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ἀμοιβή

amoibḗ

G287 noun

SILEX Entry

Definition

Act of exchange, recompense, or return given in response to an action; specifically, a reciprocal payment or repayment, whether as reward, compensation, retaliation, or response. Can denote anything given in return for another thing, in the context of interpersonal, contractual, or moral obligations.

Semantic Range

exchange, repayment, return, recompense, reward, retaliation, requital, compensation

Root / Etymology

From the verb ἀμείβω (ameíbō, 'to exchange, give in return, repay'). Related to the noun ἀμοιβή as a nominalization denoting the result or action of exchanging or repaying. Related Indo-European root *mei- ('to change, exchange').

Historical & Contextual Notes

In classical Greek (from Homer onward), ἀμοιβή often refers to reciprocal exchange—both in material, personal, and even poetic senses (e.g., the exchange of gifts, compensation for injury, or a return for service). By the Hellenistic period, the term is mostly used for repayment or requital. In the Septuagint and rare New Testament usage, ἀμοιβή signals payback, reward, or vengeance, depending on context. Later English translations often narrow the sense to 'requite' or 'recompense,' but the semantic range includes both positive and negative returns. The concept is central to the Greek notions of social reciprocity and moral recompense. Distinct from δίκη (justice, penalty) and χάρις (favor, grace), ἀμοιβή centers on the directness of an exchanged return, not on legal or gracious favor, nor on simple restitution. No theological or distinctively religious significance attaches to the term in its ordinary usage; it maps social and moral reciprocity.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

from (to exchange); requital:--requite.

Root Family

ἀμοιβή (amoibē) — exchange, repayment, return in kind, recompense

Root ἀμειβ- to exchange, to repay, to return (in kind)

Word Forms

1 distinct form

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2 Occurrences
G287-01 ἀμοιβὰς amoibas N ACC F PL repayment reciprocal repayments repayments 1

Occurrences in Scripture

1 occurrence

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 SIBI-P2
G287-01 1 Timothy 5:4 ἀμοιβὰς amoibas N ACC F PL repayment reciprocal repayments repayments
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