Greek word · G3858

παραδέχομαι

paradechomai

to welcome

To receive, accept, welcome; to acknowledge something or someone as valid or as one's own (BDAG: 'accept, acknowledge' of teachings or customs; 'receive, accept' of persons). In Acts 15:4 it is used of being formally welcomed by the church.

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

What it means

παρα-δέχομαι

[in LXX: Exodus 23:1 (נָשָׂא), Proverbs 3:12 (רָצָה), 2Ma.4:22 R, 3Ma.7:12 * ;]

to receive, admit;

(a) of things: Mark 4:20, Acts 15:4 16:21 22:18, 1 Timothy 5:19;

(b) of persons: Hebrews 12:6 (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 12:6

Range of meaning

To receive, accept, welcome; to acknowledge something or someone as valid or as one's own (BDAG: 'accept, acknowledge' of teachings or customs; 'receive, accept' of persons). In Acts 15:4 it is used of being formally welcomed by the church.

Against the English

'Receives' (KJV, BSB, WEB) can sound to a modern reader like simply 'gets' or 'welcomes as a guest'. 'Accepts as his son' brings out that this is a father's recognition of a son as his own.

How it drifted

English 'receive' has become passive and weak. The Greek here is the father's active acceptance of a son.

Used elsewhere in the period

In LXX Prov 3:12 it translates Hebrew yirtseh, 'he takes pleasure in, accepts favourably'. The same verb family is used of God accepting a sacrifice. Hebrews 12:8 follows directly with the contrast between legitimate sons and nothoi, illegitimate children, who had no inheritance rights.

From the study of Mark 4:20

Range of meaning

To receive or take to oneself. Used of people, it means to welcome them as guests or members. Used of ideas, customs or messages, it means to accept them, recognise them as valid and adopt them (BDAG). The word suggests settled approval, not just taking something in.

Against the English

KJV/BSB have "receive"; WEB/ESV/NIV/NASB have "accept". "Accept" captures the sense of agreement better. "Receive" can sound passive, and in revival language it can sound like a single moment of decision.

How it drifted

In modern church language, "receiving" the word or Christ often means a one-time decision. Mark uses the present tense, and the rocky-ground hearers also "receive" the word at first (with a different verb, lambanō) and then fall away. So Mark's difference is between a reception that lasts and one that does not.

Used elsewhere in the period

Acts 16:21 (customs "not lawful for us to accept"); Acts 22:18 ("they will not accept your testimony"); Heb 12:6 (God "receives" every son, i.e. acknowledges him as his own); 1 Tim 5:19. In secular Greek and the papyri it is used for accepting an argument or a person.

From the study of 1 Timothy 5:19

Range of meaning

To receive or welcome someone. With things such as a message, custom or testimony, it means to accept or acknowledge as valid.

Against the English

BSB, NIV and ESV have "entertain". NLT has "listen to". KJV and WEB have "receive". "Entertain" and "listen to" can sound as if a complaint must not even be heard. The Greek is about accepting a charge as established and acting on it.

How it drifted

Modern English "entertain" (to consider) and "listen to" are weaker than the Greek sense of accepting something as true or valid.

Used elsewhere in the period

Mark 4:20 ("hear the word and accept it"); Acts 16:21 (customs "not lawful for us to accept"); Acts 22:18 ("they will not accept your testimony"); Heb 12:6 (every son whom he "receives").

Where it appears

Mark · 1

  1. Mark 4:20 παραδέχονται receive [it]

    Still others are like the seeds sown on good soil. They hear the word, receive it, and produce a crop—thirtyfold, sixtyfold, or a hundredfold.”

    Here: "Welcome it, accept it as their own" (present tense: they go on doing so). Mark uses a stronger and more settled word than the rocky ground's "receive with joy" (lambanō, v. 16), where the joy fades.

Acts · 3

  1. Acts 15:4 παρεδέχθησαν they were received

    On their arrival in Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and apostles and elders, to whom they reported all that God had done through them.

    Here: 'They were welcomed.' This is more than being let in. It means being taken in as guests and accepted as delegates. The passive puts the community in Jerusalem in the active role of host.

  2. Acts 16:21 παραδέχεσθαι to accept

    by promoting customs that are unlawful for us Romans to adopt or practice.”

  3. Acts 22:18 παραδέξονταί they will receive

    and saw the Lord saying to me, ‘Hurry! Leave Jerusalem quickly, because the people here will not accept your testimony about Me.’

    Here: "They will not accept": they will not take in his witness as valid and make it their own. The future tense is a prediction, and it comes true in front of the very crowd hearing the speech (v.22). "They" means the people of Jerusalem, especially the circles Paul once worked with.

1 Timothy · 1

  1. 1 Timothy 5:19 παραδέχου do receive

    Do not entertain an accusation against an elder, except on the testimony of two or three witnesses.

    Here: "Accept as valid" or "admit for action". It is a present-tense command, so it sets a standing policy: Timothy is not to treat a charge against an elder as established or act on it without corroboration. It does not mean "refuse to listen".

Hebrews · 1

  1. Hebrews 12:6 παραδέχεται. He receives.

    For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.”

    Here: To accept or welcome someone as one's own: here, the father owning the son as legitimately his. The pain belongs to sons who are accepted, not to sons who are rejected.

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