2844. koinónos
Lexical Summary
koinónos: Partner, sharer, companion, participant

Original Word: κοινωνός
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: koinónos
Pronunciation: koy-NO-nos
Phonetic Spelling: (koy-no-nos')
KJV: companion, X fellowship, partaker, partner
NASB: sharers, partner, partners, partaker, partakers
Word Origin: [from G2839 (κοινός - unclean)]

1. a sharer, i.e. associate

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
companion, partaker, partner.

From koinos; a sharer, i.e. Associate -- companion, X fellowship, partaker, partner.

see GREEK koinos

HELPS Word-studies

Cognate: 2844 koinōnós (a masculine noun/substantival adjective) – properly, a participant who mutually belongs and shares fellowship; a "joint-participant." See 2842 (koinōnia).

[2842 /koinōnía (a feminine noun) stresses the relational aspect of the fellowship. 2844 /koinōnós (a masculine noun) more directly focuses on the participant himself (herself).

2844 (koinōnos) is also used as a substantival adjective, as with the classical Greek authors, see J. Thayer.]

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from koinos
Definition
a sharer
NASB Translation
partaker (1), partakers (1), partner (2), partners (2), sharers (4).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 2844: κοινωνός

κοινωνός, κοινωνη, κοινωνόν (κοινός) (as adjective Euripides, Iph. Taur. 1173; commonly as a substantive);

a. a partner, associate, comrade, companion: 2 Corinthians 8:23; ἔχειν τινα κοινωνόν, Philemon 1:17; εἰμί κοινωνός τίνι, to be one's partner, Luke 5:10; τίνος (the genitive of person), to be the partner of one doing something, Hebrews 10:33; τίνος ἐν τῷ αἵματι, to be one's partner in shedding the blood etc. Matthew 23:30.

b. a partaker, sharer, in any thing; with the genitive of the thing: τῶν παθημάτων, 2 Corinthians 1:7; τῆς δόξης, 1 Peter 5:1; θείας φύσεως, 2 Peter 1:4; τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου, of the altar (at Jerusalem) on which sacrifices are offered, i. e. sharing in the worship of the Jews, 1 Corinthians 10:18; τῶν δαιμονίων, partakers of (or with) demons, i. e. brought into fellowship with them, because they are the authors of the heathen worship, ibid. 20; (ἐν τῷ ἀφθάρτῳ κοινωνοί ... ἐν τοῖς φθαρτοῖς, joint partakers in that which is imperishable ... in the blessings which perish, Epistle of Barnabas 19, 8 [ET]; see κοινωνέω, at the end).

Topical Lexicon
Essence of Partnership and Participation

Derived from the same root as fellowship (koinōnia), the term describes one who actively shares in the life, work, or destiny of another. It communicates more than casual association; it denotes a communion of interests that binds participants together with real consequences for blessing or judgment.

Old Testament and Jewish Backdrop

In the Septuagint the cognate verbal and noun forms convey joint-ownership of property (Leviticus 6:2), mutual responsibility within covenant (Psalm 50:18), and shared guilt (Isaiah 1:23). Against that backdrop, the New Testament employs the word to unfold both holy and unholy alliances.

New Testament Usage

1. Business Partnership

Luke 5:10 records James and John as “partners with Simon.” The fishermen’s commercial cooperation illustrates the everyday sense of the term, yet becomes a living parable of gospel collaboration that follows when Christ calls them.

2. Sacrificial Participation

“Are not those who eat the sacrifices partners in the altar?” (1 Corinthians 10:18). Eating from the altar made the worshiper a participant in the sacred act, a reality Paul uses to warn against pagan rituals: “I do not want you to be partners with demons” (1 Corinthians 10:20). Worship therefore forges spiritual bonds, either with God or with idolatrous powers.

3. Shared Suffering and Comfort

“Just as you share in our sufferings, so also you will share in our comfort” (2 Corinthians 1:7). The same word is employed in Hebrews 10:33, where believers become “partners with those so treated,” accentuating solidarity in persecution and the promise of divine consolation.

4. Ministry Co-Laborers

Paul calls Titus “my partner and fellow worker” (2 Corinthians 8:23) and appeals to Philemon, “If you consider me a partner, receive him as you would receive me” (Philemon 1:17). Partnership thus grounds practical cooperation in mission, stewardship, and reconciliation.

5. Eschatological Reward

Peter, identifying himself as “a fellow elder and witness of Christ’s sufferings, who will also share in the glory to be revealed” (1 Peter 5:1), links current service with future glory. The same trajectory is found in 2 Peter 1:4: believers become “partakers of the divine nature,” participating already in what will be fully unveiled.

6. False Claims to Fellowship

The Pharisees’ self-defensive protest—“We would not have been partners with them in shedding the blood of the prophets” (Matthew 23:30)—exposes how one may deny culpability while still bearing it. Human assertions cannot negate the objective partnerships that deeds create.

Theological Significance

• Fellowship with God is covenantal, not merely sentimental.
• Participation in Christ entails union with His death (Romans 6:3-4), present sufferings, and future glory; κοινωνός is one facet of that broader doctrine.
• Corporate worship forms spiritual alliances; therefore purity of worship is essential.

Historical and Ecclesial Implications

In the first-century Mediterranean world, κοινωνός could designate a legal business associate. The apostolic writers elevate the term to describe gospel teamwork, missionary support networks, and the shared life of local congregations. Financial giving (2 Corinthians 8) becomes tangible evidence of such partnership, so that churches across regions are united in practical care.

Pastoral Applications

• Encourage believers to see every act of worship and service as genuine participation in the life of God and His people.
• Guard against alliances—cultural, commercial, or religious—that compromise loyalty to Christ.
• Stand with persecuted saints, knowing that shared suffering invites shared comfort.
• Cultivate ministry partnerships marked by mutual honor, as Paul does with Titus and Philemon, reflecting the Trinity’s own relational harmony.

Summary

Koinonos embodies the New Testament vision of believers as interconnected participants in grace, mission, suffering, and glory. The term calls the church to wholehearted fellowship with God, sacrificial solidarity with one another, and vigilant separation from every allegiance that rivals the Lordship of Jesus Christ.

Forms and Transliterations
κοινωνοι κοινωνοί κοινωνοὶ κοινωνον κοινωνόν κοινωνος κοινωνός κοινωνὸς κοινωνους κοινωνούς κοινωνοὺς κοιτάζεις κοιτάζηται κοιταζόμενος κοιταζομένους κοιταζόντων κοιτασθήσονται κοιτασίαν koinonoi koinonoí koinonoì koinōnoi koinōnoí koinōnoì koinonon koinonón koinōnon koinōnón koinonos koinonós koinonòs koinōnos koinōnós koinōnòs koinonous koinonoùs koinōnous koinōnoùs
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Matthew 23:30 Adj-NMP
GRK: ἤμεθα αὐτῶν κοινωνοὶ ἐν τῷ
NAS: we would not have been partners with them in [shedding] the blood
KJV: not have been partakers with them in
INT: we would have been with them partakers in the

Luke 5:10 Adj-NMP
GRK: οἳ ἦσαν κοινωνοὶ τῷ Σίμωνι
NAS: who were partners with Simon.
KJV: which were partners with Simon. And
INT: who were partners with Simon

1 Corinthians 10:18 Adj-NMP
GRK: τὰς θυσίας κοινωνοὶ τοῦ θυσιαστηρίου
NAS: the sacrifices sharers in the altar?
KJV: of the sacrifices partakers of the altar?
INT: the sacrifices fellow-partakers with the altar

1 Corinthians 10:20 Adj-AMP
GRK: δὲ ὑμᾶς κοινωνοὺς τῶν δαιμονίων
NAS: you to become sharers in demons.
KJV: should have fellowship with devils.
INT: moreover you fellow-partakers with demons

2 Corinthians 1:7 Adj-NMP
GRK: ὅτι ὡς κοινωνοί ἐστε τῶν
NAS: knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings,
KJV: ye are partakers of the sufferings,
INT: that as partners you are of the

2 Corinthians 8:23 N-NMS
GRK: ὑπὲρ Τίτου κοινωνὸς ἐμὸς καὶ
NAS: As for Titus, [he is] my partner and fellow worker
KJV: [he is] my partner and
INT: as regards Titus [he is] partner my and

Philemon 1:17 Adj-AMS
GRK: με ἔχεις κοινωνόν προσλαβοῦ αὐτὸν
NAS: you regard me a partner, accept
KJV: me therefore a partner, receive him
INT: me you hold a partner receive him

Hebrews 10:33 Adj-NMP
GRK: τοῦτο δὲ κοινωνοὶ τῶν οὕτως
NAS: by becoming sharers with those
KJV: whilst ye became companions of them that were
INT: this moreover partners of those thus

1 Peter 5:1 N-NMS
GRK: ἀποκαλύπτεσθαι δόξης κοινωνός
NAS: of Christ, and a partaker also
KJV: and also a partaker of the glory
INT: to be revealed glory [am] partaker

2 Peter 1:4 Adj-NMP
GRK: γένησθε θείας κοινωνοὶ φύσεως ἀποφυγόντες
NAS: that by them you may become partakers of [the] divine
KJV: ye might be partakers of the divine
INT: you might become of [the] divine partakers nature having escaped

Strong's Greek 2844
10 Occurrences


κοινωνοὶ — 6 Occ.
κοινωνόν — 1 Occ.
κοινωνὸς — 2 Occ.
κοινωνοὺς — 1 Occ.

2843
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