Greek · G596

ἀποθήκη

A storehouse keeps gathered produce or possessions, but its biblical use does not carry one moral verdict. In Luke 12, a wealthy man plans larger barns and treats stored abundance as security for many years, until God's question exposes the uncertainty of his life and the absence of richness toward God.

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ἀποθήκηG596
Pronunciationapothḗkē

What does ἀποθήκη (apothḗkē) mean in the Bible?

Reader summary

Full entry for ἀποθήκη (G596) · Open the biblical lexicon

Questions this entry answers

What does ἀποθήκη (apothḗkē) mean in the Bible?

A storehouse keeps gathered produce or possessions, but its biblical use does not carry one moral verdict. In Luke 12, a wealthy man plans larger barns and treats stored abundance as security for many years, until God's question exposes the uncertainty of his life and the absence of richness toward God.

How does the BSB render G596?

The BSB source-word alignment has 6 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include barn (4), barns (2).

Where does ἀποθήκη (apothḗkē) appear in Scripture?

The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 3:12. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (3), Matthew (3).

What This Word Actually Means

A storehouse keeps gathered produce or possessions, but its biblical use does not carry one moral verdict. In Luke 12, a wealthy man plans larger barns and treats stored abundance as security for many years, until God's question exposes the uncertainty of his life and the absence of richness toward God. Matthew 6 points to birds that do not gather into barns and yet receive the Father's care.

Matthew 13 names a barn as the destination for wheat in a harvest parable. Storage, misplaced confidence and the safe gathering of a crop are distinguishable functions. The noun does not condemn every prudent provision or promise that empty shelves demonstrate faith. Teaching should follow what a speaker says about the stored goods, the person's trust, or the parable's harvest rather than treating a building as morally self-explanatory.

Sources