What does μέτοχος (métochos) mean in the Bible?
A participant or partner shares in something the passage must name. Luke describes fishermen signaling their partners in another boat to help with the catch.
Greek · G3353
μέτοχος
A participant or partner shares in something the passage must name. Luke describes fishermen signaling their partners in another boat to help with the catch.
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μέτοχοςG3353
Pronunciationmétochos
What does μέτοχος (métochos) mean in the Bible?
Reader summary
Full entry for μέτοχος (G3353) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3353?
The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include . . . (1), companions (1), else (1), partners (1), to share (1).
Where does μέτοχος (métochos) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 5:7. Its strongest book concentrations include Hebrews (5), Luke (1).
What This Word Actually Means
A participant or partner shares in something the passage must name. Luke describes fishermen signaling their partners in another boat to help with the catch. Hebrews addresses holy brothers who share in the heavenly calling and directs their attention toward Jesus. It also states that we have come to share in Christ if we hold the initial assurance firmly to the end.
Shared work, a named calling and participation in Christ therefore require their own settings and conditions. The word does not make every association the same spiritual relationship or place every partner on an identical level with the Son. Hear what is shared, who participates and what the argument says about response and endurance. Participation language must neither erase Hebrews' warnings nor become a human leader's authority to pronounce another person's final spiritual state from group membership alone.
How the Bible Uses It
Fishing partners, hearers sharing a heavenly calling and the conditional statement about sharing in Christ identify different objects of participation. Other Hebrews uses retain their own companions, warning and discipline arguments rather than one undifferentiated membership label.
- Luke.5.7
So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them, and they came and filled both boats so full that they began to sink.
The partners in the other boat respond to the signal for help with the large catch, and both boats are filled; this is actual shared fishing work within the encounter with Jesus.
- Heb.3.1
Therefore, holy brothers, who share in the heavenly calling, set your focus on Jesus, the apostle and high priest whom we confess.
Those sharing in the heavenly calling are addressed as holy brothers and summoned to focus on Jesus, the confessed apostle and high priest, before the argument about His faithfulness and greater glory.
- Heb.3.14
We have come to share in Christ if we hold firmly to the end the assurance we had at first.
Sharing in Christ is stated with the condition of holding the initial assurance firmly to the end, beside daily exhortation and the repeated warning against hardening hearts.
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. . .1×Hebrews 6:4
companions1×Hebrews 1:9
else1×Hebrews 12:8
partners1×Luke 5:7
to share1×Hebrews 3:14
who share1×Hebrews 3:1
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 5:7μετόχοιςtopartnersAdjective - Dative Masculine PluralHebrews 1:9μετόχουςtocompanionsAdjective - Accusative Masculine PluralHebrews 3:1μέτοχοιtowho shareAdjective - Vocative Masculine PluralHebrews 3:14Μέτοχοιtoto shareAdjective - Nominative Masculine PluralHebrews 6:4μετόχουςto. . .Adjective - Accusative Masculine PluralHebrews 12:8μέτοχοιtoelseAdjective - Nominative Masculine Plural
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned rowLuke 5:7
Aligned rows6
Books represented2
Luke1Hebrews5
Source forms
μέτοχοι2xmetochoiHebrews 3:1, Hebrews 12:8
μετόχους2xmetochousHebrews 1:9, Hebrews 6:4
Μέτοχοι1xMetochoiHebrews 3:14
μετόχοις1xmetochoisLuke 5:7
Parsing patterns
Adjective - Accusative Masculine Plural2xHebrews 1:9, Hebrews 6:4
Adjective - Nominative Masculine Plural2xHebrews 3:14, Hebrews 12:8
Adjective - Dative Masculine Plural1xLuke 5:7
Adjective - Vocative Masculine Plural1xHebrews 3:1
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Encourage practical shared care and attention to Jesus without granting a group or leader unlimited control over members' lives.
- Do not use a word study to announce a person's final spiritual condition, minimize harm or replace responsible pastoral support.
Avoid claiming...
- The term alone does not settle all questions about perseverance or falling away, because the full arguments and explicit conditions govern those claims.
- Sharing does not make every partner equal to the Son, and a discipline comparison does not grant moral approval to anyone inflicting abuse.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Sharing in something or someone through active participation, not mere spectation or inheritance
Strong'sG3353
Lexical occurrences6 versesGreek text appearances6 timesWord forms4 forms6 referencesVerse guides0 guides
Source Gloss
partaker
Extended definitionSource: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Sharing in something or someone through active participation, not mere spectation or inheritance
(μετέχω), [in LXX chiefly for חָבֵר ;]
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 5:7Adjective Dative Plural Masculine
μετόχοιςmetocoiv
a sharer, partner
Read verseHebrews 1:9Adjective Accusative Plural Masculine
μετόχουςmetocouv
a sharer, partner
Read verseHebrews 3:1Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
μέτοχοι,metocoi
a sharer, partner
Read verseHebrews 3:14Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
μέτοχοιmetocoi
a sharer, partner
Read verseHebrews 6:4Adjective Accusative Plural Masculine
μετόχουςmetocouv
a sharer, partner
Read verseHebrews 12:8Adjective Nominative Plural Masculine
μέτοχοιmetocoi
a sharer, partner
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 this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 4 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns4Aligned forms6Case patternAccusative (2)Number patternPlural (6)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Plural · MasculineHeb 3:14 · Heb 12:82×
Dative · Plural · MasculineLuke 5:71×
Accusative · Plural · MasculineHeb 1:9 · Heb 6:42×
Vocative · Plural · MasculineHeb 3:11×
Word Origins
μέτοχος is built from this root:
For the Preacher and Teacher
Luke's partners are recognized through a concrete response: they come from the other boat to help with a catch too large for the first crew. Hebrews places sharing in a different setting, addressing those with a heavenly calling and directing their attention to Jesus. Its statement about sharing in Christ expressly includes holding assurance firmly to the end, within warnings and mutual encouragement.
A teacher must keep that condition visible rather than letting a broad participation label replace the argument. The same letter speaks of sharing in the Holy Spirit within a severe warning and sharing in discipline within a family comparison. Those statements require their full contexts, not a verdict derived from the word alone. The study therefore makes shared relationships concrete while preserving the author's named object, condition and response.
It does not authorize coercive membership claims, approve inflicted abuse or independently adjudicate someone's final spiritual future.
Anchor passage
Heb.3.14
Doctrinal connections
- Luke 5:5-9 describes the large catch, the partners' help and the crews' astonishment within their encounter with Jesus.
- Hebrews 3:1-3 directs those sharing the heavenly calling toward Jesus and His stated faithfulness and greater glory.
- Hebrews 3:12-15 joins participation in Christ with enduring assurance, daily exhortation and the repeated today warning.
- Hebrews 6:4-11 preserves shared spiritual gifts within the falling-away warning and the author's subsequent assurance of better things for the addressed readers.
- Hebrews 12:7-13 places shared discipline within the argument about sonship, God's good purpose and strengthened rather than disabled limbs.
- Hebrews 1:8-9 identifies the Son as the addressee of the quoted throne and anointing comparison above His companions.
The licensed Greek adjective concerns sharing or partaking, and it is also used for a partner or associate. The object may be a calling, Christ, the Spirit or discipline, while the fishing scene names partners. These grammatical and contextual uses clarify the sentences; they do not by themselves answer every question about participation in Christ.
From Old to New Testament
Psalm 45:6-7 supplies the companions and anointing comparison explicitly quoted about the Son in Hebrews 1:8-9. That traceable quotation must retain its stated distinction rather than making every companion equal to the Son. Hebrew association vocabulary and ordinary fishing partnership remain distinct lexical witnesses, not one merged canonical identity.