Greek word · G6064
οἰκετεία
oiketeia
household
The household slaves considered as a group; the domestic staff of a house. It comes from οἰκέτης (oiketēs), 'house-slave'.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament.
What it means
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 Matthew 24:45
- Range of meaning
The household slaves considered as a group; the domestic staff of a house. It comes from οἰκέτης (oiketēs), 'house-slave'.
- Against the English
'Household' (KJV, BSB, WEB, ESV) could suggest a family or a building. The Greek means specifically the staff, the master's slaves. NIV's 'the servants in his household' and BSB's 'the others' capture this better.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Occurs only here in the New Testament. It is attested in Hellenistic Greek writers and inscriptions for a body of household slaves (BDAG). The parallel in Luke 12:42 uses θεραπεία (therapeia, 'household staff'), and later manuscripts of Matthew replaced Matthew's word with Luke's.
Similar words
Where it appears
Matthew · 1
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Matthew 24:45 οἰκετείας household
Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of his household, to give the others their food at the proper time?
Here: The whole body of slaves belonging to a house. He is put over people, not just property, and they are his fellow slaves (v. 49).
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.