Building
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G3619 is a noun for a building, the process or result of building, or figurative strengthening. Local evidence assigns eighteen tokens to this identity across Matthew, Mark, Romans, both Corinthian letters, and Ephesians.
Reader summary
Full entry for οἰκοδομή (G3619) · Open the biblical lexicon
G3619 is a noun for a building, the process or result of building, or figurative strengthening. Local evidence assigns eighteen tokens to this identity across Matthew, Mark, Romans, both Corinthian letters, and Ephesians.
The BSB source-word alignment has 18 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include buildings (3), building (2), building [you] up (2), [and] builds itself up (1), [for their] edification (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 24:1. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Corinthians (5), 2 Corinthians (4), Ephesians (4), Mark (2).
G3619 is a noun for a building, the process or result of building, or figurative strengthening. Local evidence assigns eighteen tokens to this identity across Matthew, Mark, Romans, both Corinthian letters, and Ephesians. Matthew 24:1 and Mark 13:1-2 use plural forms for the visible temple buildings. First Corinthians 3:9 calls the congregation God's building, Second Corinthians 5:1 contrasts the present earthly tent with a building from God, and Ephesians 2:21 describes the whole building growing into a holy temple. These images share construction language, but the noun alone does not identify the material, builder, timetable, or final referent.
The other occurrences use building language for strengthening people or the church. Romans 14:19 and 15:2 place edification beside peace and the good of one's neighbor in disputes over food and conscience. First Corinthians 14 repeatedly makes intelligible benefit to the gathered church the test for spoken gifts. Second Corinthians 10:8, 12:19, and 13:10 describe apostolic authority and speech as directed toward building up rather than tearing down. Ephesians 4:12 and 4:16 connect the body's growth with equipped saints and the contribution of every part, while 4:29 applies the same aim to speech fitted to a hearer's need.
Building up is therefore not a synonym for pleasantness, applause, or preserving a leader's control. Paul can correct and still seek another person's good, but the purpose named by G3619 never licenses humiliation, intimidation, spiritual abuse, or concealment of harm. The passages ask what genuinely strengthens faith, love, truthfulness, peace, participation, and responsible care within the body.
The eighteen direct forms divide between visible or figurative structures and the strengthening of people or congregations. Matthew and Mark name temple buildings; First and Second Corinthians and Ephesians use architectural images; Romans, Corinthians, and Ephesians use the noun for edification.
So then, let us pursue what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Paul directs the community to pursue both peace and mutual strengthening while navigating disputed practices. Edification does not erase conscience or permit pressure against the vulnerable.
All of these must be done to build up the church.
The gathered church evaluates contributions by whether they serve shared understanding and growth. The noun does not turn every claimed gift or platform into an entitlement.
We have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands.
Paul contrasts the present earthly tent with God's enduring provision. The image supports hope while the paragraph, not the noun alone, must govern claims about embodiment and the intermediate state.
Only what is helpful for building up the one in need
Speech is measured by its fitness for the hearer's need and its gift of grace. This requires truthful care, not flattery, manipulation, or silence about harm.
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. Spiritual strengthening of believers through edifying speech and mutual encouragement, not physical construction.
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
16 of 18 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
the act of building, a building, edification
Read versethe act of building, a building, edification
Read versethe act of building, a building, edification
Read versethe act of building, a building, edification
Read versethe act of building, a building, edification
Read versethe act of building, a building, edification
Read versethe act of building, a building, edification
Read versethe act of building, a building, edification
Read versethe act of building, a building, edification
Read versethe act of building, a building, edification
Read versethe act of building, a building, edification
Read versethe act of building, a building, edification
Read versethe act of building, a building, edification
Read versethe act of building, a building, edification
Read versethe act of building, a building, edification
Read versethe act of building, a building, edification
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 this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 5 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.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 1 selected witness from 18 lexical occurrence verses.
οἰκοδομή is built from these roots:
Defines the goal of pleasing others for spiritual growth.Romans 15:1-6
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Preach G3619 by asking what the passage says is being built and by what means. In Romans 14-15, peace and the neighbor's good govern disputed freedom. In First Corinthians 14, understandable benefit to the gathered church governs public speech. In Second Corinthians, Paul says his authority is for building up, which supplies purpose but does not exempt authority from accountability.
Ephesians 4 distributes ministry across equipped saints and every contributing part, then applies construction language to speech suited to a real need. This range resists two distortions. Edification is not merely making people feel affirmed, and correction is not edifying merely because a leader calls it necessary. Truth, love, intelligibility, participation, peace, and the hearer's good provide the contextual tests.
Eph.4.12
G3619's morphology distributes eighteen feminine noun tokens among five patterns. Accusative singular dominates with eleven; nominative singular and genitive singular occur twice each; nominative plural occurs once; and accusative plural occurs twice. The three plural tokens in Matthew 24 and Mark 13 name temple buildings. Inflection marks syntax without deciding whether a singular use presents a structure, constructive activity, or figurative strengthening.
Tabernacle and temple passages give canonical background for God's dwelling among His people, while wisdom and prophetic texts repeatedly test builders and leaders by justice, truth, and covenant faithfulness. Those connections can illuminate First Corinthians 3 and Ephesians 2, but they do not make every G3619 occurrence a temple reference or erase the concrete temple buildings in Matthew and Mark.