συμμέτοχος
symmétochos
G4830 substantive adjective
SILEX Entry
Definition
One who shares with another, a joint participant or co-partaker; someone who takes part in something together with others. In various contexts it can denote a person who receives, experiences, or possesses something in common with others, such as privileges, inheritance, or status.
Semantic Range
joint participant, sharer, co-participant, partner, fellow-sharer, partaker
Root / Etymology
From the preposition σύν ('with, together with') and μέτοχος ('sharing with, participating in'), thus literally 'sharing with' or 'one who has a share with'.
Historical & Contextual Notes
In classical and Hellenistic Greek, συμμέτοχος has the sense of one who has a share or part in something with another—whether experiences, rights, or possessions. It is not limited to spiritual contexts and can refer to participation in any kind of thing (joy, suffering, property, inheritance, etc.). In the New Testament, the term often highlights collective participation in spiritual realities or statuses (e.g., Ephesians 3:6, partakers in the promise in Christ). The English term 'partaker' in older translations can underrepresent the full nuance, since συμμέτοχος includes the sense of joint partnership and mutual sharing rather than passive receiving. The word is closely related to κοινωνός ('partner', 'fellow'), though συμμέτοχος emphasizes shared involvement rather than just partnership. It appears rarely in the Septuagint and extra-biblical Koine, usually for shared possessions or privileges rather than merely association.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
from σύν and μέτοχος; a co-participant:--partaker.
Root Family
συν-μετοχ- (symmétochos) — to share, to have a share with
Word Forms
2 distinct forms
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G4830-01 |
συνμέτοχα | sunmetocha | ADJ.S ACC N PL |
fellow partakers | joint participants | joint participants | 1 |
G4830-02 |
συνμέτοχοι | sunmetochoi | ADJ.S NOM M PL |
partakers | joint participants | joint participants | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
2 occurrences
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
G4830-01 |
Ephesians 3:6 | συνμέτοχα | sunmetocha | ADJ.S ACC N PL |
fellow partakers | joint participants | joint participants |
G4830-02 |
Ephesians 5:7 | συνμέτοχοι | sunmetochoi | ADJ.S NOM M PL |
partakers | joint participants | joint participants |