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.
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)
▼ 4 more senses below
Senses
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…