What does εὐχαριστία (eucharistía) mean in the Bible?
G2169 names thanksgiving or gratitude. The local witness contains fifteen uses in fifteen verses across nine books.
Greek · G2169
εὐχαριστία
Gratitude; actively, grateful language (to God, as an act of worship)
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εὐχαριστία G2169
Pronunciation eucharistía
What does εὐχαριστία (eucharistía) mean in the Bible?
G2169 names thanksgiving or gratitude. The local witness contains fifteen uses in fifteen verses across nine books.
Reader summary
Full entry for εὐχαριστία (G2169) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G2169?
The BSB source-word alignment has 15 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include thanksgiving (6), thanks (2), . . . (1), [adequately] thank (1), [and] thanksgiving (1).
Where does εὐχαριστία (eucharistía) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Acts 24:3. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Timothy (3), 2 Corinthians (3), Colossians (2), Revelation (2).
What This Word Actually Means
G2169 names thanksgiving or gratitude. The local witness contains fifteen uses in fifteen verses across nine books. Most passages direct thanks to God: grace multiplying through ministry, generosity supplying the saints, prayer offered with thanksgiving, food received as God's good creation, and worship before the throne. Yet Acts 24:3 uses the noun in Tertullus's flattering acknowledgment to Felix, and 1 Corinthians 14:16 asks whether an uninstructed hearer can affirm another person's thanksgiving.
Those uses prevent the gloss from being restricted to inward feeling or automatically God-directed speech. The passage must identify the recipient, occasion, truthfulness, and communal effect. Biblical thanksgiving can accompany suffering, generosity, petition, ordinary meals, and worship without denying grief or turning gratitude into a technique for controlling outcomes.
How the Bible Uses It
G2169 moves from civic gratitude in Acts to congregational speech, grace-produced thanksgiving, prayer, reception of created gifts, and heavenly worship. The shared idea is expressed gratitude; its recipient and function come from each context.
- Act.24.3
In every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with all gratitude.
The noun occurs in a forensic address to Felix, not in direct worship.
- 1Co.14.16
Otherwise, if you speak a blessing in spirit, how can someone who is uninstructed say “Amen” to your thanksgiving, since he does not know what you are saying?
Congregational thanksgiving is evaluated by whether others can understand and affirm it.
- 2Co.4.15
All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is extending to more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow, to the glory of God.
The spread of grace results in thanksgiving and God's glory.
- 2Co.9.11
You will be enriched in every way to be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will produce thanksgiving to God.
Provision serves generosity, and generosity leads recipients toward thanksgiving to God.
- Eph.5.4
Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk, or crude joking, which are out of character, but rather thanksgiving.
Thanksgiving provides a fitting alternative to corrupt speech.
- Php.4.6
Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Thanksgiving accompanies requests brought to God; it does not erase the requests.
- 1Ti.4.3
They will prohibit marriage and require abstinence from certain foods that God has created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth.
Receiving created food with thanksgiving stands against false prohibition.
- Rev.7.12
Saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanks and honor and power and strength be to our God forever and ever! Amen.”
Thanksgiving is one part of the assembly's praise before God.
Passage context
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 thanksgiving 6× 1 Corinthians 14:16, 2 Corinthians 9:11, Ephesians 5:4, Philippians 4:6
thanks 2× Revelation 4:9, Revelation 7:12
. . . 1× 2 Corinthians 4:15
[adequately] thank 1× 1 Thessalonians 3:9
[and] thanksgiving 1× 1 Timothy 2:1
expressions of thanksgiving 1× 2 Corinthians 9:12
gratitude 1× Acts 24:3
thankful 1× Colossians 4:2
thankfulness 1× Colossians 2:7
Show sample aligned rows
Acts 24:3 εὐχαριστίας to gratitude Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 1 Corinthians 14:16 εὐχαριστίᾳ to thanksgiving Noun - Dative Feminine Singular 2 Corinthians 4:15 εὐχαριστίαν to . . . Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 2 Corinthians 9:11 εὐχαριστίαν to thanksgiving Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 2 Corinthians 9:12 εὐχαριστιῶν to expressions of thanksgiving Noun - Genitive Feminine Plural Ephesians 5:4 εὐχαριστία to thanksgiving Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular Philippians 4:6 εὐχαριστίας to thanksgiving Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural Colossians 2:7 εὐχαριστίᾳ to thankfulness Noun - Dative Feminine Singular Colossians 4:2 εὐχαριστίᾳ to thankful Noun - Dative Feminine Singular 1 Thessalonians 3:9 εὐχαριστίαν to [adequately] thank Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Acts 24:3
Aligned rows 15
Books represented 9
Acts 1 1 Corinthians 1 2 Corinthians 3 Ephesians 1 Philippians 1 Colossians 2 1 Thessalonians 1 1 Timothy 3 Revelation 2
Source forms
εὐχαριστίας 5x eucharistias Acts 24:3, Philippians 4:6, 1 Timothy 2:1, 1 Timothy 4:3
εὐχαριστίαν 4x eucharistian 2 Corinthians 4:15, 2 Corinthians 9:11, 1 Thessalonians 3:9, Revelation 4:9
εὐχαριστίᾳ 3x eucharistia 1 Corinthians 14:16, Colossians 2:7, Colossians 4:2
εὐχαριστία 2x eucharistia Ephesians 5:4, Revelation 7:12
εὐχαριστιῶν 1x eucharistiōn 2 Corinthians 9:12
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Feminine Singular 4x 2 Corinthians 4:15, 2 Corinthians 9:11, 1 Thessalonians 3:9, Revelation 4:9
Noun - Dative Feminine Singular 3x 1 Corinthians 14:16, Colossians 2:7, Colossians 4:2
Noun - Genitive Feminine Singular 3x Acts 24:3, 1 Timothy 4:3, 1 Timothy 4:4
Noun - Accusative Feminine Plural 2x Philippians 4:6, 1 Timothy 2:1
Noun - Nominative Feminine Singular 2x Ephesians 5:4, Revelation 7:12
Noun - Genitive Feminine Plural 1x 2 Corinthians 9:12
Using This Word Well
Be careful not to...
- Name the recipient and reason for thanksgiving rather than demanding a generic positive mood.
- Allow thanksgiving to accompany honest petition and suffering without silencing either.
Avoid claiming...
- Do not claim every G2169 occurrence is direct worship.
- Do not claim thanksgiving requires calling evil good or pretending needs are absent.
- Do not claim this noun by itself defines the Lord's Supper.
Evidence Summary
Greek word. Gratitude expressed as active worship and verbal thanksgiving to God, not mere internal feeling alone
Strong's G2169
Lexical occurrences 15 verses Greek text appearances 15 times Word forms 6 forms 15 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Colossians 4:2–6 Source Gloss
gratitude; actively, grateful language (to God, as an act of worship)
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
15 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Acts 24:3 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
εὐχαριστίας. eucaristiav
thankfulness, gratitude
Read verse 1 Corinthians 14:16 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
εὐχαριστίᾳ, eucaristia
thankfulness, gratitude
Read verse 2 Corinthians 4:15 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
εὐχαριστίαν eucaristian
thankfulness, gratitude
Read verse 2 Corinthians 9:11 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
εὐχαριστίαν eucaristian
thankfulness, gratitude
Read verse 2 Corinthians 9:12 Noun Genitive Plural Feminine
εὐχαριστιῶν eucaristiwn
thankfulness, gratitude
Read verse Ephesians 5:4 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
εὐχαριστία. eucaristia
thankfulness, gratitude
Read verse Philippians 4:6 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
εὐχαριστίας eucaristiav
thankfulness, gratitude
Read verse Colossians 2:7 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
εὐχαριστίᾳ. eucaristia
thankfulness, gratitude
Read verse Colossians 4:2 Noun Dative Singular Feminine
εὐχαριστίᾳ· eucaristia
thankfulness, gratitude
Read verse 1 Thessalonians 3:9 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
εὐχαριστίαν eucaristian
thankfulness, gratitude
Read verse 1 Timothy 2:1 Noun Accusative Plural Feminine
εὐχαριστίας, eucaristiav
thankfulness, gratitude
Read verse 1 Timothy 4:3 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
εὐχαριστίας eucaristiav
thankfulness, gratitude
Read verse 1 Timothy 4:4 Noun Genitive Singular Feminine
εὐχαριστίας eucaristiav
thankfulness, gratitude
Read verse Revelation 4:9 Noun Accusative Singular Feminine
εὐχαριστίαν eucaristian
thankfulness, gratitude
Read verse Revelation 7:12 Noun Nominative Singular Feminine
εὐχαριστία eucaristia
thankfulness, gratitude
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 this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 6 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 6 Aligned forms 15 Case pattern Accusative (5) Number pattern Singular (13)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Feminine Eph 5:4 · Rev 7:12 2×
Genitive · Singular · Feminine Acts 24:3 · Phil 4:6 · 1 Tim 4:3 · 1 Tim 4:4 4×
Genitive · Plural · Feminine 2 Cor 9:12 1×
Dative · Singular · Feminine 1 Cor 14:16 · Col 2:7 · Col 4:2 3×
Accusative · Singular · Feminine 2 Cor 4:15 · 2 Cor 9:11 · 1 Thess 3:9 · Rev 4:9 4×
Accusative · Plural · Feminine 1 Tim 2:1 1×
Selected Scripture Witnesses
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Biblical Witnesses
Corporate prayer practice marked by gratitude and watchfulness in intercession
Proper speech and conduct contrasted with coarse behavior, thanksgiving as fitting expression
Public expression of gratitude in restored community worship and celebration
Showing 3 selected witnesses from 15 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
εὐχαριστία is built from this root:
Part of These Phrases
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
For the Preacher and Teacher
G2169 teaches gratitude with an object, a reason, and a setting. Thanksgiving in these passages is not a private mood pasted over pain. It can rise while affliction spreads grace, while a collection supplies saints, while anxious requests are honestly presented, and while ordinary food is received as God's creation. It also belongs to speech that other worshipers can understand and affirm.
Acts 24 supplies a needed warning: the noun itself does not guarantee worship or sincerity, because gratitude can appear in strategic public rhetoric. A faithful teacher should therefore name who receives the thanks, what gift or action occasions it, and how the passage evaluates the expression. This keeps thanksgiving from becoming denial, manipulation, or compulsory cheerfulness and lets it remain a truthful response to grace, provision, creation, and the worth of God.
Anchor passage
2Co.4.15
Doctrinal connections
- 1Co.14.16 - thanksgiving in gathered worship should be intelligible and affirmable.
- 2Co.4.15 - grace extending through ministry overflows in thanksgiving to God's glory.
- 2Co.9.11-12 - generous provision meets needs and produces thanksgiving to God.
- Php.4.6 - thanksgiving accompanies honest requests brought to God.
- 1Ti.4.3-4 - created food is received with thanksgiving and truth.
- Rev.7.12 - thanksgiving belongs to praise before God's throne.
The fifteen noun forms include singular and plural cases. Acts 24:3 shows gratitude directed to Felix, while most other uses are explicitly or contextually God-directed. Grammar identifies the noun's role, but recipient and evaluation come from the sentence.
From Old to New Testament
Israel's prayers and songs often join thanksgiving to remembered acts of God. Those patterns may illuminate these uses when the New Testament passage names the gift, giver, and response.
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