What does οἰκονομία (oikonomía) mean in the Bible?
Οἰκονομία refers to the management of a household, a stewardship, administration, or entrusted responsibility. Paul applies the image to gospel ministry and to God's ordered work.
Greek · G3622
οἰκονομία
Administration (of a household or estate); specially, a (religious) "economy"
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οἰκονομία G3622
Pronunciation oikonomía
What does οἰκονομία (oikonomía) mean in the Bible?
Οἰκονομία refers to the management of a household, a stewardship, administration, or entrusted responsibility. Paul applies the image to gospel ministry and to God's ordered work.
Reader summary
Full entry for οἰκονομία (G3622) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3622?
The BSB source-word alignment has 9 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include management (2), stewardship (2), [a] responsibility (1), [position] (1), [the] stewardship (1).
Where does οἰκονομία (oikonomía) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 16:2. Its strongest book concentrations include Ephesians (3), Luke (3), 1 Corinthians (1), 1 Timothy (1).
What This Word Actually Means
Οἰκονομία refers to the management of a household, a stewardship, administration, or entrusted responsibility. Paul applies the image to gospel ministry and to God's ordered work. In 1 Corinthians 9:17, preaching is a stewardship entrusted to Paul, not a platform he owns. First Timothy 1:4 contrasts speculative myths and genealogies with God's stewardship advanced by faith.
Colossians 1:25 describes Paul's commission to serve the church by fully proclaiming God's word. The noun emphasizes delegated trust: the steward receives a charge from an owner and must serve the owner's purpose. It does not turn ministry into corporate technique or grant leaders private control over God's household. Faithful administration remains accountable to God, governed by truth, and ordered toward the good of His people.
How the Bible Uses It
Paul uses οἰκονομία for an entrusted administration under God's authority. Gospel proclamation and the ordering of God's household are responsibilities received, not possessions claimed.
- 1Cor.9.17
If my preaching is voluntary, I have a reward. But if it is not voluntary, I am still entrusted with a responsibility.
Paul preaches because a stewardship has been entrusted to him, distinguishing divine commission from self-chosen grounds for boasting.
- 1Tim.1.4
Or devote themselves to myths and endless genealogies, which promote speculation rather than the stewardship of God’s work, which is by faith.
Speculative teaching fails because it does not advance God's stewardship by faith; doctrine must serve the revealed economy of God's work rather than endless controversy.
- Col.1.25
I became its servant by the commission God gave me to fully proclaim to you the word of God,
Paul's stewardship is for the church and takes the concrete form of fully proclaiming God's word, especially the revealed mystery of Christ among the nations.
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 management 2× Luke 16:2, Luke 16:4
stewardship 2× Ephesians 3:2, Ephesians 3:9
[a] responsibility 1× 1 Corinthians 9:17
[position] 1× Luke 16:3
[the] stewardship 1× 1 Timothy 1:4
a plan 1× Ephesians 1:10
commission 1× Colossians 1:25
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 16:2 οἰκονομίας to management Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular Luke 16:3 οἰκονομίαν to [position] Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Luke 16:4 οἰκονομίας to management Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 1 Corinthians 9:17 οἰκονομίαν to [a] responsibility Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Ephesians 1:10 οἰκονομίαν to a plan Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Ephesians 3:2 οἰκονομίαν to stewardship Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular Ephesians 3:9 οἰκονομία to stewardship Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Colossians 1:25 οἰκονομίαν to commission Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 1 Timothy 1:4 οἰκονομίαν to [the] stewardship Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Luke 16:2
Aligned rows 9
Books represented 5
Luke 3 1 Corinthians 1 Ephesians 3 Colossians 1 1 Timothy 1
Source forms
οἰκονομίαν 6x oikonomian Luke 16:3, 1 Corinthians 9:17, Ephesians 1:10, Ephesians 3:2
οἰκονομίας 2x oikonomias Luke 16:2, Luke 16:4
οἰκονομία 1x oikonomia Ephesians 3:9
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 6x Luke 16:3, 1 Corinthians 9:17, Ephesians 1:10, Ephesians 3:2
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 2x Luke 16:2, Luke 16:4
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 1x Ephesians 3:9
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Use stewardship language to increase accountability to God's commission, not to shield leaders or systems from examination.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not reduce οἰκονομία to financial giving; the selected texts concern entrusted gospel and household responsibility.
- Do not use stewardship to imply that ministers own the church, message, or people entrusted to their care.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Divinely ordered administration or dispensation of God's plan, not merely human household management
Strong's G3622
Lexical occurrences 9 verses Greek text appearances 7 times Word forms 3 forms 9 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link 1 Timothy 1:3-7 Source Gloss
administration (of a household or estate); specially, a (religious) "economy"
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Divinely ordered administration or dispensation of God's plan, not merely human household management
(οἰκονομέω), [in LXX: Isa.22:19, 21 (מַצָּב, מֶמְשָׁלָה)* ;]
1prop. (Plat., Arist.), the office of οἰκονόμος, stewardship: Luk.16:2-4.
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
7 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 16:2 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
οἰκονομίας oikonomiav
stewardship
Read verse Luke 16:3 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
οἰκονομίαν oikonomian
stewardship
Read verse Luke 16:4 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
οἰκονομίας, oikonomiav
stewardship
Read verse 1 Corinthians 9:17 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
οἰκονομίαν oikonomian
stewardship
Read verse Ephesians 1:10 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
οἰκονομίαν oikonomian
stewardship
Read verse Ephesians 3:2 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
οἰκονομίαν oikonomian
stewardship
Read verse Colossians 1:25 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
οἰκονομίαν oikonomian
stewardship
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 3 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 patterns 3 Aligned forms 9 Case pattern Accusative (6) Number pattern Singular (9)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Feminine Eph 3:9 1×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine Luke 16:2 · Luke 16:4 2×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine Luke 16:3 · 1 Cor 9:17 · Eph 1:10 · Eph 3:2 · Col 1:25 · 1 Tim 1:4 6×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
A management or stewardship entrusted by God, here referring to His redemptive plan carried forward through faith.
Showing 1 selected witness from 9 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
οἰκονομία is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
True teaching advances God’s redemptive stewardship, whereas speculative myths derail believers from participating in His saving purposes. 1 Timothy 1:3-7
Canonical Themes
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
Stewardship changes the posture of ministry because the steward is neither owner nor freelance creator. Paul cannot boast as though the gospel originated with him. He must discharge a responsibility entrusted by God. That charge is doctrinal as well as practical: Timothy must resist speculative teaching that distracts from God's work by faith, and Paul serves the church by making the word of God fully known.
Administrative competence may assist this calling, but οἰκονομία is not a baptized management slogan. Its center is accountable service under God's authority. Teachers and leaders should therefore ask whether their structures, words, and decisions protect the gospel trust, build the household of God, and serve Christ's people. Stewardship encourages initiative, but it forbids possessiveness, manipulation, novelty for its own sake, and authority detached from the revealed commission.
Anchor passage
1Cor.9.17
Doctrinal connections
- 1 Corinthians 4:1-5, servants of Christ and stewards of God's mysteries
- 1 Corinthians 9:15-23, gospel commission and voluntary self-denial
- 1 Timothy 1:3-7, resisting speculation that displaces faithful instruction
- Colossians 1:24-29, stewardship for the church through proclaiming Christ
- Genesis 39:1-6, Joseph entrusted with another's household
- Luke 12:35-48, the faithful and wise manager accountable to the master
Οἰκονομία combines the household idea with management or ordering. Its semantic range includes stewardship, administration, arrangement, and the discharge of an entrusted office. The household image supplies accountability; the context identifies whether the emphasis falls on the charge, its execution, or God's larger ordering.
From Old to New Testament
Household stewards in the Old Testament exercised delegated authority and answered to the owner. Jesus uses the same accountable pattern in parables of servants awaiting their master. Paul applies it to gospel ministry within God's household, where Christ remains Lord and the steward serves His revealed purpose.
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