Lexical Summary koinos: Common, unclean, profane Original Word: κοινός Strong's Exhaustive Concordance common, defiled, unclean, unholy. Probably from sun; common, i.e. (literally) shared by all or several, or (ceremonially) profane -- common, defiled, unclean, unholy. see GREEK sun HELPS Word-studies 2839 koinós – properly, common, referring to what is defiled (stripped of specialness) because treated as ordinary ("common"). 2839 /koinós ("defiled") describes the result of a person reducing what God calls special (holy, set apart) – to what is mundane, i.e. stripping it of its sacredness. 2839 /koinós ("defiled because treated as common") is always used negatively, i.e. for what is profaned – except in Jude 1:3 where it refers to the gift of salvation shared (held in common) by all true believers. [2839 /koinós ("common") typically refers to spiritual desecration. This happens when a person treats what is sacred (set apart to God) as ordinary ("not special").] NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom sun Definition common NASB Translation common (3), common property (1), impure (2), unclean (5), unholy (5). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 2839: κοινόςκοινός, κοινῇ, κοινόν (from ξύν, σύν, with; hence especially in epic ξυνός for κοινός, whence the Latincena ((?); see Vanicek, p. 1065)); 1. as in Greek writings from Hesiod (Works, 721) down (opposed to ἴδιος) common (i. e. belonging to several, Latincommunis): Acts 2:44; Acts 4:32; κοινῇ πίστις, Titus 1:4; σωτηρία, Jude 1:3. 2. by a usage foreign to classical Greek, common i. e. ordinary, belonging to the generality (Latinvulgaris); by the Jews opposed to ἅγιος, ἡγιασμένος, καθαρός; hence unhallowed, Latinprofanus, levitically unclean (in classical Greek βέβηλος, which see 2): Mark 7:2, 5 (where R L marginal reading ἀνίπτοις); Romans 14:14; Hebrews 10:29; Revelation 21:27 (Rec. κοινοῦν) (1 Macc. 1:47; φαγεῖν κοινά; 1 Macc. 1:62; κοινοῖ ἄνθρωποι, common people,profanum vulgus, Josephus, Antiquities 12, 2, 14; οἱ τόν κοινόν βίον προηρήμενοι, i. e. a life repugnant to the holy law, ibid. 13, 1, 1; οὐ γάρ ὡς κοινόν ἄρτον οὐδέ ὡς κονον πόμα ταῦτα (i. e. the bread and wine of the sacred supper) λαμβάνομεν, Justin Martyr, Apology 1, 66; (οἱ Χριστιανοι) τράπεζαν κοινήν παρατιθενται, ἀλλ' οὐ κοινήν, a table communis but not profanus, Ep. ad Diogn. 5 [ET], on which cf. Otto's note); κοινόν καί (R G ἤ) ἀκάθαρτον, Acts 10:14; κοινόν ἤ ἀκάθαρτον, Acts 10:28; Acts 11:8 (κοινά ἤ ἀκάθαρτα οὐκ ἐσθίομεν, Justin Martyr, dialog contra Trypho, c. 20). (Cf. Trench, § ci.) The adjective κoινός (Strong’s 2839) weaves together two strands of meaning—what is shared in common and what is ordinary, hence not set apart as holy. The New Testament employs the word to proclaim the fellowship forged by the gospel and, at the same time, to warn against treating the sacred as merely commonplace. Sacred versus Ordinary in Biblical Thought In the Torah the vocabulary of holiness set “holy” apart from “common.” Anything belonging to God’s sphere was to be distinguished from what was merely everyday. The New Testament picks up that contrast: κoινός signals either the blessed mutuality of believers or, negatively, the danger of allowing what is “common” to invade what God has consecrated. Christ’s Rebuke of Ceremonialism (Mark 7:2, 5) Religious leaders accused Jesus’ disciples of eating with “defiled” (κοιναῖς) hands, implying ritual impurity. The Lord exposed their misplaced focus: sin originates in the heart, not in ordinary food or utensils. By insisting that external washings cannot make a person pure, Jesus prepared the way for the abolition of ceremonial divisions in His church. The Jerusalem Community of Believers (Acts 2:44; 4:32) Luke twice notes that the earliest disciples “had everything in common.” Their radical generosity demonstrated the incoming reality of the new covenant: possessions, joys, and burdens are shared because believers now belong to one body. κoινός here celebrates unity, not uniformity, and provides a compelling paradigm for gospel-driven stewardship. From Food Laws to Gospel Freedom (Acts 10–11; Romans 14:14) Peter’s rooftop vision confronted his scruples: “I have never eaten anything impure or unclean” (Acts 10:14). God overturned the distinction by declaring every creature fit for food and—far more importantly—every redeemed person acceptable in Christ. Paul later affirmed the same principle: “I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself” (Romans 14:14). Yet he immediately bound that liberty to love; any item is only “common” to the degree that a brother’s conscience judges it so. Freedom is real, but fellowship comes first. Common Faith and Shared Salvation (Titus 1:4; Jude 3) κoινός appears twice in the personal epistles. Paul greets Titus as his son “in our common faith,” and Jude writes concerning “the salvation we share.” The modifier accents the universality of the gospel. Though culture, ethnicity, and social status vary, the faith entrusted to the saints is indivisible. False teachers fracture that unity; sound doctrine preserves it. Profaning the Holy (Hebrews 10:29) A solemn warning arises: to treat “the blood of the covenant” as κoινός—ordinary or unclean—is to invite God’s severest judgment. The verse presses believers to cherish the atonement as uniquely sacred. What the Son purchased must never be handled with casual indifference, whether in teaching, worship, or daily conduct. Eschatological Purity (Revelation 21:27) The new Jerusalem descends with this promise: “Nothing unclean will ever enter it.” The city’s gates admit no κoινός thing. Ultimate reality is holy; every trace of defilement is gone. The church’s present pursuit of holiness thus anticipates her future home. Ministry Implications 1. Stewardship: Acts 2 and 4 encourage voluntary sharing that meets needs and displays Christ’s love. Historical Background In Second Temple Judaism, purity regulations marked community boundaries. The gospel re-draws those boundaries around Christ, not cultic rituals. The social ideal of Greco-Roman “koinonia” also influenced early Christians, but they deepened it: sharing is no mere civic virtue; it is liturgical—rooted in the triune God who gives Himself. Conclusion κoινός is a small word with sweeping reach. It calls believers to hold possessions, faith, and salvation in common, while refusing to treat the holy as common. It dissolves man-made barriers, yet erects a bright line around the blood of Christ and the city to come. In so doing it proclaims both the wideness of God’s mercy and the majesty of His holiness. Englishman's Concordance Mark 7:2 Adj-DFPGRK: αὐτοῦ ὅτι κοιναῖς χερσίν τοῦτ' NAS: their bread with impure hands, KJV: bread with defiled, that is to say, INT: of him that with defiled hands that Mark 7:5 Adj-DFP Acts 2:44 Adj-ANP Acts 4:32 Adj-NNP Acts 10:14 Adj-ANS Acts 10:28 Adj-AMS Acts 11:8 Adj-ANS Romans 14:14 Adj-NNS Romans 14:14 Adj-ANS Romans 14:14 Adj-NNS Titus 1:4 Adj-AFS Hebrews 10:29 Adj-ANS Jude 1:3 Adj-GFS Revelation 21:27 Adj-NNS Strong's Greek 2839 |
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