ἑδραί-ωμα G1477
Foundation, support, bulwark; that which provides stability and grounding for something else
This noun means foundation or support, that which stabilizes and upholds. In 1 Timothy 3:15, Paul calls the church 'the pillar and foundation of the truth'—a striking architectural metaphor for the church's role in upholding revealed truth. The word appears only here in the New Testament, denoting a firm support or bulwark. The multilingual evidence (English 'foundation', Spanish 'fundamento', German 'Grundfeste' = ground-firm) consistently renders the architectural support sense, while French simply transliterates the Greek, perhaps recognizing this as a technical or rare term.
Senses
1. sense 1 — First Timothy 3:15 uses this rare noun to describe the church as 'pillar and foundation (ἑδραίωμα) of the truth.' English 'foundation', Spanish 'fundamento', and German 'Grundfeste' all convey architectural support and stability. The term appears nowhere else in the New Testament and is rare in classical sources, where it meant 'stay/support.' Paul's pairing with 'pillar' creates a doublet emphasizing the church's structural role in supporting and stabilizing revealed truth in the world. 1×
AR["قاعِدَةُ"]·ben["ভিত্তি"]·DE["Grundfeste"]·EN["foundation"]·FR["ἑδραίωμα"]·heb["יְסוֹדַת"]·HI["नेएनव"]·ID["dasar"]·IT["edraiōma"]·jav["pondasi"]·KO["터전이"]·PT["fundamento"]·RU["утверждение"]·ES["fundamento"]·SW["msingi"]·TR["temeli"]·urd["بنیاد"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
ἑδραί-ωμα, ατος, τό, stay, support, τῆς ἀληθείας NT