To give over (by hand or surrender)
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The Greek verb epididomi describes giving or handing something to another person and, in one nautical scene, yielding to forces that cannot be resisted. The Gospels use it for a parent responding to a child's request, a scroll handed to Jesus in the synagogue, bread or fish given at a meal, and the risen Jesus receiving food.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἐπιδίδωμι (G1929) · Open the biblical lexicon
The Greek verb epididomi describes giving or handing something to another person and, in one nautical scene, yielding to forces that cannot be resisted. The Gospels use it for a parent responding to a child's request, a scroll handed to Jesus in the synagogue, bread or fish given at a meal, and the risen Jesus receiving food.
The BSB source-word alignment has 9 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include will give (4), [and] delivered (1), [and] gave [it] (1), [So] we gave way (1), they gave (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Matthew 7:9. Its strongest book concentrations include Luke (5), Acts (2), Matthew (2).
The Greek verb epididomi describes giving or handing something to another person and, in one nautical scene, yielding to forces that cannot be resisted. The Gospels use it for a parent responding to a child's request, a scroll handed to Jesus in the synagogue, bread or fish given at a meal, and the risen Jesus receiving food. Acts uses it for delivering the Jerusalem council's letter and for a ship giving way to the wind.
The word names transfer or yielding but does not by itself prove ownership, consent, truthfulness, or moral approval. A good giver does not substitute harm for needed provision, and an entrusted document should be transmitted accurately. Yielding to weather can be prudent recognition of limits, not moral surrender. Responsible teaching asks what is given, who has authority to give it, whether the recipient can consent, and whether the transfer serves nourishment, communication, manipulation, or safety.
Epididomi marks the transfer of food, a text, a message, or another item and can describe giving way to uncontrollable conditions. Object, giver, recipient, and circumstance supply the moral and practical force.
Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone?
Jesus asks whether a father would hand his son a stone when the child requests bread.
The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. Unrolling it, He found the place where it was written:
The scroll of Isaiah is handed to Jesus in the Nazareth synagogue before He reads from it.
While He was reclining at the table with them, He took bread, spoke a blessing and broke it, and gave it to them.
At the Emmaus table, Jesus takes bread, blesses and breaks it, and gives it to the two disciples.
So they gave Him a piece of broiled fish,
The gathered disciples give the risen Jesus a piece of broiled fish, which He eats before them.
So the men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they assembled the congregation and delivered the letter.
The delegation gathers the believers in Antioch and delivers the council's letter.
Unable to head into the wind, the ship was caught up. So we gave way and let ourselves be driven along.
When the ship cannot head into the wind, the crew gives way and is driven along.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. to give over (by hand or surrender)
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
11 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I hand in, give up, give way
Read verseI hand in, give up, give way
Read verseI hand in, give up, give way
Read verseI hand in, give up, give way
Read verseI hand in, give up, give way
Read verseI hand in, give up, give way
Read verseI hand in, give up, give way
Read verseI hand in, give up, give way
Read verseI hand in, give up, give way
Read verseI hand in, give up, give way
Read verseI hand in, give up, give way
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.
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.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
How this verb appears across 9 occurrences in the NT discourse index (MACULA Greek SBLGNT).
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)
ἐπιδίδωμι is built from these roots:
Epididomi directs attention to what passes from one party to another. In Matthew 7 and Luke 11, Jesus reasons from ordinary parental care: a child's request for food is not answered with a harmful substitute. The comparison supports trust in the Father's goodness while also setting a pattern of provision that listens to actual need. Luke 4 places a Scripture scroll in Jesus' hands within ordered synagogue reading; the transfer does not grant ownership to alter the text.
At Emmaus, Jesus gives broken bread as the disciples recognize Him, and in Jerusalem the disciples give Him fish within resurrection testimony. The verb participates in these scenes without making every use of the same verb sacramental. Acts 15 shows a letter delivered to the gathered church, underscoring accurate communication and accountable messengers. Acts 27 uses the verb differently when sailors yield to a wind they cannot master.
That response is part of crisis navigation, not evidence of failed faith. Faithful application gives what truly nourishes, transmits messages without distortion, and recognizes when physical conditions require a safer course. Giving should respect ownership, consent, dietary and medical needs, and the recipient's dignity. Yielding can be wise when control is impossible, but it should not be used to demand surrender to abuse or injustice.
Matt.7.9
Epididomi is a Greek compound verb meaning to give over, hand, present, or deliver. In Acts 27 its intransitive use describes giving way. Direct and indirect objects usually identify the item and recipient.
Old Testament giving, entrusting, feeding, scroll, and yielding scenes use several Hebrew verbs. Canonical themes of provision, stewardship, hospitality, and transfer can be compared, while each passage's object and agent remain primary and no one-to-one lexical identity should be assumed.