What does μεταδίδωμι (metadídōmi) mean in the Bible?
Metadidomi means to give a share or impart something to another. The object being shared shapes each of its five direct uses.
Greek · G3330
μεταδίδωμι
Metadidomi means to give a share or impart something to another. The object being shared shapes each of its five direct uses.
Reading a lexicon entry
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μεταδίδωμιG3330
Pronunciationmetadídōmi
What does μεταδίδωμι (metadídōmi) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for μεταδίδωμι (G3330) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3330?
The BSB source-word alignment has 5 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include to share with (2), giving (1), I may impart (1), should share with (1).
Where does μεταδίδωμι (metadídōmi) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 3:11. Its strongest book concentrations include Romans (2), 1 Thessalonians (1), Ephesians (1), Luke (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Metadidomi means to give a share or impart something to another. The object being shared shapes each of its five direct uses. John the Baptist tells people with clothing and food to share with those who lack them. Ephesians 4:28 turns a former thief toward honest work so that the worker has something to share with a person in need. Romans 12:8 calls the giver toward generosity, while Romans 1:11 describes Paul's desire to impart a spiritual gift for strengthening and immediately frames the visit as mutual encouragement through faith.
First Thessalonians 2:8 joins sharing the gospel with sharing the missionaries' own lives in affectionate care. This is concrete, relational generosity. It does not grant a leader ownership of another person's life or make every imparting a supernatural transfer.
How the Bible Uses It
The direct passages share clothing, food, honestly earned resources, generous service, spiritual strengthening and personal care alongside the gospel. The giver, recipient and named gift keep practical sharing and apostolic ministry from becoming interchangeable categories.
- Luke.3.11
John replied, “Whoever has two tunics should share with him who has none, and whoever has food should do the same.”
John answers a question about repentance's fruit with practical sharing of surplus clothing and available food with people who lack them.
- Eph.4.28
He who has been stealing must steal no longer, but must work, doing good with his own hands, that he may have something to share with the one in need.
Changed conduct moves beyond stopping theft toward honest labor that provides something to share with a person in need.
- Rom.12.8
If it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is giving, let him give generously; if it is leading, let him lead with diligence; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.
Giving is exercised generously among different grace-given services, not elevated as the only form of faithful contribution.
- Rom.1.11
For I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you,
Paul desires to strengthen the Roman believers, and the next verse describes mutual encouragement through their shared faith.
- 1Thess.2.8
We cared so deeply that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our own lives as well. That is how beloved you have become to us.
The missionaries' deep affection joins gospel proclamation with shared life, within conduct explicitly rejecting greed and burdensome exploitation.
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders Itto share with2×Ephesians 4:28, 1 Thessalonians 2:8
giving1×Romans 12:8
I may impart1×Romans 1:11
should share with1×Luke 3:11
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 3:11μεταδότωtoshould share withVerb - Aorist Imperative Active - 3rd Person SingularRomans 1:11μεταδῶtoI may impartVerb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 1st Person SingularRomans 12:8μεταδιδοὺςtogivingVerb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine SingularEphesians 4:28μεταδιδόναιtoto share withVerb - Present Infinitive Active1 Thessalonians 2:8μεταδοῦναιtoto share withVerb - Aorist Infinitive Active
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowLuke 3:11
Aligned rows5
Books represented4
Luke1Romans2Ephesians11 Thessalonians1
Source forms
μεταδιδόναι1xmetadidonaiEphesians 4:28
μεταδιδοὺς1xmetadidousRomans 12:8
μεταδότω1xmetadotōLuke 3:11
μεταδοῦναι1xmetadounai1 Thessalonians 2:8
μεταδῶ1xmetadōRomans 1:11
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Imperative Active - 3rd Person Singular1xLuke 3:11
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Active1x1 Thessalonians 2:8
Verb - Aorist Subjunctive Active - 1st Person Singular1xRomans 1:11
Verb - Present Infinitive Active1xEphesians 4:28
Verb - Present Participle Active - Nominative Masculine Singular1xRomans 12:8
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Practical sharing should respect the recipient's dignity rather than create a claim of ownership.
- Encourage appropriate personal care without turning shared life into boundaryless demands.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim every imparting is a supernatural transfer, because Luke and Ephesians name ordinary clothing, food and earned resources.
- Do not claim Paul's strengthening establishes unilateral spiritual superiority, because he immediately speaks of mutual encouragement through faith.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To impart something of oneself to others; giving what one possesses, not merely receiving.
Strong'sG3330
Lexical occurrences5 versesGreek text appearances5 timesWord forms4 forms5 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Study link1 Timothy 6:17-19Source Gloss
to share
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To impart something of oneself to others; giving what one possesses, not merely receiving.
to give a share of, impart: with dative of person(s) and accusative of thing(s) (in cl. more freq., with genitive part., but accusative of that which is imparted, whether part or whole, so here, see Bl., § 36, 1), Rom.1:11, 1Th.2:8, and (with ellipse of accusative) Luk.3:11; with dative of person(s), Eph.4:28; absol., ὁ μεταδιδούς, Rom.12:8.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
5 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 3:11Verb Third Person Singular Second Aorist Active Imperative
μεταδότωmetadotw
I share, impart
Read verseRomans 1:11Verb First Person Singular Second Aorist Active Subjunctive
μεταδῶmetadw
I share, impart
Read verseRomans 12:8Verb Present Active Participle Nominative Singular Masculine
μεταδιδούς,metadidouv
I share, impart
Read verseEphesians 4:28Verb Present Active Infinitive
μεταδιδόναιmetadidonai
I share, impart
Read verse1 Thessalonians 2:8Verb Second Aorist Active Infinitive
μεταδοῦναιmetadounai
I share, impart
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 groups4Aligned forms5TensesAorist, PresentVoicesActive
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Imperativecommand or strong request1×
Aorist ActiveLuke 3:111×
Subjunctivepossibility, probability, or purpose1×
Aorist ActiveRom 1:111×
Participleverbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality1×
Present ActiveRom 12:81×
Infinitiveverbal noun — the action in abstract2×
Present ActiveEph 4:281×
Aorist Active1 Thess 2:81×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 5 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist3present2
Voice
active5
Mood
infinitive2imperative1subjunctive1participle1
NT Occurrences
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 Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
Freely giving or distributing to others.
Showing 1 selected witness from 5 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
μεταδίδωμι is built from these roots:
Why This Word Matters
Gospel-shaped wealth expresses itself in open-handed generosity.1 Timothy 6:17-19
For the Preacher and Teacher
Sharing makes the recipient visible. John names the person without a tunic; Ephesians names the one in need; Paul wants the Romans strengthened and the Thessalonians cared for through gospel and shared life. The giver's possession or status is not the center of these appeals. Ephesians especially shows transformed conduct becoming positive service: a former thief works honestly so that another person can benefit.
Romans' spiritual gift setting should likewise retain Paul's immediate statement of mutual encouragement. Teaching can invite a congregation to identify what it can share faithfully without ranking every contribution by money or making recipients dependent on a leader's claimed power. The named object and the actual relationship explain what imparting means in each setting.
Anchor passage
Eph.4.28
Doctrinal connections
- Luke 3:8-11 gives material sharing as concrete fruit consistent with repentance.
- Ephesians 4:28 turns dishonest taking into honest work and practical assistance.
- Romans 12:6-9 places generous giving among diverse services shaped by grace and sincere love.
- Romans 1:11-12 joins spiritual strengthening with mutual encouragement through faith.
- First Thessalonians 2:5-9 connects shared life and gospel care with refusal of greed.
- Deuteronomy 15:7-11 provides supporting instruction to open the hand toward a poor neighbor.
Metadidomi is a Greek verb of sharing or imparting. Its objects include material resources, spiritual strengthening and shared life; the common verb does not erase those differences or establish an unstated mechanism of power transfer.
From Old to New Testament
Deuteronomy 15:7-11 calls Israel to open the hand toward the poor rather than refuse assistance from a hardened heart. It supports attention to an actual neighbor's need, while the debt-release setting and particular covenant instructions should not be silently converted into a universal modern funding formula.