What does ἀποδέχομαι (apodéchomai) mean in the Bible?
ἀποδέχομαι (apodéchomai): To receive with gladness or approval; to accept willingly rather than merely take in.
Greek · G588
ἀποδέχομαι
To receive
Reading a lexicon entry
What this page is: Each lexicon entry shows the original Hebrew or Greek word behind the English translation: its meaning, its range of use, and where it appears in Scripture.
Strong's number: The Strong's code (H- or G-) is the standard reference number for this word. It connects this entry to chapter and passage language tabs.
Where it appears: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
This lexicon entry is part of our ongoing editorial review. If you notice missing content, unclear wording, or a possible correction, please send us a note through the Connect page. Screenshots are helpful.
ἀποδέχομαι G588
Pronunciation apodéchomai
What does ἀποδέχομαι (apodéchomai) mean in the Bible?
ἀποδέχομαι (apodéchomai): To receive with gladness or approval; to accept willingly rather than merely take in.
Full entry for ἀποδέχομαι (G588) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G588?
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include welcomed (2), embraced (1), He welcomed (1), to welcome (1), we acknowledge [this] (1).
Where does ἀποδέχομαι (apodéchomai) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 8:40. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (5), Luke (2).
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 welcomed 2× Luke 8:40, Acts 21:17
embraced 1× Acts 2:41
He welcomed 1× Luke 9:11
to welcome 1× Acts 18:27
we acknowledge [this] 1× Acts 24:3
welcoming 1× Acts 28:30
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 8:40 ἀπεδέξατο to welcomed Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular Luke 9:11 ἀποδεξάμενος to He welcomed Verb - Aorist Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Singular Acts 2:41 ἀποδεξάμενοι to embraced Verb - Aorist Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Plural Acts 18:27 ἀποδέξασθαι to to welcome Verb - Aorist Infinitive Middle Acts 21:17 ἀπεδέξαντο to welcomed Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural Acts 24:3 ἀποδεχόμεθα to we acknowledge [this] Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 1st Person Plural Acts 28:30 ἀπεδέχετο to welcoming Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Luke 8:40
Aligned rows 7
Books represented 2
Luke 2 Acts 5
Source forms
ἀπεδέξαντο 1x apedexanto Acts 21:17
ἀπεδέξατο 1x apedexato Luke 8:40
ἀπεδέχετο 1x apedecheto Acts 28:30
ἀποδεξάμενοι 1x apodexamenoi Acts 2:41
ἀποδεξάμενος 1x apodexamenos Luke 9:11
ἀποδέξασθαι 1x apodexasthai Acts 18:27
ἀποδεχόμεθα 1x apodechometha Acts 24:3
Parsing patterns
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Plural 1x Acts 21:17
Verb - Aorist Indicative Middle - 3rd Person Singular 1x Luke 8:40
Verb - Aorist Infinitive Middle 1x Acts 18:27
Verb - Aorist Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Plural 1x Acts 2:41
Verb - Aorist Participle Middle - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x Luke 9:11
Verb - Imperfect Indicative Middle or Passive - 3rd Person Singular 1x Acts 28:30
Verb - Present Indicative Middle or Passive - 1st Person Plural 1x Acts 24:3
Evidence Summary
Greek word. To receive with gladness or approval; to accept willingly rather than merely take in.
Strong's G588
Lexical occurrences 7 verses Greek text appearances 6 times Word forms 3 forms 7 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Luke 8:40 Source Gloss
to receive
Extended definition Source: STEPBible TBESG + Abbott-Smith
To receive with gladness or approval; to accept willingly rather than merely take in.
to accept gladly, welcome, receive: Luk.8:40 9:11, Act.18:27 21:17 28:30; metaphorically, with accusative of thing(s), Act.2:41 24:3 (MM, see word; Cremer, 688).
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek 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 8:40 Verb Third Person Singular Aorist Middle Deponent Indicative
ἀπεδέξατο apedexato
I receive, welcome, entertain
Read verse Acts 2:41 Verb Aorist Middle Deponent Participle Nominative Plural Masculine
ἀποδεξάμενοι apodexamenoi
I receive, welcome, entertain
Read verse Acts 15:4 Verb Third Person Plural Aorist Passive Indicative
ἀπεδέχθησαν apedecqhsan
I receive, welcome, entertain
Read verse Acts 18:27 Verb Aorist Middle Deponent Infinitive
ἀποδέξασθαι apodexasqai
I receive, welcome, entertain
Read verse Acts 24:3 Verb First Person Plural Present Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ἀποδεχόμεθα, apodecomeqa
I receive, welcome, entertain
Read verse Acts 28:30 Verb Third Person Singular Imperfect Middle or Passive Deponent Indicative
ἀπεδέχετο apedeceto
I receive, welcome, entertain
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 groups 3 Aligned forms 7 Tenses Aorist, Present, Imperfect Voices Middle
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Tenses
Voices
Indicative states a fact or reality 4×
Aorist Middle Luke 8:40 · Acts 21:17 2×
Present Middle Acts 24:3 1×
Imperfect Middle Acts 28:30 1×
Participle verbal adjective — the action as a modifying quality 2×
Aorist Middle Luke 9:11 · Acts 2:41 2×
Infinitive verbal noun — the action in abstract 1×
Aorist Middle Acts 18:27 1×
Discourse Aspect
How this verb appears across 7 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
Aspect
Tense
aorist 5 present 1 imperfect 1
Voice
middle 7
Mood
indicative 4 participle 2 infinitive 1
NT Occurrences
Luke 8:40 ἀπεδέξατο aorist middle indicative completed Luke 9:11 ἀποδεξάμενος aorist middle participle participle Acts 2:41 ἀποδεξάμενοι aorist middle participle participle Acts 18:27 ἀποδέξασθαι aorist middle infinitive infinitive Acts 21:17 ἀπεδέξαντο aorist middle indicative completed Acts 24:3 ἀποδεχόμεθα present middle indicative ongoing Acts 28:30 ἀπεδέχετο imperfect middle indicative background
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 Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 7 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
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