διατίθημι G1303
To make or establish a covenant/testament; to assign, appoint, or bequeath something to someone.
Diatithemai is one of the New Testament's most theologically loaded verbs, built from dia- ('through') and tithemai ('to place, arrange'), literally meaning to dispose or arrange things deliberately. In five of its seven occurrences, it carries the technical, covenantal sense of 'making' or 'establishing' a covenant — the diatheke from which it derives its force. God tells Israel 'I will make a new covenant' (Heb 8:10; 10:16, quoting Jeremiah 31), Peter reminds Jerusalem of 'the covenant which God made with your fathers' (Acts 3:25), and the Hebrews argument turns on the fact that where a testament exists, the death of the one who made it must be established (Heb 9:16-17). Spanish pactar, French disposer, and German verordnen all reach for legal-contractual vocabulary. But at the Last Supper, Jesus uses the verb in a distinct, royal sense: 'I assign to you, just as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom' (Luke 22:29). Here the verb shifts from covenant-making to sovereign bestowal — a king granting dominion to his heirs.
Senses
1. make/establish a covenant — To make, establish, or ratify a covenant or testament — the technical covenantal sense used in the middle voice for the solemn act of covenant-making between God and his people. Five occurrences anchor this sense: God declares 'I will make (diathesomai) a new covenant with the house of Israel' (Heb 8:10; 10:16), Peter invokes 'the covenant God made (dietheto) with your fathers' (Acts 3:25), and the argument of Hebrews 9:16-17 depends on the principle that a testament requires the death of the one 'who made it' (diathemenos). Spanish pactar/disponer, French disposer/ordonner, and German verordnen all deploy legal-contractual vocabulary. The noun diatheke ('covenant, testament') derives from this very verb, and the theological weight is immense: this is the word for God binding himself to his people. 5×
AR["أَعْقِدُهُ", "أُعَاهِدُ", "الموصِي", "عَاهَدَ"]·ben["আমি-করব", "করব", "করেছিলেন", "যিনি-বাঁধেন"]·DE["verordnen", "διέθετο"]·EN["I-will-make", "having-made-it", "made"]·FR["disposer", "ordonner"]·heb["אֶכְרֹת", "כָּרַת", "מְצַוֶּה"]·HI["-वंश-में", "बांधूंगा", "वाचा-बांधने-वाला।", "वाचा-बांधने-वाले।"]·ID["Aku-akan-adakan", "Aku-akan-buat", "membuat", "yang-membuat-wasiat"]·IT["diathemenos", "diathemenou", "diathēsomai", "stabilire"]·jav["Kawula-badhé-damel", "badhé-Kawula-damel", "damel", "ingkang-ndamel"]·KO["세우리라", "유언한-자가", "유언한-자의", "하나님-께서"]·PT["estabeleceu", "farei", "testou"]·RU["завещал", "завещаю", "завещающего", "завещающий"]·ES["dispuso", "pactaré", "que-hizo-testamento"]·SW["alifanya", "aliyefanya-agano", "anayefanya-agano", "nitafanya"]·TR["Tanrı", "vasiyet-eden", "vasiyet-edenin", "yapacağım"]·urd["باندھا", "باندھوں-گا", "میں-باندھوں-گا", "وصیت-کرنے-والا", "وصیت-کرنے-والے-کی"]
2. assign, appoint, grant — To assign, appoint, or bequeath something to someone — a royal or testamentary sense of conferring authority, dominion, or inheritance. The two occurrences both fall in Luke 22:29, where Jesus says at the Last Supper: 'I assign (diatithemai) to you, just as my Father assigned (dietheto) to me, a kingdom.' Spanish dispongo/dispuso, French disposer, and German verleihen capture the sovereign bestowal. The shift from sense 1 is subtle but real: this is not the bilateral establishment of a covenant but the unilateral granting of royal prerogative from Father to Son and from Son to disciples. The echo of inheritance law remains — a king disposing of his estate — but the emphasis falls on gift and appointment rather than mutual obligation. 2×
AR["أَعْهَدُ", "عَهِدَ"]·ben["নিয়োগ-করছি", "নিয়োগ-করলেন"]·DE["διέθετό", "διατίθεμαι"]·EN["assign", "assigned"]·FR["disposer"]·heb["הִנְחִיל", "מַנְחִיל"]·HI["ठहराता-हूं", "ठहराया"]·ID["menetapkan", "telah-ditetapkan"]·IT["diatithemai", "dietheto"]·jav["maringi", "sampun-maringi"]·KO["정하셨다", "정한다"]·RU["завещал", "завещаю"]·ES["dispongo", "dispuso"]·SW["alivyonipa", "nawapa"]·TR["atadı", "atanıyorum"]·urd["عہد-کرتا-ہوں", "عہد-کیا"]
Related Senses
H5971a 1. people, nation (1836×)H5973a 1. accompaniment, together with (956×)H0854 1. with (accompaniment) (665×)G2962 1. Lord (divine title) (661×)H1471a 1. nations, peoples (plural/collective) (466×)H0136 1. Lord (divine title) (440×)G3326 1. with (368×)H1285 1. covenant, pact, treaty (284×)H0113 1. lord, human superior (249×)G2453 1. Jewish person, Jew (194×)H4150 1. meeting (tent of meeting) (151×)G2992 1. people/nation (an ethnic or political community) (142×)G4862 1. (129×)G1484 1. Gentiles, non-Jewish nations (128×)H1471a 2. nation, people-group (singular) (98×)H3162b 1. together (97×)H1616 1. sojourner, resident alien (92×)G1849 1. authority, power (91×)H0567 1. Amorite (people group) (87×)H3064 1. Jew, Jewish person (81×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
διατίθημι, 3rd.pers. plural imperfect διετίθουν Refs 4th c.BC+:—arrange each in their several places, distribute, τὰ κρέα, in sacrificing, Refs 5th c.BC+ __II manage well or ill, usually with adverb, κράτιστα δ. τὰ τοῦ πολέμου Refs 5th c.BC+; of persons, δ. ἑωυτὸν ἀνηκέστως treat himself barbarously, Refs 5th c.BC+ —passive, οὐ ῥᾳδίως διετέθη he was not very gently handled, Refs 5th c.BC+; ἀπόρως…