G3623 — οἰκονόμος (oikonomos)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3623
Original: οἰκονόμος
Transliteration: oikonomos
Pronunciation: oy-kon-om'-os
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: Compound of οἶκος (oikos, G3624, "house") + the base of νόμος (nomos, G3551, "to distribute/manage") — a house-distributor, i.e., manager
Occurrences: 10 in NT (10 unique verses across 6 books)
First Occurrence: Luke 12:42 — "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household"
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From G3624 (oikos) and the base of G3551 (nomos); a house-distributor (i.e. manager), or overseer, i.e. an employee in that capacity; by extension, a fiscal agent (treasurer); figuratively, a preacher (of the Gospel).

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain 37.39: Control, Rule — Exercise Authority
Other words in subdomain: δέω (G1210), ἐξουσία (G1849), ἐπιταγή (G2003), ἐπιτροπή (G2011), κτίσις (G2937), λύω (G3089)
Domain 46: Household Activities
Other words: διακονέω (G1247), διακονία (G1248), ἀρχιτρίκλινος (G755), οἰκέτης (G3610)
Domain 57.20: Possess, Transfer, Exchange — Keep Records
Other words: διακονέω (G1247), ἐλλογέω (G1677), λογίζομαι (G3049), λόγος (G3056)

Domain Neighbors (37.003 — Exercise Authority)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total Verses	Primary KJV Translation(s)
G1210	δέω	27	bound, bind
G1849	ἐξουσία	85	power, authority
G1909	ἐπί	434	on, upon
G2003	ἐπιταγή	6	commandment
G2011	ἐπιτροπή	1	commission
G2937	κτίσις	15	creature, creation
G3089	λύω	9	loose

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
steward	3	30%
stewards	3	30%
a steward	1	10%
the steward	1	10%
chamberlain	1	10%
governors	1	10%

All 10 occurrences carry the "steward/manager" sense. "Chamberlain" (Rom 16:23) and "governors" (Gal 4:2) are contextual renderings of the same underlying concept.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Titus	1	2.2
1 Peter	1	1.0
Galatians	1	0.7
1 Corinthians	2	0.5
Luke	4	0.3
Romans	1	0.2

Luke has the highest raw count (4), driven by the parables in chapters 12 and 16. Pauline epistles account for 5 of 10 uses, applying the concept metaphorically to ministry. The word is entirely absent from Matthew, Mark, John, and all other epistles.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Household Manager in Parabolic Teaching¶

Luke 12:42 — "Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?"
Luke 16:1 — "There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods."
Luke 16:3 — "Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship"
Luke 16:8 — "And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely"

2. Ministers as Stewards of Divine Mysteries¶

1 Corinthians 4:1 — "Let a man so account of us, as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God."
1 Corinthians 4:2 — "Moreover it is required in stewards, that a man be found faithful."

3. Believers as Stewards of God's Grace/Gifts¶

1 Peter 4:10 — "As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God."
Titus 1:7 — "For a bishop must be blameless, as the steward of God; not selfwilled, not soon angry, not given to wine, no striker, not given to filthy lucre"

4. Legal/Civil Manager¶

Galatians 4:2 — "But is under tutors and governors until the time appointed of the father."
Romans 16:23 — "Erastus the chamberlain of the city saluteth you"

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
ὡς (hos)	G5613	4x (40%)	"as stewards" — comparison marker introducing steward metaphor
θεός (theos)	G2316	3x (30%)	"steward of God" / "stewards of the mysteries of God"
κύριος (kyrios)	G2962	3x (30%)	"whom his lord shall make ruler" — the master over the steward
πιστός (pistos)	G4103	2x (20%)	"faithful steward" — the qualifying virtue
φρόνιμος (phronimos)	G5429	2x (20%)	"wise steward" — paired with faithful as dual qualification
ἄνθρωπος (anthropos)	G444	2x (20%)	"a certain rich man which had a steward"
ποιέω (poieo)	G4160	2x (20%)	"he had done wisely" — steward's actions under evaluation

Word Family / Cognates¶

G3621 οἰκονομέω (oikonomeo) — verb: to manage a house/estate; "be steward" (1x, Luke 16:2)
G3622 οἰκονομία (oikonomia) — feminine noun: administration, stewardship, dispensation (8x)
G3624 οἶκος (oikos) — masculine noun: house, dwelling, household (114x) — root component

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
ἐπίτροπος (epitropos)	G2012	"steward" (Mt 20:8), "tutors" (Gal 4:2)	epitropos = commissioner/guardian with delegated authority; oikonomos = household manager with ongoing administrative responsibility
οἰκονομέω (oikonomeo)	G3621	"be steward" (Lk 16:2)	Verb form of the same root — the action rather than the person

Hebrew Source¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrence	PMI Score
שֶׁבְנָא (Shebna)	H7644	6	10.30
אֶלְיָקִים (Eliakim)	H471	6	9.88
יוֹאָח (Joah)	H3098	4	9.56
סָפַר (saphar)	H5608	7	6.45
בַּיִת (bayith)	H1004	9	3.35
שַׂר (sar)	H8269	3	3.97

The LXX uses oikonomos to translate the Hebrew concept of the palace steward/royal household manager — most prominently Shebna and Eliakim in Isaiah 22:15-22 and 2 Kings 18-19. The Hebrew phrase is typically "asher al-habbayith" ("who is over the house") rather than a single-word equivalent.