οἰκοδομ-ή G3619
Building up or edification (abstract, spiritual); also a concrete building or structure.
Oikodome bridges the physical and the spiritual with elegant directness. Built from oikos ('house') and the root of demomai ('to build'), it can mean either a concrete structure or the abstract process of building up a community or person. Paul makes this word a cornerstone of his ecclesiology: everything in worship should aim at the oikodome of the church (1 Cor 14:3, 5, 12, 26), and believers should pursue what builds up their neighbors (Rom 14:19; 15:2). The concrete sense appears in the Synoptic Gospels, where the disciples marvel at the Temple's magnificent buildings (Matt 24:1; Mark 13:1-2), and in Paul's image of a heavenly 'building from God' awaiting believers (2 Cor 5:1).
Senses
1. building up, edification (abstract) — The abstract process of spiritual or communal building up, strengthening, and edification. Spanish 'edificación' and French 'édification' both preserve the architectural metaphor embedded in the word, revealing how naturally the image of constructing a building transfers to strengthening a community of faith. Paul deploys this sense extensively in his Corinthian correspondence: prophecy builds up the church (1 Cor 14:3-5), love builds up while knowledge puffs up (1 Cor 8:1), and all things should be done for edification (1 Cor 14:26). In Romans 14:19 and 15:2, mutual edification is the ethical benchmark for Christian conduct in disputed matters. 12×
AR["-البُنْيَانِ","البُنْيانِ","بُنيانًا","بُنيانٍ","بُنيانِ","بُنْيانِكُمْ","بُنْيَانٍ","بِناءٍ","بِناءِ","بِنيانِ"]·ben["গঠন","গঠন,","গঠনের","গঠনের।","নির্মাণ","নির্মাণ-র"]·DE["Auferbauung"]·EN["building-up","edification"]·FR["édification","édifice"]·heb["בִנְיַן","בִנְיָן"]·HI["उन्नति","उन्नति-की","उन्नति-के","निरमन","निर्माण"]·ID["pembangunan","pembangunan,","pembangunan."]·IT["edificazione"]·jav["pambangun","pambangunan","pembangunan","pembangunan."]·KO["덕을-세움","덕을-세움과","덕을-세움을","세움","세움을","세움의"]·PT["edificação","edificação,","edificação."]·RU["назидание","назиданию","назидания","созидания"]·ES["edificación"]·SW["kujenga","kujenga,","kujenga.","kuujenga"]·TR["insaasina","insasina","inşa","inşası-","inşaya","kendinin","yapılanmanız","yapılma","yapılmanın"]·urd["ترقی","تعمیر","تعمیر-کے"]
2. building, structure (concrete) — A concrete physical building or structure. German 'Auferbauung' and Spanish 'edificio/edificaciones' both reflect the tangible, architectural sense. The Synoptic apocalyptic discourse opens with the disciples admiring the Temple's imposing buildings (Matt 24:1; Mark 13:1), only for Jesus to prophesy that not one stone will remain on another (Mark 13:2). Paul calls the Corinthian church 'God's building' (1 Cor 3:9), playing on the boundary between concrete structure and spiritual community, and in 2 Corinthians 5:1 he speaks of an eternal 'building from God' as the resurrection body, a heavenly dwelling not made with hands. 6×
AR["-الأَبْنِيَةَ","أَبْنِيَةٍ","البِناءِ","بِناءٌ","بِناءُ","مَبانيَ"]·ben["গৃহ","নির্মাণ","নির্মাণগুলো","ভবন","ভবনগুলি"]·DE["Auferbauung","οἰκοδομὰς"]·EN["building","buildings"]·FR["édification","édifice"]·heb["בִּנְיָנִים","בִנְיָן","הַבִּנְיָן","מִבְנֵי"]·HI["इमारतें","भवन"]·ID["bangunan","bangunan,","bangunan-bangunan"]·IT["edificazione","oikodomai","oikodomas"]·jav["bangunan,","bangunan-bangunan","pangriptaan","wewangunan"]·KO["건물","건물들을","건물들인지","건물을","건물이,"]·PT["construção,","construções","edifício"]·RU["здания","строение","строение,","строения"]·ES["construcción","edificaciones","edificio","edificios"]·SW["jengo","lote","majengo"]·TR["-O-","binalar","binaları","binalarını","binası","yıkılırsa"]·urd["عمارت","عمارتیں"]
Related Senses
H1129 1. Qal: build, construct (316×)H2691a 1. court, courtyard, enclosure (142×)G4864 1. synagogue, place of Jewish assembly (56×)G5438 1. prison, place of confinement (41×)H4013 1. fortress, stronghold (37×)H0875 1. well, cistern (dug water source) (35×)H0352b 1. pillar or jamb of gateway (32×)H2474 1. window, opening in wall (32×)H1406 1. roof / rooftop (31×)H4609b 1. steps, stairs, stairway (31×)H1129 2. Nifal: be built, be established (30×)H0361 1. portico, porch (architectural structure) (27×)H1129 3. Qal participle: builder (27×)H1219 1. fortified, inaccessible (25×)H4581 1. fortress, stronghold (25×)H3805 1. capital of a pillar (24×)H4350 1. stand, base, pedestal (24×)H0759 1. palace, royal residence (21×)H4692 1. siege, besiegement (20×)G3618 1. build or construct physically (19×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
οἰκοδομ-ή, ἡ, ={-δόμησις},{-δομία}, Refs 3rd c.BC+, proverbial Laconian dialect cited in LXX+4th c.BC+ __II = {οἰκοδόμημα}, NT+1st c.AD+