Berean Strong's Lexicon paroikos: Sojourner, foreigner, stranger, alien Original Word: πάροικος Word Origin: Derived from παρά (para, "beside") and οἶκος (oikos, "house" or "dwelling") Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: - H1616 (גֵּר, ger): Often translated as "sojourner" or "stranger," referring to a foreigner living among the Israelites. - H8453 (תּוֹשָׁב, toshav): Meaning "resident alien" or "temporary dweller." Usage: The term "paroikos" is used to describe someone who resides temporarily in a place that is not their permanent home. It conveys the idea of being a foreigner or an alien, living alongside others but not fully belonging to the community or nation. In the New Testament, it often carries a spiritual connotation, referring to believers as temporary residents on earth, whose true citizenship is in heaven. Cultural and Historical Background: In the ancient world, being a "paroikos" meant living in a place without the full rights of citizenship. Such individuals were often dependent on the hospitality and protection of the local community. This status could involve social and legal limitations, reflecting a transient and vulnerable existence. The concept was familiar in Jewish thought, as the Israelites considered themselves sojourners in Egypt and later in Babylon during the Exile. HELPS Word-studies 3941 pároikos (from 3844 /pará, "close beside" and 3624 /oíkos, "house") – properly, someone living close to others as a temporary dweller, i.e. in a specific locale as a non-citizen with limited rights (identification). NAS Exhaustive Concordance Word Originfrom para and oikos Definition dwelling near, foreign NASB Translation alien (1), aliens (3). Thayer's Greek Lexicon STRONGS NT 3941: πάροικοςπάροικος, πάροικον (παρά and οἶκος); 1. in classical Greek dwelling near, neighboring. 2. in the Scriptures a stranger, foreigner, one who lives in a place without the right of citizenship; (R. V. sojourner); the Sept. for גֵּר and תּושָׁב (see παροικέω 2, and παροικία (and cf. Schmidt, Syn., 43, 5; Liddell and Scott, under the word)): followed by ἐν with the dative of place, Acts 7:6, 29; metaphorically, without citizenship in God's kingdom: joined with ξένος and opposed to συμπολίτης, Ephesians 2:19 (μόνος κύριος ὁ Θεός πολίτης ἐστι, πάροικον δέ καί ἐπηλυτον τό γενητον ἅπαν, Philo de cherub. § 34 (cf. Mangey 1:161 note)); one who lives on earth as a stranger, a sojourner on the earth: joined with παρεπίδημος (which see), of Christians, whose fatherland is heaven, 1 Peter 2:11. (Cf. Ep. ad Diognet. § 5, 5 [ET].) From para and oikos; having a home near, i.e. (as noun) a by-dweller (alien resident) -- foreigner, sojourn, stranger. see GREEK para see GREEK oikos Englishman's Concordance Acts 7:6 Adj-NNSGRK: σπέρμα αὐτοῦ πάροικον ἐν γῇ NAS: that his DESCENDANTS WOULD BE ALIENS IN A FOREIGN KJV: seed should sojourn in a strange INT: descendants of him a sojourner in a land Acts 7:29 Adj-NMS Ephesians 2:19 Adj-NMP 1 Peter 2:11 Adj-AMP Strong's Greek 3941 |