What does παραθήκη (parathḗkē) mean in the Bible?
παραθήκη means a deposit, something entrusted for safekeeping. The word appears only three times in the Pastoral Epistles, and those three uses are concentrated and weighty.
Greek · G3866
παραθήκη
Deposit
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παραθήκη G3866
Pronunciation parathḗkē
What does παραθήκη (parathḗkē) mean in the Bible?
παραθήκη means a deposit, something entrusted for safekeeping. The word appears only three times in the Pastoral Epistles, and those three uses are concentrated and weighty.
Reader summary
Full entry for παραθήκη (G3866) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G3866?
The BSB source-word alignment has 3 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include entrusted [to you] (1), has been entrusted [to you] (1), I have entrusted [to Him] (1).
Where does παραθήκη (parathḗkē) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at 1 Timothy 6:20. Its strongest book concentrations include 2 Timothy (2), 1 Timothy (1).
What This Word Actually Means
παραθήκη means a deposit, something entrusted for safekeeping. The word appears only three times in the Pastoral Epistles, and those three uses are concentrated and weighty. Timothy must guard what has been entrusted to him. Paul says he knows the One he has believed and is convinced that He is able to guard what Paul has entrusted to Him for that day. Timothy must guard the treasure entrusted to him by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
The word therefore moves in two directions. The minister guards the apostolic deposit entrusted to him, and God guards what belongs to Paul until the last day. παραθήκη is not a slogan for private theological possession. It is stewardship under God: the gospel trust must be preserved against empty chatter and false knowledge, and the servant's own life and hope are kept by the faithful Lord.
How the Bible Uses It
In the Pastoral Epistles, παραθήκη names the entrusted deposit that must be guarded. It joins ministry stewardship with confidence that God Himself guards what belongs to His servant for the day of Christ.
- 1Tim.6.20
O Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to you. Avoid irreverent, empty chatter and the opposing arguments of so-called “knowledge,”
Timothy must guard what has been entrusted to him and avoid empty chatter and so-called knowledge. The deposit is protected by rejecting rival speech.
- 2Tim.1.12
For this reason, even though I suffer as I do, I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him for that day.
Paul is not ashamed because he knows the One he has believed and trusts Him to guard what Paul has entrusted for that day. The word also expresses confidence in God's keeping power.
- 2Tim.1.14
Guard the treasure entrusted to you, with the help of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
Timothy must guard the good deposit through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. Faithful stewardship depends on divine help.
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 entrusted [to you] 1× 2 Timothy 1:14
has been entrusted [to you] 1× 1 Timothy 6:20
I have entrusted [to Him] 1× 2 Timothy 1:12
Show sample aligned rows
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row 1 Timothy 6:20
Aligned rows 3
Books represented 2
1 Timothy 1 2 Timothy 2
Source forms
παραθήκην 3x parathēkēn 1 Timothy 6:20, 2 Timothy 1:12, 2 Timothy 1:14
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 3x 1 Timothy 6:20, 2 Timothy 1:12, 2 Timothy 1:14
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Guard the gospel with humility, remembering that stewardship is received and accountable.
- Trust God's keeping power while practicing real vigilance against false teaching and empty talk.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim that παραθήκη authorizes every inherited ministry practice as untouchable.
- Do not claim that guarding the deposit depends on human strength apart from the Holy Spirit.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Property entrusted to another's care; in Paul, divine truth committed to believers for safekeeping.
Strong's G3866
Lexical occurrences 3 verses Greek text appearances 1 time Word forms 1 form 3 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link 1 Timothy 6:20-21 Source Gloss
deposit
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
Property entrusted to another's care; in Paul, divine truth committed to believers for safekeeping.
(παρατίθημι), [in LXX: Lev.6:2, 4 (Lev 5:21, 23) (פִּקָּדוֹן), and in Tob 10:13, 2Ma.3:10 2Mac 3:15, seel. for παρακαταθήκη (which see) * ;] a deposit or trust: 1Ti.6:20, 2Ti.1:12 1:14 (for exx. of this form, see MM, Exp., iii, xviii).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
1 Greek text appearance shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
2 Timothy 1:12 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
παραθήκην paraqhkhn
anything committed to one's charge
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 1 case and number pattern. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 1 Aligned forms 3 Case pattern Accusative (3) Number pattern Singular (3)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Accusative · Singular · Feminine 1 Tim 6:20 · 2 Tim 1:12 · 2 Tim 1:14 3×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
Something entrusted for safekeeping.
something entrusted for safekeeping
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 3 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
παραθήκη is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
The gospel is portrayed as a sacred trust placed into the care of faithful servants. 1 Timothy 6:20-21
Apostolic teaching is not invented but received and entrusted. 2 Timothy 1:13-14
Canonical Themes
For the Preacher and Teacher
παραθήκη is small in occurrence count but large in pastoral weight. The Pastoral Epistles do not treat ministry as inventing content for each generation. Timothy receives something entrusted and must guard it. The threats are not only open persecution, but also empty chatter, opposing arguments, and false knowledge that sound impressive while pulling the church away from the apostolic trust.
Yet Paul also uses the word to confess confidence in God. He suffers without shame because he knows whom he has believed, and he trusts God to guard what is entrusted for that day. This double movement matters. Faithful leaders must guard the gospel deposit with real vigilance, but they do so as people whose own life and hope are guarded by God. Stewardship is serious, Spirit-helped, and never self-sufficient.
Anchor passage
2Tim.1.14
Doctrinal connections
- G3056 Logos: The entrusted deposit is preserved through faithful words and the faithful word as taught.
- G225 Aletheia: The deposit is guarded against so-called knowledge that departs from the truth.
- G4151 Pneuma: 2 Timothy 1:14 says the good deposit is guarded through the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.
- G4102 Pistis: Paul's confidence rests in knowing whom he has believed, not in his ability to secure himself.
- G1319 Didaskalia: Guarding the deposit requires sound teaching rather than novelty.
- G2784 Kerusso: Proclamation serves the entrusted deposit when it preaches the word rather than self.
παραθήκη refers to something placed with another for safekeeping. Its three Pastoral Epistles uses are direct and concentrated. The same term can describe what Timothy must guard and what God is able to guard, so the word carries both stewardship and assurance.
From Old to New Testament
Scripture repeatedly presents God's people as stewards of what they receive from Him, including covenant words, worship, and testimony. The Pastoral Epistles focus that stewardship on the apostolic gospel deposit guarded in the church by the Spirit's help.
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