UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

Sense 1: house, temple, sanctuary

Semantic entry: 7.2

Semantic domains: Constructions

Subdomains: Buildings

Definition: a building consisting of one or more rooms and normally serving as a dwelling place (οἶκος[a] also includes certain public buildings, for example, a temple. The extension of οἶκος[a] to include temples may be the result of speaking of a temple as the dwelling place of the deity.)

Notes: For a discussion of certain translational problems related to οἶκος[a], see 7.3: οἰκία.

Further resources: realia:3.1; realia:3.14.1

Sense 2: family, household

Semantic entry: 10.8

Semantic domains: Kinship Terms

Subdomains: Groups and Members of Groups of Persons Regarded as Related by Blood but without Special Reference to Successive Generations

Definition: the family consisting of those related by blood and marriage, as well as slaves and servants, living in the same house or homestead

Notes: In a number of languages the equivalent of οἶκος[b] or οἰκία [source selector 000001][b] would be ‘those who live together’ or ‘those who have the same fence’ (this being a reference to a group of huts surrounded by a fence and thus constituting a single so-called ‘family unit’).|In RV ACT 7:10 · LV ACT 7:10 · Read together ACT 7:10 οἶκος can mean the household over which Joseph was placed, or it can mean the property of Pharaoh (see 57.21: οἰκία / 57.21: οἶκος).

Sense 3: lineage, family line

Semantic entry: 10.24

Semantic domains: Kinship Terms

Subdomains: Kinship Relations Involving Successive Generations

Definition: persons of successive generations who are related by birth

Notes: In biblical times the reckoning of a lineage was somewhat complex in view of certain distinctions between legal and biological relations. The focus of meaning in γένεσις [source selector 000001][b], οἶκος[c], and πατριά[a] is not, however, the list of ancestors, but the lineage of successively related persons to which the reference person belongs. Some scholars, however, interpret γένεσις [source selector 000002][c] history, 33.19: γένεσις).|In some languages a successive series of ancestors is called ‘the forefathers’ or ‘those to whom one looks back’ or ‘those who have gone ahead.’ In other languages a lineage is referred to as ‘a person’s root’ or ‘a man’s trunk’ (referring to the trunk of a tree).|In RV LUK 2:4 · LV LUK 2:4 · Read together LUK 2:4 there appears to be no significant difference in meaning between οἶκος and πατριά, and in some receptor languages it would be sufficient to use a single term essentially equivalent to ‘lineage.’ The two terms appear to simply reinforce their shared meaning.

Sense 4: property, possessions

Semantic entry: 57.21

Semantic domains: Possess, Transfer, Exchange

Subdomains: Have, Possess, Property, Owner

Definition: (figurative extension of meaning of οἶκος[a] ‘house,’ 7.2: οἶκος) possessions associated with a house and household

Notes: The rendering ‘property’ seems to be far more justified by the context and by general usage than the more common meaning of ‘household’ (see 10.8: οἰκία / 10.8: οἶκος).

Sense 5: the people of Israel, the nation of Israel

Semantic entry: 11.58

Semantic domains: Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes

Subdomains: Socio-Political

Definition: (idioms, literally: house of Israel, and: house of Judah, respectively) the people of Israel as an ethnic entity

Notes: In translating the expression ‘the people of Israel’ it may be necessary to use an appositional phrase, for example, ‘the people, namely, Israel’ or a relative clause which also serves an appositional function, for example, ‘the people who are Israel.’ In some languages it may be preferable to use a term such as ‘nation’ followed by some expression which will indicate that Israel is simply the name of the nation, for example, ‘the nation called Israel.’

Collocations: οἶκος Ἰσραήλ; οἶκος Ἰούδα

Sense 6: Temple

Definition: a building consisting of one or more rooms and serving as a place of worship

Sense 7: dwelling

Definition: a building consisting of one or more rooms and serving as a dwelling place