ἀποδέχομαι G0588
To welcome, receive gladly; accept a person with hospitality or a message with approval.
Apodechomai combines the prefix apo- ('from') with dechomai ('receive'), creating a verb that suggests receiving something or someone fully and favorably. In five of its seven NT occurrences, it describes welcoming a person — the crowd welcoming Jesus back from the Gerasenes (Luke 8:40), Jesus receiving the multitudes who followed him (Luke 9:11), the brothers in Achaia welcoming Apollos (Acts 18:27), the Jerusalem believers receiving Paul's party (Acts 21:17), and Paul himself receiving visitors in Rome (Acts 28:30). Spanish recibir, French accueillir, and German empfangen all convey this warm, personal hospitality. The remaining two uses shift to intellectual reception: the three thousand at Pentecost 'received his word' (Acts 2:41), and the lawyer Tertullus tells Felix 'we accept with gratitude' (Acts 24:3). The distinction between welcoming a person and accepting a message runs through every translation tradition.
Senses
1. welcome, receive (a person) — To welcome or receive a person with gladness, hospitality, or favorable disposition — the physical, relational act of taking someone in. This dominant sense (5 occurrences) spans from the crowd that 'welcomed' Jesus at Capernaum (Luke 8:40) to Paul 'receiving all who came to him' in his Roman lodging (Acts 28:30). Spanish recibió/recibieron, French accueillir/recevoir, and German empfangen all deploy vocabulary of personal hospitality. Luke's repeated use in Acts (18:27; 21:17; 28:30) shows a pattern: the early church's growth is narrated partly through scenes of believers welcoming traveling apostles and teachers. 5×
AR["أَنْ-يَقْبَلُوا", "استَقبَلَ", "اِستَقبَلَهُ", "قَبِلَنَا", "قَبِلَهُمْ"]·ben["গ্রহণ-করতে", "গ্রহণ-করিতেছিল", "স্বাগত-জানাল", "স্বাগত-জানালেন", "স্বাগত-জানিয়ে"]·DE["ἀπεδέξαντο", "ἀπεδέξατο", "ἀπεδέχετο", "ἀποδέξασθαι", "ἀποδεξάμενος"]·EN["having-welcomed", "received", "to-receive", "was-welcoming", "welcomed"]·FR["accueillir", "recevoir"]·heb["לְקַבֵּל", "קִבְּלוּ", "קִבֵּל"]·HI["ग्रहण-करना", "स्वागत-करके", "स्वागत-करता-था", "स्वागत-किया"]·ID["menerima", "menyambut", "setelah-menyambut"]·IT["accogliere", "apedexato", "apodexamenos"]·jav["nampeni", "nampi"]·KO["맞아들였다", "맞이하시고", "맞이했다", "영접하라고", "영접했다"]·PT["acolhendo", "receberam", "recebeu", "recebia"]·RU["принимал", "приняв", "приняла", "приняли", "принять"]·ES["lo-recibió", "nos-recibieron", "recibiendo", "recibirlo", "recibía"]·SW["akiwapokea", "aliwakaribisha", "kumpokea", "walimpokea", "walitupokea"]·TR["hoş-karşılayarak", "kabul-ediyordu", "kabul-etmelerini", "karşıladı", "karşıladılar"]·urd["استقبال-کرتا-تھا", "خوش-آمدید-کہا", "خوش-آمدید-کہہ-کر", "قبول-کرنا", "قبول-کیا"]
2. accept, receive (a message) — To accept or receive a message, teaching, or report with intellectual approval or gratitude. The two occurrences mark pivotal moments of audience response: at Pentecost, 'those who received his word were baptized' (Acts 2:41), where apodexamenoi signals wholehearted acceptance of Peter's kerygma; and in Acts 24:3, Tertullus uses apodechometha ('we accept with gratitude') in his flattering opening to Felix. Spanish habiendo recibido / reconocemos and French accueillir shift from physical to cognitive reception. The distinction from sense 1 is clear: here there is no person being hosted — an idea is being embraced. 2×
AR["قَابِلِينَ", "نَقْبَلُ"]·ben["গ্রহণ-করিতেছি", "গ্রহণকারীগণ"]·DE["ἀποδεξάμενοι", "ἀποδεχόμεθα"]·EN["having-received", "we-accept"]·FR["accueillir"]·heb["מְקַבְּלִים", "קִבְּלוּ"]·HI["ग्रहण-किया", "स्वीकारकरतेहैं"]·ID["menerima", "menerima,"]·IT["accogliere"]·jav["kula-sedaya-nampeni,", "sasampunipun-nampèni"]·KO["받아들인-자들-이", "받아들입니다"]·PT["tendo-recebido"]·RU["принимаем", "принявшие"]·ES["habiendo-recibido", "reconocemos"]·SW["tunakubali", "waliopokea"]·TR["-o", "kabul-ediyoruz"]·urd["قبول-کر-کے", "ہم-قبول-کرتے-ہیں"]
Related Senses
H5414 1. give, bestow (1855×)H3947 1. take, seize, grasp (Qal) (940×)G2192 1. possess / have (680×)G1325 1. give, bestow (336×)H5159 1. inherited land or property (170×)G2983 1. receive, obtain (134×)H3423 1. Qal: take possession of land (130×)G2983 2. take, take up (113×)G2398 1. one's own, belonging to oneself (91×)G3860 1. hand over, deliver to custody (78×)H7998 1. spoil, plunder, booty (74×)G1325 2. be given, be granted (70×)H5414 2. put, place, set (68×)H7999a 1. pay, repay, recompense (63×)H7069 1. Buy, purchase (59×)H1892 1. vanity, futility, absurdity (58×)H5159 2. heritage as covenant portion (52×)H6299 1. redeem or ransom (Qal active) (49×)H4376 1. Sell (Qal active) (47×)H1350a 1. Redeem, buy back (46×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἀποδέχομαι, Ionic dialect ἀποδέκομαι, future -δέξομαι: aorist -εδεξάμην: perfect -δέδεγμαι (for possible passive usages of this tense see at {ἀποδείκνυμι} Refs 4th c.BC+: —accept, καὶ οὐκ ἀπεδέξατ᾽ ἄποιναRefs 8th c.BC+; ἀ. γνώμην παρά τινος accept advice from him, Refs 5th c.BC+ __2 accept as a teacher, follow, Refs 5th c.BC+ __3 admit to one's presence, τοὺς πρεσβευτάςRefs 2nd c.BC+ __4 mostly…