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κοινόω

koinóō

G2840 verb

SILEX Entry

Root κοιν- to share, to make common, to treat as ordinary

Definition

To make common, to render or treat as common (koinos), especially in contrast to what is holy, set apart, or considered ritually pure; to defile, profane, or pollute in a cultic or ritual sense; to regard or treat as impure or unclean in a ceremonial context. The term can describe actively making something ritually impure, or subjectively considering or declaring it so, with a focus on ritual distinction or violation of purity boundaries.

Semantic Range

to render common, to profane, to desecrate, to defile (ritually or ceremonially), to treat as unclean, to consider impure, to pollute (ritual or symbolic sense)

Root / Etymology

From the adjective κοινός (common, shared, ordinary), combining with the causative verbal ending -όω, indicating 'to make or treat as common.' Related to the semantic field of social, ritual, and cultic distinction between the sacred/set apart and the ordinary/profane.

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek, κοινόω is rare and generally means 'to share' or 'to make common property.' In Hellenistic and especially Jewish Greek (Septuagint and New Testament), the term acquires a technical sense connected to ritual purity: to make or declare unclean in a cultic or ceremonial sense. In the Septuagint, it is used to translate Hebrew concepts related to what is profane or ritually impure (cf. Leviticus 21:4, Isaiah 66:17), marking the boundary between sacred and common. In the New Testament, particularly in the Gospels and Acts, κοινόω appears with the sense 'to defile'—to render food, persons, or objects impure by contact or declaration, emphasizing the contrast with what is set apart as holy. For example, Mark 7:15–23 discusses foods deemed to defile a person according to ritual law. The term also appears in Acts and Pauline literature to distinguish ritual or symbolic purity from moral or essential impurity. Most English translations render it as 'defile' or 'make unclean,' but this may obscure the technical, ritual dimension of the term in Second Temple and early Christian usage. Notably, in Jewish and early Christian sources, the term relates to issues of identity, boundary maintenance, and participation in communal rituals.

Translation Consistency

primary "defile" 11 occurrences

koinóō primarily describes making ritually impure or treating something holy as common; 'defile' is a natural, commonly used English verb that captures the ritual/ceremonial sense (profane, pollute, desecrate) and will read naturally across forms. It is broader and more idiomatic than the more formal 'profane' or 'render common.'

Alternatives (3 occurrences):
"render common" (2x) "treating as common" (1x)

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from κοινός; to make (or consider) profane (ceremonially):--call common, defile, pollute, unclean.

Root Family

κοινόω (koinoō) — to make common, to treat as ordinary, to render profane

Word Forms

6 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G2840-03 κοινοῖ koinoi V PRS ACT IND 3P SG defiles makes common defiles 6
G2840-06 κοινοῦντα koinounta V PRS ACT PTCP NOM N PL defiling things rendering common things defiling 2
G2840-04 κοινῶσαι koinosai V AOR ACT INF defile to render common to render common 2
G2840-05 κοίνου koinou V PRS ACT IMP 2P SG call common Be treating as common Be defiling as common 2
G2840-01 κεκοίνωκεν kekoinoken V PRF ACT IND 3P SG has defiled has rendered common has defiled 1
G2840-02 κεκοινωμένους kekoinomenous V PRF PASS PTCP ACC M PL unclean having been rendered common defiled 1

Occurrences in Scripture

14 occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G2840-03 Matthew 15:11 κοινοῖ koinoi V PRS ACT IND 3P SG defiles makes common defiles
G2840-03 Matthew 15:11 κοινοῖ koinoi-2 V PRS ACT IND 3P SG defiles makes common defiles
G2840-03 Matthew 15:18 κοινοῖ koinoi V PRS ACT IND 3P SG defiles makes common defiles
G2840-06 Matthew 15:20 κοινοῦντα koinounta V PRS ACT PTCP NOM N PL things that defile things rendering common things defiling
G2840-03 Matthew 15:20 κοινοῖ koinoi V PRS ACT IND 3P SG defiles makes common defiles
G2840-04 Mark 7:15 κοινῶσαι koinosai V AOR ACT INF defile to render common to render common
G2840-06 Mark 7:15 κοινοῦντα koinounta V PRS ACT PTCP NOM N PL defiling things rendering common things defiling
G2840-04 Mark 7:18 κοινῶσαι koinosai V AOR ACT INF defile to render common to render common
G2840-03 Mark 7:20 κοινοῖ koinoi V PRS ACT IND 3P SG defiles makes common defiles
G2840-03 Mark 7:23 κοινοῖ koinoi V PRS ACT IND 3P SG defile makes common defiles
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