ὀφειλέτης
Debtor
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Canonical witness: The witness passages show where this word is used in context. Click any to open the study page for that passage.
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What does ὀφειλέτης (opheilétēs) mean in the Bible?
ὀφειλέτης (opheilétēs) is a Greek word meaning "debtor". ὀφειλέτης, -ου, ὁ (ὀφείλω), a debtor: with genitive (of the amount), Mat. It captures Paul’s missionary stewardship and sense of responsibility to all peoples.
Full entry for ὀφειλέτης (G3781) · Browse the biblical lexicon
Meaning
Denotes both financial debt and moral obligation—especially sin's debt owed to God.
(ὀφείλω), a debtor: with genitive (of the amount), Mat.18:24. Metaphorical, of obligation or duty in general, with reference to favours received or injury done, etc.: Mat.6:12, Rom.1:14 8:12 15:27, Gal.5:3; of sinners, in relation to God (= Heb. חַיָּב; cf. Sir (Heb.8:5) (6)), Luk.13:4.
Why This Word Matters
It captures Paul’s missionary stewardship and sense of responsibility to all peoples. Romans 1:8-15
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
Biblical Occurrences
Each occurrence shows the passage reference, the original language term as it appears in that context, its transliteration, and the contextual sense.
Word Pictures (Robertson)
A.T. Robertson's Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) discusses this term in the following chapters. Open any chapter and go to the Word Pictures tab to read his verse-by-verse commentary.
A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures in the New Testament (1930–31) — public domain