To instruct differently
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ἑτεροδιδασκαλέω means to teach a different doctrine, to give instruction that departs from the received apostolic message. In the Pastoral Epistles, the word appears at the front and back of 1 Timothy, so it frames Paul's concern for the church's teaching life.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἑτεροδιδασκαλέω (G2085) · Open the biblical lexicon
ἑτεροδιδασκαλέω means to teach a different doctrine, to give instruction that departs from the received apostolic message. In the Pastoral Epistles, the word appears at the front and back of 1 Timothy, so it frames Paul's concern for the church's teaching life.
The BSB source-word alignment has 2 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include teaches another doctrine (1), to teach false doctrines (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Timothy 1:3. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Timothy (2).
ἑτεροδιδασκαλέω means to teach a different doctrine, to give instruction that departs from the received apostolic message. In the Pastoral Epistles, the word appears at the front and back of 1 Timothy, so it frames Paul's concern for the church's teaching life. Timothy must stop certain men from teaching false doctrines because their teaching produces myths, speculation, and empty talk instead of God's stewardship by faith.
Later Paul describes the same danger as teaching that refuses agreement with the sound words of the Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching. The word is therefore not a license to brand every disagreement as heresy. It names teaching that is other in content, posture, and fruit: it departs from Christ's words, disrupts gospel stewardship, feeds conceit and verbal quarrels, and damages the love, conscience, and faith that true instruction aims to form.
In 1 Timothy, ἑτεροδιδασκαλέω names doctrinal departure that threatens gospel stewardship, church order, and the moral aim of instruction. Because the verb has only two New Testament uses, both in 1 Timothy, supporting context must be read with the direct occurrences rather than padded into a larger lexical range.
As I urged you on my departure to Macedonia, you should stay on at Ephesus to instruct certain men not to teach false doctrines
The direct occurrence gives Timothy a concrete charge. False teaching is not treated as harmless diversity, but as something elders must address for the sake of the church's gospel stewardship.
Or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation rather than the stewardship of God’s work, which is by faith.
This supporting verse explains the fruit of the different doctrine. It does not build faith-filled stewardship; it trains the church in speculation.
The goal of our instruction is the love that comes from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and a sincere faith.
Paul defines the positive aim that false teaching misses. Sound instruction forms love from a pure heart, clear conscience, and sincere faith, so doctrinal correction must be measured by that gospel-shaped end.
If anyone teaches another doctrine and disagrees with the sound words of our Lord Jesus Christ and with godly teaching,
The second direct occurrence measures different doctrine by agreement with Christ's sound words and godly teaching. The issue is not novelty alone, but refusal to fit the words of the Lord.
He is conceited and understands nothing. Instead, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and disputes about words, out of which come envy, strife, abusive talk, evil suspicions,
The nearby result shows why the verb is pastorally serious. Different doctrine breeds conceit, quarrels, and corrupted relationships, not merely an alternative school of thought.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Teaching doctrine that deviates from apostolic truth; used for false or heterodox Christian instruction.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
2 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I teach different things
Read verseI teach different things
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How mood, tense, and voice shift the force of this verb in context.
This verb appears through different tense, voice, mood, or stem patterns. Those forms help readers see how the action is presented in context.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
How this verb appears across 2 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect reflects grammatical form — not authorial emphasis. Participles and infinitives are verbal adjectives and nouns respectively.
Clause data: MACULA Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0) · SBLGNT (Logos/SBL, CC BY 4.0)
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 2 lexical occurrence verses.
ἑτεροδιδασκαλέω is built from these roots:
The issue is not minor differences but teaching that departs from the apostolic gospel, threatening the health and unity of the church.1 Timothy 1:3-7
The pastoral force of ἑτεροδιδασκαλέω is that false teaching is judged by both source and fruit. It disagrees with the sound words of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it leads the church away from God's stewardship by faith into speculation, conceit, and disputes about words. That keeps the entry from becoming either doctrinal panic or doctrinal softness. Paul does not authorize leaders to call every disagreement false doctrine.
He names a specific kind of teaching that is other than the apostolic message and destructive in its results. The goal of correction is not winning arguments or protecting institutional pride. The goal is love from a pure heart, a clear conscience, and sincere faith.
1Tim.1.3
The compound joins ἕτερος, another or different in kind, with διδασκαλέω, to teach. The word does not simply mean to have a different tone or emphasis; in 1 Timothy it names teaching that is other than the apostolic pattern and out of agreement with Christ's sound words.
The Old Testament repeatedly warns Israel against words that draw God's people away from covenant loyalty, but 1 Timothy narrows the concern to teaching in the church that departs from Christ's sound words. The canonical movement is not from generic doctrinal strictness to Christian narrowness, but from God's guarding of His people by His word to the apostolic charge that the church's teaching remain governed by the gospel entrusted to it.