δίδωμι G1325
To give, bestow, grant; passively, to be given; by extension, to put/place, yield/produce, or hand over/surrender.
Didomi is the New Testament's fundamental verb of giving — appearing 416 times and covering the entire arc from God giving his only Son (John 3:16) to a cup of cold water given to a little one (Matt 10:42). Its theological weight is immense: nearly every major doctrine of grace, authority, revelation, and salvation is expressed through this verb. Yet it also retains earthy, concrete extensions — putting laws into hearts (Heb 8:10), the earth yielding its fruit (Mark 4:8), and the sea giving up its dead (Rev 20:13). Languages handle the range consistently: Arabic a'ta, Korean juda, Swahili -pa, Spanish dar, and German geben all serve as their primary transfer-of-possession verbs. The passive forms carry special theological force, since 'it has been given to you to know the mysteries of the kingdom' (Matt 13:11) implies a divine Giver without naming him — the classic divine passive.
Senses
1. give, bestow — The core active sense: to give, bestow, or hand something to someone. At 336 occurrences, this encompasses the vast majority of the word's usage — God giving authority (Matt 10:1), Jesus giving bread to the disciples (Matt 14:19), a master distributing talents to servants (Matt 25:15), and the simple act of handing over a cup (Matt 26:27). Arabic a'ta, Korean juda, Spanish dio, German gab, and Swahili -pa all converge on their primary transfer verbs. The range of objects given is extraordinary: authority, grace, peace, signs, the Holy Spirit, eternal life, bread, money, a name, glory — making this sense the semantic backbone of New Testament soteriology and Christology alike. 336×
AR["أَعطاكَ", "أَعطاهُ", "أَعطاهُم", "أَعطى", "أَعطَوا", "أَعْطاهُ", "أَعْطاهُمْ", "أَعْطى", "أَعْطَاكَ", "أَعْطَاهُمْ", "أَعْطَتْهُ", "أَعْطَى"]·ben["দিয়েছিল", "দিয়েছিলেন", "দিয়েছে", "দিল", "দিলেন"]·DE["geben", "gibt"]·EN["gave", "he-gave"]·FR["donner"]·heb["נָתְנָה", "נָתַן"]·HI["थाली-पर", "दिया", "दिया-था", "दिये", "दी", "दीं"]·ID["Dia-memberi", "Dia-memberikan", "Ia-memberikan", "dia-memberi", "ia-memberi", "ia-memberikan", "memberi", "memberikan"]·IT["dare"]·jav["maringi", "piyambakipun-nyukakaken"]·KO["드렸다", "주셨다", "주셨으니", "주었느냐", "주었다", "준"]·PT["deu"]·RU["воздал", "дал", "дала"]·ES["dio", "lo-dio"]·SW["-", "akampa", "akawapa", "alikupa", "alimpa", "alimtoa", "aliwapa", "walitoa"]·TR["verdi"]·urd["اُسے", "دئے", "دِیا", "دیا", "دیں", "ساتھیوں"]
Matt 10:1, Matt 14:19, Matt 21:23, Matt 25:15, Matt 26:27, Matt 26:48, Mark 2:26, Mark 6:28, Mark 6:28, Mark 11:28, Mark 14:22, Mark 14:23 (+38 more)
2. be given, be granted — Passive voice: to be given, be granted, be bestowed upon. Found 70 times, these forms shift the grammatical focus to the recipient and frequently employ the divine passive — where God is the unstated agent. 'To you it has been given to know the mysteries' (Matt 13:11), 'it was given to him to make war' (Rev 13:7), and 'every good gift is given from above' (Jas 1:17, alluding to didomi). Spanish fue dada/dado, Korean ju-eo-jyeotta (passive form), and Arabic u'tiya all select dedicated passive constructions. The theological import is that the recipients are entirely dependent — they do not earn or seize what is given. 70×
AR["أُعطيتُ", "أُعطيَت", "أُعطِيَ", "أُعطِيَت", "أُعْطيَ", "أُعْطِيَ", "أُعْطِيَتْ", "يُعْطَى"]·ben["দত্ত-হল", "দেওয়া-হয়েছিল", "দেওয়া-হয়েছে", "দেওয়া-হল"]·DE["geben", "gibt"]·EN["it-was-given", "was-given", "were-given"]·FR["donner"]·heb["נִתְּנָה", "נִתְּנָה-לְךָ", "נִתְּנוּ", "נִתַּן"]·HI["दिय-गय", "दिया-गया", "दिया-गया-था", "दी-गई", "दी-गईं"]·ID["diberikan"]·IT["dare"]·jav["dipun-paringi", "dipunparingaken", "dipunparingi", "kaparingaken"]·KO["주어졌다", "주어졌으니", "주어지지"]·PT["foi-dada", "foi-dado", "foram-dadas", "te-foi-dado"]·RU["был-дан", "была-дана", "были-даны", "было-дано", "дана", "дана-была", "дано", "дано-было"]·ES["fue-dada", "fue-dado", "fueron-dadas"]·SW["alipewa", "kilipewa", "limepewa", "nilipewa", "nilitolewa", "ulipewa", "walipewa", "yakapewa"]·TR["lutuf", "onlara", "verildi"]·urd["دی-گئی", "دیئے-گئے", "دیا-گیا", "دیا-گیا-تھا"]
Matt 13:11, Matt 13:11, Matt 14:11, Matt 19:11, Mark 4:11, Mark 6:2, Luke 8:10, Luke 12:48, John 3:27, John 6:65, John 12:5, Rom 12:3 (+38 more)
3. put, place — An idiomatic extension: to put, place, or set something into a location or state. Found 7 times, most notably in the New Covenant formula 'I will put my laws into their minds' (Heb 8:10; 10:16, citing Jer 31:33), and Paul's declaration that God 'placed' the ministry of reconciliation in the apostles (2 Cor 5:18-19). Rom 4:20 speaks of 'giving glory to God,' and 2 Cor 6:3 of 'giving no cause for offense.' The shift from 'give' to 'put/place' is natural in Greek (as in English 'give a push' = 'push'), and Spanish puso ('placed') confirms the locative sense at Heb 8:10. 7×
AR["مُعطياً", "مُعطينَ", "نَضَعَ", "وَاضِعًا", "وَضَعَ"]·ben["আমরা-দিই,", "দিচ্ছি", "দিতে", "দিয়ে", "দিয়েছেন", "দেওয়া"]·DE["geben"]·EN["giving", "having-given", "put", "putting", "we-may-give"]·FR["donner"]·heb["נִתֵּן", "נָתַן", "נוֹתְנִים", "נוֹתֵן"]·HI["दिया", "दें", "देता-हुआ", "देते-हुए"]·ID["dengan-menaruh", "kami-berikan", "memberikan", "menaruh"]·IT["dare"]·jav["kita-damel,", "maringi", "paring"]·KO["드리며", "주리라", "주며", "주셨으니"]·PT["dando", "demos,", "deu", "pondo"]·RU["вложил", "дав", "давая", "дать,", "дающие", "дающий"]·ES["dando", "demos", "puso"]·SW["akitoa", "ameweka", "nikiweka", "tukitoa", "tukiwapa", "tusiiwekee,"]·TR["engel", "tökezleme", "verdi", "vererek", "veriyoruz"]·urd["دیتے-ہوئے", "ڈالا", "ڈالیں"]
4. sense 4 — To give up, surrender, or deliver over to another's power or custody. Two occurrences at Rev 20:13, where 'the sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them.' Spanish entregaron ('they handed over/surrendered') and the English 'gave up' both select vocabulary of relinquishing possession rather than generous bestowal. The eschatological context — the dead being surrendered for final judgment — gives this sense a strikingly different emotional register from the generosity of sense 1. 2×
AR["أَعْطى", "أَعْطَيا"]·ben["দিল"]·DE["geben"]·EN["gave-up"]·FR["donner"]·heb["נָתְנוּ", "נָתַן"]·HI["दिए", "दिया"]·ID["menyerahkan"]·IT["dare"]·jav["ngaturaken"]·KO["내어주었다"]·PT["entregaram", "entregou"]·RU["отдали", "отдало"]·ES["entregaron", "entregó"]·SW["ikatoa", "wakatoa"]·TR["verdi", "verdiler"]·urd["دیا", "دیے"]
5. sense 5 — To yield or produce, said of the earth or plants bringing forth fruit or harvest. A single clear occurrence at Mark 4:8, in the Parable of the Sower: seed fell on good soil and 'was yielding' (edidou) fruit, growing and increasing. Spanish daba ('was giving/yielding') and German geben both permit this agricultural extension, but Korean yeolmae-reul maetda ('bore fruit') shifts to dedicated produce vocabulary, confirming the metaphorical stretch from person-to-person transfer to natural fecundity. The imperfect tense edidou captures the ongoing, repeated nature of the yield. 1×
AR["أَعْطى"]·ben["দিচ্ছিল"]·DE["geben"]·EN["it-was-giving"]·FR["donner"]·heb["נָתְנוּ"]·HI["फल"]·ID["menghasilkan"]·IT["dare"]·jav["maringi"]·KO["내었다"]·PT["dava"]·RU["давали"]·ES["daba"]·SW["ilitoa"]·TR["veriyordu"]·urd["دیتی-تھی"]
Related Senses
H5414 1. give, bestow (1855×)H3947 1. take, seize, grasp (Qal) (940×)G2192 1. possess / have (680×)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×)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×)H6743b 1. prosper, succeed (intransitive) (40×)H5414 3. make, render, appoint (38×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
δίδωμι, Refs 8th c.BC+ (late δίδω Refs 3rd c.AD+; late forms, 1st pers. plural διδόαμεν see reading in Refs 1st c.AD+; but thematic forms are frequently used, especially in Epic dialect and Ionic dialect, διδοῖς, διδοῖσθα, Refs 8th c.BC+, διδοῖ Refs 8th c.BC+, uncertain in Attic dialect, Refs 6th c.BC+, Epic dialect δίδωθι Refs 8th c.BC+; infinitive διδόναι, also διδοῦν Refs 6th c.BC+, Epic…