What does κοινωνέω (koinōnéō) mean in the Bible?
Κοινωνέω means to share, participate, contribute, or enter into fellowship with something. Paul's uses show that participation carries responsibility in both good and evil.
Greek · G2841
κοινωνέω
To share with others (objectively or subjectively)
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κοινωνέω G2841
Pronunciation koinōnéō
What does κοινωνέω (koinōnéō) mean in the Bible?
Κοινωνέω means to share, participate, contribute, or enter into fellowship with something. Paul's uses show that participation carries responsibility in both good and evil.
Reader summary
Full entry for κοινωνέω (G2841) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2841?
The BSB source-word alignment has 8 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include have (1), have shared in (1), must share (1), partnered (1), share (1).
Where does κοινωνέω (koinōnéō) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Romans 12:13. Its strongest book concentrations include Romans (2), 1 Peter (1), 1 Timothy (1), 2 John (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Κοινωνέω means to share, participate, contribute, or enter into fellowship with something. Paul's uses show that participation carries responsibility in both good and evil. First Timothy 5 warns against hasty recognition of leaders lest one share in another person's sins. Galatians 6 calls those taught in the word to share good things with their teacher. Philippians 4 remembers a church that partnered with Paul in giving and receiving during the early advance of the gospel.
The verb does not describe vague friendliness. Sharing can create complicity, sustain faithful ministry, and express durable gospel partnership. Wisdom therefore asks what is shared, with whom, and toward what end. Christian generosity is active, while Christian purity refuses participation in wrongdoing.
How the Bible Uses It
Paul uses κοινωνέω for consequential sharing. Believers must avoid complicity in sin while participating generously in teaching and gospel mission.
- 1Tim.5.22
Do not be too quick in the laying on of hands and thereby share in the sins of others. Keep yourself pure.
Hasty laying on of hands can implicate a leader in another person's sins, so recognition requires patience, discernment, and personal purity.
- Gal.6.6
Nevertheless, the one who receives instruction in the word must share in all good things with his instructor.
The taught person shares material good with the teacher of the word, placing generosity within reciprocal spiritual responsibility.
- Php.4.15
And as you Philippians know, in the early days of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church but you partnered with me in the matter of giving and receiving.
The Philippians' giving and receiving constitutes sustained gospel partnership, not a one-time donation detached from relationship and mission.
Passage contextBook context
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It have 1× Hebrews 2:14
have shared in 1× Romans 15:27
must share 1× Galatians 6:6
partnered 1× Philippians 4:15
share 1× 1 Timothy 5:22
Share with 1× Romans 12:13
shares 1× 2 John 1:11
you share 1× 1 Peter 4:13
Show sample aligned rows
Romans 12:13 κοινωνοῦντες to Share with Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural Romans 15:27 ἐκοινώνησαν to have shared in Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural Galatians 6:6 Κοινωνείτω to must share Verb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person Singular Philippians 4:15 ἐκοινώνησεν to partnered Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1 Timothy 5:22 κοινώνει to share Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular Hebrews 2:14 κεκοινώνηκεν to have Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1 Peter 4:13 κοινωνεῖτε to you share Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 2 John 1:11 κοινωνεῖ to shares Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Romans 12:13
Aligned rows 8
Books represented 7
Romans 2 Galatians 1 Philippians 1 1 Timothy 1 Hebrews 1 1 Peter 1 2 John 1
Source forms
ἐκοινώνησαν 1x ekoinōnēsan Romans 15:27
ἐκοινώνησεν 1x ekoinōnēsen Philippians 4:15
κεκοινώνηκεν 1x kekoinōnēken Hebrews 2:14
κοινωνεῖ 1x koinōnei 2 John 1:11
κοινώνει 1x koinōnei 1 Timothy 5:22
κοινωνεῖτε 1x koinōneite 1 Peter 4:13
Κοινωνείτω 1x Koinōneitō Galatians 6:6
κοινωνοῦντες 1x koinōnountes Romans 12:13
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Plural 1x Romans 15:27
Verb - Aorist Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Philippians 4:15
Verb - Perfect Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Hebrews 2:14
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 2nd Person Singular 1x 1 Timothy 5:22
Verb - Present Imperative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x Galatians 6:6
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 2nd Person Plural 1x 1 Peter 4:13
Verb - Present Indicative Active - 3rd Person Singular 1x 2 John 1:11
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Romans 12:13
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Distinguish formal endorsement, material support, ordinary association, and actual participation before making a complicity claim.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that any contact with a sinner makes someone a participant in that person's sin; 1 Timothy concerns hasty endorsement and shared responsibility.
- Do not reduce κοινωνέω to emotional fellowship; Paul's examples include concrete support, giving, receiving, and accountable recognition.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To share in or participate actively, implying mutual involvement or partnership rather than mere possession.
Strong's G2841
Lexical occurrences 8 verses Greek text appearances 8 times Word forms 3 forms 8 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Hebrews 2:14 Source Gloss
to share with others (objectively or subjectively)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
8 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Romans 12:13 Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
κοινωνοῦντες· koinwnountev
I share, communicate, have fellowship with
Read verse Romans 15:27 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Active Indicative
ἐκοινώνησαν ekoinwnhsan
I share, communicate, have fellowship with
Read verse Galatians 6:6 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Imperative
Κοινωνείτω koinwneitw
I share, communicate, have fellowship with
Read verse Philippians 4:15 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Active Indicative
ἐκοινώνησεν ekoinwnhsen
I share, communicate, have fellowship with
Read verse 1 Timothy 5:22 Verb Second Person Singular Present Active Imperative
κοινώνει koinwnei
I share, communicate, have fellowship with
Read verse Hebrews 2:14 Verb Third Person Singular Perfect Active Indicative
κεκοινώνηκε kekoinwnhken
I share, communicate, have fellowship with
Read verse 1 Peter 4:13 Verb Second Person Plural Present Active Indicative
κοινωνεῖτε koinwneite
I share, communicate, have fellowship with
Read verse 2 John 1:11 Verb Third Person Singular Present Active Indicative
κοινωνεῖ koinwnei
I share, communicate, have fellowship with
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.
Grammatical Forms
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.
Form groups 3 Aligned forms 8 Tenses Present, Aorist, Perfect Voices Active
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 1×
Present Active Rom 12:13 1×
Indicative states a fact or reality 5×
Aorist Active Rom 15:27 · Phil 4:15 2×
Present Active 1 Pet 4:13 · 2 John 1:11 2×
Perfect Active Heb 2:14 1×
Imperative command or strong request 2×
Present Active Gal 6:6 · 1 Tim 5:22 2×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 8 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
present 5 aorist 2 perfect 1
Voice
active 8
Mood
indicative 5 imperative 2 participle 1
NT Occurrences
Romans 12:13 κοινωνοῦντες present active participle participle Romans 15:27 ἐκοινώνησαν aorist active indicative completed Galatians 6:6 Κοινωνείτω present active imperative imperative Philippians 4:15 ἐκοινώνησεν aorist active indicative completed 1 Timothy 5:22 κοινώνει present active imperative imperative Hebrews 2:14 κεκοινώνηκεν perfect active indicative resultant 1 Peter 4:13 κοινωνεῖτε present active indicative ongoing 2 John 1:11 κοινωνεῖ present active indicative ongoing
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 Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
sharing in or taking part in human nature, with genitive of thing
sharing needs with others, distributive sense with dative of things
having fellowship or sharing with a person in instruction, with dative and preposition
sharing in or taking part in Christ's sufferings with dative of things
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 8 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
κοινωνέω is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
Sharing is never morally empty. A church can participate in another person's sin through reckless recognition and endorsement, which is why Timothy must move slowly and keep himself pure. A learner can share good things with a faithful teacher, acknowledging that ministry of the word deserves tangible support. The Philippians can participate in gospel advance through a tested pattern of giving and receiving.
These uses prevent κοινωνέω from becoming a sentimental synonym for community. Christian fellowship includes discernment about whom and what we authorize, generosity toward those who serve, and sustained partnership in mission. Leaders should not call every association complicity, yet they must take formal endorsement seriously. Churches should not reduce partnership to branding or money, yet they must not spiritualize support until no actual resources are shared.
Gospel participation is truthful, accountable, generous, and ordered toward Christ's work.
Anchor passage
1Tim.5.22
Doctrinal connections
- 1 Timothy 5:17-25, honoring leaders and avoiding hasty complicity
- Galatians 6:1-10, restoration, burden-bearing, and sharing good things
- Philippians 4:10-20, partnership, contentment, giving, and God's provision
- Numbers 16:20-35, separation from corporate rebellion
- 2 Kings 4:8-17, material hospitality toward prophetic ministry
- 3 John 5-8, supporting workers and becoming fellow workers for the truth
Κοινωνέω is the verbal member of the κοιν- word family. It can take a dative of the person or thing shared with and may mean share in, contribute, or have fellowship. The syntax helps identify whether participation is material, moral, or missional.
From Old to New Testament
Covenant life includes shared responsibility, offerings, hospitality, and warnings against joining rebellion. In the church, participation is reshaped around Christ's truth and mission, combining holy separation from sin with generous partnership in good.
Sources
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