in the period

It is common in classical and Hellenistic Greek, and the Septuagint uses it for 'together'. Ten of its eleven New Testament uses are in Acts. Luke uses it for the praying and worshipping church (1:14; 2:46; 4:24; 5:12; 15:25) and also for hostile crowds: the mob that stones Stephen (7:57) and the Ephesian crowd rushing to the theatre (19:29).

From the study of Acts 1:14

Range of meaning

From homos, "same", and thymos, "passion, impulse, spirit". In Classical Greek: "with one mind, with one impulse", acting as a single body. In later Greek and the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation of the Hebrew Bible) it often means little more than "together" or "all at once".

Against the English

KJV/BSB/WEB "with one accord" and NASB "with one mind" stress inner agreement. NIV "joined together" stresses being in one place. NLT spreads it across "met together" and "united".

How it drifted

"One accord" now sounds archaic and in church use often carries the sense of perfect emotional harmony. The Greek can mean that, but Luke also uses it of mobs rushing together, so the core idea is a group moving as one.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint it often stands for Hebrew yaḥdāw, "together". Edwin Hatch argued that in the Septuagint it had largely weakened to "together". The New Testament has it 11 times, 10 of them in Acts (1:14; 2:46; 4:24; 5:12; 7:57; 8:6; 12:20; 15:25; 18:12; 19:29) and once in Romans 15:6. Some of these are hostile crowds acting all at once: the mob rushing Stephen (7:57), the Jews attacking Paul in Corinth (18:12), the Ephesian riot (19:29). There the sense is a single, simultaneous movement, not friendly agreement.

Where it appears

Acts · 10

  1. Acts 1:14 ὁμοθυμαδὸν with one accord

    With one accord they all continued in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.

    Here: Literally "with one passion or impulse". Here it pictures a group acting as one body, together and with a shared purpose. It is the first of Luke's ten uses of the word in Acts.

  2. Acts 2:46 ὁμοθυμαδὸν with one accord

    With one accord they continued to meet daily in the temple courts and to break bread from house to house, sharing their meals with gladness and sincerity of heart,

    Here: 'With one passion or purpose', and also simply 'together, as a group'. It is a favourite word of Luke's for the unity of the first believers.

  3. Acts 4:24 ὁμοθυμαδὸν with one accord

    When the believers heard this, they lifted up their voices to God with one accord. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “You made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them.

    Here: The group acted as one body with a single impulse. Luke uses the word for groups that act as a single unit, believing or hostile, so it stresses that they acted together. It is not a special word for spiritual harmony.

  4. Acts 5:12 ὁμοθυμαδὸν with one accord

    The apostles performed many signs and wonders among the people, and with one accord the believers gathered together in Solomon’s Colonnade.

    Here: Literally 'with one thumos', one passion or impulse. Luke's signature word for the community's unity of purpose. It may also simply mean 'all together' (see debates).

  5. Acts 7:57 ὁμοθυμαδὸν with one accord

    At this they covered their ears, cried out in a loud voice, and rushed together at him.

    Here: Everyone moves together as one body. Here it describes a mob's single-minded fury, not spiritual harmony.

  6. Acts 8:6 ὁμοθυμαδὸν with one accord

    The crowds all paid close attention to Philip’s message and to the signs they saw him perform.

  7. Acts 12:20 ὁμοθυμαδὸν with one accord

    Now Herod was in a furious dispute with the people of Tyre and Sidon, and they convened before him. Having secured the support of Blastus, the king’s chamberlain, they asked for peace, because their region depended on the king’s country for food.

    Here: The two cities act with one mind and come as a single united delegation. It shares the root thymos ('passion') with thymomachōn, so the two words echo each other: Herod's passion is turned against them, and their own passion is united in seeking terms.

  8. Acts 15:25 ὁμοθυμαδὸν with one accord

    So we all agreed to choose men to send to you along with our beloved Barnabas and Paul,

  9. Acts 18:12 ὁμοθυμαδὸν with one accord

    While Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews coordinated an attack on Paul and brought him before the judgment seat.

    Here: 'With one passion, all together.' Luke's favourite word for the unity of the first believers is used here for a united front against Paul.

  10. Acts 19:29 ὁμοθυμαδὸν with one accord

    Soon the whole city was in disarray. They rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.

    Here: All at once, en masse, with one impulse. Here it describes a mob moving as one body, not spiritual harmony.

Romans · 1

  1. Romans 15:6 ὁμοθυμαδὸν with one accord

    so that with one mind and one voice you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.

    Here: Literally 'with one *thymos*' (one heart, one passion). It pictures a group acting together with a single will. Here it describes how divided house churches should praise: as one body, not as rival groups.

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