Lexical Summary
dechomai: To receive, accept, welcome
Original Word: δέχομαι
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: dechomai
Pronunciation: DEKH-oh-my
Phonetic Spelling: (dekh'-om-ahee)
KJV: accept, receive, take
NASB: receive, receives, received, accepted, take, accept, welcome
Word Origin: [middle voice of a primary verb]
1. to receive
{(in various applications, literally or figuratively)}
Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
accept, receive, take.
Middle voice of a primary verb; to receive (in various applications, literally or figuratively) -- accept, receive, take. Compare lambano.
see GREEK lambano
HELPS Word-studies
1209 déomai – properly, to receive in a welcoming (receptive) way. 1209 (déxomai) is used of people welcoming God (His offers), like receiving and sharing in His salvation (1 Thes 2:13) and thoughts (Eph 6:17).
1209/deomai ("warmly receptive, welcoming") means receive with "ready reception what is offered" (Vine, Unger, White, NT, 7), i.e. "welcome with appropriate reception" (Thayer).
[The personal element is emphasized with 1209 (déxomai) which accounts for it always being in the Greek middle voice. This stresses the high level of self-involvement (interest) involved with the "welcoming-receiving." 1209 (déxomai) occurs 59 times in the NT.]
NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origina prim. verb
Definitionto receive
NASB Translationaccept (2), accepted (3), receive (16), received (12), receives (15), take (3), taken (1), took (1), welcome (2), welcomed (1).
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 1209: δέχομαιδέχομαι; (future 2 person plural
δεξεσθε,
Ephesians 6:17 Rec.bez); 1 aorist
ἐδεξάμην; perfect
δεδεγμαι (
Acts 8:14); deponent middle; the
Sept. mostly for
לָקַח;
1. to take with the hand: τό γράμμα (L text T Tr WH τά γράμματα), Luke 16:6f; τό ποτήριον, Luke 22:17; to take hold of, take up, τήν περικεφαλαίαν ... τήν μάχαιραν, Ephesians 6:17; τό παιδίον εἰς ἀγκάλας, Luke 2:28.
2. to take up, receive (German aufnehmen,annehmen);
a. used of a place receiving one: ὅν δεῖ οὐρανόν δέξασθαι (οὐρανόν is subject), Acts 3:21 (Plato, Theact., p. 177 a. τελευτησαντας αὐτούς ... ὁ τῶν κακῶν καθαρός τόπος οὐ δέξεται).
b. with the accusative of person to receive, grant access to, a visitor; not to refuse contact or friendship: Luke 9:11 R G; John 4:45; 2 Corinthians 7:15; Galatians 4:14; Colossians 4:10; to receive to hospitality, Matthew 10:14, 40; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5, 53; Luke 10:8, 10; Acts 21:17 Rec.; Hebrews 11:31 (often in Greek writings from Homer down); παιδίον, to receive into one's family in order to bring up and educate, Matthew 18:5; Mark 9:37; Luke 9:48; to receive εἰς τούς οἴκους, τάς σκηνάς, Luke 16:4, 9; δέξαι τό πνεῦμα μου, to thyself in heaven, Acts 7:59.
c. with the accusative of the thing offered in speaking, teaching, instructing; to receive favorably, give ear to, embrace, make one's own, approve, not to reject: τόν λόγον, Luke 8:13; Acts 8:14; Acts 11:1; Acts 17:11; 1 Thessalonians 1:6; 1 Thessalonians 2:13; James 1:21; τά τοῦ πνεύματος 1 Corinthians 2:14; τήν παράκλησιν, 2 Corinthians 8:17; τήν ἀγάπην τῆς ἀληθείας namely, commended to them, 2 Thessalonians 2:10; (add the elliptical construction in Matthew 11:14) (often in Greek writings); to receive a benefit offered, not to reject it, 2 Corinthians 8:4 Rec. d. to receive equivalent to to take upon oneself, sustain, bear, endure: τινα, his bearing and behavior, 2 Corinthians 11:16 τήν ἀδικίαν, Hebrew נָשָׂא, Genesis 50:17; πᾶν, ὁ ἐάν ἐπαχθῇ, Sir. 2:4; μυθον χαλεπόν, Homer, Odyssey 20, 271, and often in Greek writers).
3. to receive, get, (German empfangen): ἐπιστολάς, Acts 22:5; γράμματα, Acts 28:21; τήν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ, to become a partaker of the benefits of God's kingdom, Mark 10:15; Luke 18:17; λόγια ζῶντα, Acts 7:38; εὐαγγέλιον, 2 Corinthians 11:4; τήν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ, 2 Corinthians 6:1; — equivalent to to learn: Philippians 4:18 ((?) see the commentaries at the passage).
Topical Lexicon
Summary of Biblical Usage The verb behind Strong’s Greek 1209 serves as Scripture’s primary term for “receiving” persons, messages, and divine gifts. It spans Gospel narratives, Acts, Pauline correspondence, Hebrews, James, and Revelation-era writings, consistently describing a wholehearted, welcoming response rather than a mere passive allowance.
Reception and Hospitality in the Gospels
When Jesus commissions the Twelve (Matthew 10:40-42; Mark 6:11; Luke 9:5-6; 10:8-10), He binds the treatment of His messengers to the treatment of Himself and, ultimately, of the Father. “Whoever receives you receives Me, and whoever receives Me receives the One who sent Me” (Matthew 10:40). The verb conveys covenant hospitality: to lodge, provide for, protect, and listen.
Children become living parables of kingdom hospitality: “Whoever welcomes one of these little children in My name welcomes Me” (Mark 9:37). The call is not to patronize children but to embody an open-armed stance toward the seemingly insignificant—an attitude Christ identifies with receiving God Himself.
Faith and the Kingdom: Receiving Like a Child
Jesus intensifies the idea in Mark 10:15 and Luke 18:17. “Truly I tell you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it” (Mark 10:15). The verb here expresses personal appropriation—dependence, trust, and unguarded delight. Salvation is portrayed as welcoming the reign of God without suspicion, calculation, or self-reliance.
Receiving the Word
Luke highlights two contrasting soils (Luke 8:13): some “receive the word with joy” yet fall away; others endure. Acts develops the positive side: the Samaritans (Acts 8:14), Cornelius’ household (Acts 11:1), and the Bereans (Acts 17:11) “received the word with all readiness, and examined the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so.” Paul commends the Thessalonians: “You welcomed the word not as the word of men, but as it truly is, the word of God” (1 Thessalonians 2:13). Biblical reception thus joins eager hearing with Spirit-energized obedience.
Reception and Rejection in Apostolic Mission
The same verb denotes rejection by negation: towns that “do not receive” the disciples (Mark 6:11; Luke 9:53) come under solemn warning. Paul laments the unbeliever’s inability—“The natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God” (1 Corinthians 2:14). Conversely, the Macedonians (2 Corinthians 8:17), Philippian church (Philippians 4:18), and Colossian assembly (Colossians 4:10) exemplify practical reception of servants, gifts, and letters.
Historical and Cultural Context
First-century hospitality secured safe lodging, meals, and social honor. In a shame-honor society, “receiving” a person equated to endorsing his message and sharing his fate. Early Christians, often strangers and pilgrims, depended on such reception. The verb therefore carries legal, social, and spiritual weight: to accept an apostle could incur persecution; to refuse could cut one off from God’s revelation.
Theological Observations
1. Trinitarian Mediation: Receiving an emissary links to receiving Christ and the Father (Matthew 10:40), underscoring unity within the Godhead and the church’s representational role.
2. Grace Prior to Works: The kingdom must be received before it is lived; divine initiative is met by human welcome.
3. Eschatological Reversal: Those society overlooks—children, the marginalized—become litmus tests for true reception of God.
4. Judgment According to Reception: Final accountability (Matthew 10:14-15) rests not on abstract belief alone but on concrete response to gospel bearers.
Implications for Christian Ministry
• Mission strategy must include discernment of “worthy” households and cities, i.e., those willing to receive (Matthew 10:11).
• Congregational life is evaluated by readiness to host Christ’s “least of these,” traveling workers, and the preached word (Hebrews 13:2; 3 John 5-8).
• Evangelism calls for clarity that the gospel is not merely heard but welcomed; catechesis should cultivate a posture of humble acceptance.
• Shepherds guard against counterfeit gospels precisely at the point of reception (2 Corinthians 11:4; Galatians 4:14).
Practical Exhortation
James draws the line from heart posture to holiness: “Therefore, lay aside all moral filth and every expression of evil, and humbly receive the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (James 1:21). To “receive” is to open life’s door, seat the truth at the head of the table, and order every affair around the honored Guest.
Forms and Transliterations
δέδακται δεδεκται δέδεκται Δεξαι Δέξαι δεξαμενη δεξαμένη δεξαμενοι δεξάμενοι δεξαμενος δεξάμενος δεξασθαι δέξασθαι δέξασθαί δεξασθε δέξασθε δέξασθέ δεξάσθω δέξεται δέξη δεξηται δέξηται δέξομαι δεξωνται δέξωνται δέξωνταί δέχεσθαι δέχεσθε δεχεται δέχεται δεχηται δέχηται δεχθήσεται δεχομενος δεχόμενος δεχονται δέχονται δεχωνται δέχωνται εδεξαμεθα εδεξάμεθα ἐδεξάμεθα εδεξαντο εδέξαντο ἐδέξαντο εδεξασθε εδέξασθε εδέξασθέ ἐδέξασθε ἐδέξασθέ εδεξατο εδέξατο ἐδέξατο εδέχετο εδέχοντο dechetai dechētai déchetai déchētai dechomenos dechómenos dechontai dechōntai déchontai déchōntai dedektai dédektai Dexai Déxai dexamene dexamenē dexaméne dexaménē dexamenoi dexámenoi dexamenos dexámenos dexasthai déxasthai dexasthe déxasthe déxasthé dexetai dexētai déxetai déxētai dexontai dexōntai déxontai déxontaí déxōntai déxōntaí edexametha edexámetha edexanto edéxanto edexasthe edéxasthe edéxasthé edexato edéxato
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