Unveiling the Word

Understanding Greek words like κοινόω (koinoō) in the New Testament is crucial for a deeper interpretation of biblical texts. This word is particularly significant because it deals with the concept of purity and defilement. In ancient Greek culture and Jewish customs, the notion of what is “common” or “defiled” versus what is “holy” played a crucial role in religious and social life. The word appears in Matthew 15:11, where Jesus challenges traditional purity laws by emphasizing the internal state of a person over external rituals, thus bringing about a profound theological shift.

Necessary Information

Greek Word: κοινόω, transliterated as koinoō [koi-NO-oh].

Etymology: The term koinoō is derived from the Greek root koinos, meaning “common” or “shared.” The verb form koinoō means “to make common” or “to defile,” suggesting a process of changing something from a state of sacredness to one that is ordinary or profane.

Part of Speech: Verb. As a verb, koinoō describes an action or process and is used in various grammatical moods, tenses, and voices. It conveys the act of making something or someone impure or common, often in the context of ritual defilement.

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Defining Meanings

1. To Make Common: The primary meaning of koinoō is “to make common” or “to treat as ordinary.” This implies removing something from a state of being set apart or holy.
2. To Defile: In a religious or ritual context, koinoō means “to defile” or “to pollute.” It describes the act of rendering something ceremonially unclean or unacceptable, particularly in Jewish purity laws.
3. To Declare or Consider Unclean: The word can also mean “to declare unclean” or “to consider as common,” referring to a judgment or decision that changes the status of an object or person from clean to unclean.

Exploring Similar Words

1. καθαρίζω (katharizō) [ka-tha-RI-zo]: Means “to cleanse” or “to purify.” It is often used as the opposite of koinoō, emphasizing the process of making something clean or acceptable, particularly in a ritual context.
2. ἁγνίζω (hagnizō) [hag-NI-zo]: Translates as “to purify” or “to consecrate.” While koinoō suggests making something common or defiled, hagnizō involves setting something apart as holy.
3. μιαίνω (miainō) [mi-AI-no]: Means “to stain” or “to defile,” often used in a more literal or moral sense, referring to contamination or corruption.

Reviewing the Word’s Morphology

Tense, Voice, Mood: koinoō is a verb that can be conjugated in various tenses, voices, and moods, indicating different nuances of action:

• Present Tense: Describes an ongoing action, e.g., “I am defiling.”
• Aorist Tense: Describes a simple, completed action, e.g., “I defiled.”
• Perfect Tense: Indicates a completed action with continuing results, e.g., “I have defiled.”
• Active Voice: The subject performs the action, e.g., “He defiles the altar.”
• Passive Voice: The subject receives the action, e.g., “The altar is defiled.”

Person and Number: koinoō is conjugated to match the subject in person (first, second, third) and number (singular, plural).

Aspect: The verb can have different aspects—imperfective (ongoing action), perfective (completed action), or stative (a state resulting from an action).

Conjugation Table: Present Indicative of κοινόω

For more on Greek verb conjugations, Click here for a beginners guide to reading Greek.

Studying Lexicon Insights

The word koinoō appears in discussions about purity laws in the New Testament. It highlights a shift from traditional Jewish understandings of what defiles a person (external rituals and foods) to a more internal, spiritual understanding (intentions and actions of the heart). This reinterpretation is a cornerstone of Jesus’ teachings, emphasizing moral purity over ceremonial cleanness. In classical Greek literature, koinoō primarily referred to making something common or shared among people, without the specific religious connotations it carries in Jewish and Christian texts. This overview synthesizes insights from BDAG, Thayer’s, LSJ, Vine’s, Strong’s, LEH, and Moulton and Milligan.

Tracing Related Scriptures

1. Matthew 15:11: “It is not what goes into the mouth that defiles [κοινοῖ] a man, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles [κοινοῖ] a man.”
   In this verse, koinoō is used to challenge the Jewish purity laws by focusing on the words and actions that come from the heart rather than the food consumed.
2. Acts 10:15: “And the voice spoke to him again the second time, ‘What God has cleansed, you must not call common [κοινόω].'”
   This passage involves Peter’s vision, where God declares all foods clean, thereby removing the traditional distinctions between clean and unclean.

Analyzing Classical Usage

Noteworthy Summary

The term koinoō represents a critical shift in theological thought from the Old to the New Testament. By understanding koinoō, one gains insight into the New Testament’s reinterpretation of Jewish purity laws and the emphasis on internal, moral purity over external, ceremonial practices. The word also reflects broader cultural dynamics, where the sacred and the common intersect.

Did You Know?

1. Koinoō is part of the root family that includes words like koinonia (fellowship), showing a connection between what is shared and what is defiled in different contexts.
2. In Greek culture, “common” could refer to both positive communal life and negative impurity, depending on the context.
3. The debate over what constitutes koinoō led to significant early church discussions, especially regarding Gentile inclusion and dietary practices.