To receive
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The Greek verb apodechomai describes receiving, welcoming, accepting, or acknowledging, often with a positive or willing posture. Crowds welcome Jesus, and Jesus welcomes a crowd by teaching about God's kingdom and healing those in need.
Reader summary
Full entry for ἀποδέχομαι (G588) · Open the biblical lexicon
The Greek verb apodechomai describes receiving, welcoming, accepting, or acknowledging, often with a positive or willing posture. Crowds welcome Jesus, and Jesus welcomes a crowd by teaching about God's kingdom and healing those in need.
The BSB source-word alignment has 7 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include welcomed (2), embraced (1), He welcomed (1), to welcome (1), we acknowledge [this] (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 8:40. Its strongest book concentrations include Acts (5), Luke (2).
The Greek verb apodechomai describes receiving, welcoming, accepting, or acknowledging, often with a positive or willing posture. Crowds welcome Jesus, and Jesus welcomes a crowd by teaching about God's kingdom and healing those in need. People receive Peter's message and are baptized; disciples welcome Apollos, who becomes a great help; Jerusalem believers welcome Paul joyfully; an advocate formally acknowledges benefits attributed to Felix; and Paul welcomes everyone who comes to his rented house while proclaiming the kingdom.
The response varies from hospitality to reception of a message or courteous acknowledgment, so the verb does not prove the sincerity or moral rightness of every reception. Responsible teaching asks who receives whom or what, what action accompanies welcome, and what boundaries protect everyone involved. It must not make welcome a tool of coercion, erase doctrinal discernment, require unsafe access to homes or vulnerable people, confuse politeness with endorsement, or withhold hospitality according to race, class, disability, nationality, or social usefulness.
Apodechomai portrays crowds and disciples welcoming people, hearers receiving a message, formal acknowledgment in public speech, and Paul opening his rented home to visitors. Genuine reception becomes visible through attention, help, joy, teaching, and care.
When Jesus returned, the crowd welcomed Him, for they had all been waiting for Him.
A waiting crowd welcomes Jesus when He returns before Jairus and a suffering woman seek His help.
But the crowds found out and followed Him. He welcomed them and spoke to them about the kingdom of God, and He healed those who needed healing.
Jesus welcomes the pursuing crowds by teaching God's kingdom and healing people who need care.
Those who embraced his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to the believers that day.
Those who receive Peter's Pentecost message respond with baptism and incorporation into the believers.
When Apollos resolved to cross over to Achaia, the brothers encouraged him and wrote to the disciples there to welcome him. On his arrival, he was a great help to those who by grace had believed.
Believers are urged by letter to welcome Apollos, whose ministry then helps those who believed by grace.
When we arrived in Jerusalem, the brothers welcomed us joyfully.
The Jerusalem brothers welcome Paul and his companions joyfully before later conflict unfolds in the city.
In every way and everywhere, most excellent Felix, we acknowledge this with all gratitude.
Tertullus formally acknowledges benefits attributed to Felix while presenting a prosecutorial speech against Paul.
Paul stayed there two full years in his own rented house, welcoming all who came to visit him.
During two years of constrained residence, Paul welcomes all visitors into his rented house and continues teaching.
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 receive with gladness or approval; to accept willingly rather than merely take in.
To receive with gladness or approval; to accept willingly rather than merely take in.
to accept gladly, welcome, receive: Luk.8:40 9:11, Act.18:27 21:17 28:30; metaphorically, with accusative of thing(s), Act.2:41 24:3 (MM, see word; Cremer, 688).
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
6 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
I receive, welcome, entertain
Read verseI receive, welcome, entertain
Read verseI receive, welcome, entertain
Read verseI receive, welcome, entertain
Read verseI receive, welcome, entertain
Read verseI receive, welcome, entertain
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 7 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)
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 2 selected witnesses from 7 lexical occurrence verses.
Apodechomai presents reception as more than proximity while allowing the narrative to test its quality. Luke 8 shows a crowd ready to receive Jesus as two people with urgent needs move toward Him. Luke 9 makes Jesus' own welcome active: He teaches about the kingdom and heals those needing care, later involving the disciples in feeding the crowd. Acts 2 joins reception of the apostolic message with baptism and shared community, not coerced assent.
In Acts 18, a commendation helps disciples welcome Apollos across regions, and his grace-enabled ministry benefits them. Acts 21 records joyful welcome without pretending later conflict disappears. Acts 24 uses the verb in polished courtroom acknowledgment, warning readers that courteous reception language can serve advocacy and does not by itself verify a ruler's virtue.
Acts 28 portrays Paul, though constrained, welcoming all visitors and speaking openly. Faithful application makes room for strangers and truth while respecting consent, screening, confidentiality, doctrine, and physical limits. It offers practical care, refuses status-based gatekeeping, and recognizes that welcome may occur in public gatherings, supported ministry, or bounded homes without granting anyone unrestricted access.
Luke.9.11
Apodechomai is a Greek middle-form verb of receiving or welcoming that can emphasize willing acceptance. Its direct object may be a person, message, or acknowledged benefit, and narrative actions determine whether the reception involves hospitality, belief, courtesy, or rhetorical convention.
The Hebrew Scriptures command hospitality toward foreigners, provide refuge and food, and test welcome by justice rather than sentiment. The New Testament centers reception on Christ, truth, grace, and love while also requiring discernment about teaching and protection of households and vulnerable people.