To receive (in various applications, literally or figuratively)
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Dechomai means to receive, welcome, accept, take, or embrace what is offered or who arrives. In Matthew's mission discourse, a household may refuse the messengers, while receiving them becomes receiving Jesus and the One who sent Him.
Reader summary
Full entry for δέχομαι (G1209) · Open the biblical lexicon
Dechomai means to receive, welcome, accept, take, or embrace what is offered or who arrives. In Matthew's mission discourse, a household may refuse the messengers, while receiving them becomes receiving Jesus and the One who sent Him.
The BSB source-word alignment has 56 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include welcomes (10), receives (6), Take (3), accept (2), does not receive (2).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 10:14. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (16), Matthew (10), Acts (8), Mark (6).
Dechomai means to receive, welcome, accept, take, or embrace what is offered or who arrives. In Matthew's mission discourse, a household may refuse the messengers, while receiving them becomes receiving Jesus and the One who sent Him. Welcoming a prophet or righteous person identifies with the messenger and message, and receiving a child in Jesus' name receives Christ.
The verb can also describe accepting an interpretation or claim, as when Jesus says John is Elijah if hearers are willing to receive it. Reception is therefore relational and accountable, not passive credulity. Christian welcome honors Christ in vulnerable people and faithful witnesses while still testing teaching, maintaining safety, and refusing manipulation disguised as hospitality.
Dechomai describes active reception of messengers, message, interpretation, and a child welcomed in Jesus' name. Matthew ties faithful welcome to relation with Christ and the Father who sent Him.
And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.
Matthew 10:14 anticipates a house or town that will not receive the disciples or listen to their words. The rejected welcome concerns both messenger and commissioned testimony.
He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me.
Matthew 10:40 says receiving Jesus' messengers is receiving Jesus, and receiving Jesus is receiving the Father who sent Him. Missionary welcome participates in the sending relation.
Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.
Matthew 10:41 says one who receives a prophet as a prophet or righteous person as righteous shares the corresponding reward. Reception recognizes faithful identity and mission.
And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.
Matthew 11:14 asks hearers willing to receive it to understand John as the promised Elijah. Acceptance concerns Jesus' interpretation of John's redemptive role.
And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me.
Matthew 18:5 says whoever receives one such child in Jesus' name receives Him. Welcome is redirected toward the little and socially dependent, not only honored messengers.
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. To receive with willingness or hospitality, emphasizing acceptance rather than mere acquisition.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 59 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I take, receive, accept, welcome
Read verseI take, receive, accept, welcome
Read verseI take, receive, accept, welcome
Read verseI take, receive, accept, welcome
Read verseI take, receive, accept, welcome
Read verseI take, receive, accept, welcome
Read verseI take, receive, accept, welcome
Read verseI take, receive, accept, welcome
Read verseI take, receive, accept, welcome
Read verseI take, receive, accept, welcome
Read verseI take, receive, accept, welcome
Read verseI take, receive, accept, welcome
Read verseI take, receive, accept, welcome
Read verseI take, receive, accept, welcome
Read verseI take, receive, accept, welcome
Read verseI take, receive, accept, welcome
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 56 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 8 selected witnesses from 56 lexical occurrence verses.
δέχομαι is a primary verb - no further derivation.
Reveals covenant identification with Christ through reception of His messengers. Luke 18:15–17
Describes the posture of saving faith. Mark 10:13–16
Defines salvation as reception of grace. Matthew 10:40–42
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Dechomai makes reception a response to God's sending action. Welcoming Jesus' commissioned witnesses receives more than guests; it acknowledges the Son and Father whose message they bear. Yet Matthew also places a child at the center, preventing hospitality from becoming a strategy reserved for impressive ministers. Receiving in Jesus' name must take the little, dependent, and easily overlooked seriously.
The verb does not abolish discernment. Missionaries can be false, interpretations require truth, and safe welcome needs boundaries. Churches should cultivate homes and congregations where strangers are treated with dignity, children are protected, faithful teachers can be heard, and claims can be tested without contempt. Reception becomes Christian when it recognizes Christ's authority and reflects His care rather than rewarding charisma.
Matt.10.40
Dechomai commonly means receive, welcome, accept, or take what is offered. It often emphasizes responsive acceptance, while context identifies whether the object is a person, message, gift, or interpretation.
Abraham welcomes strangers, Israel receives messengers unevenly, and hospitality laws protect the sojourner. Prophets also warn that receiving a false word can destroy.
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain