συνομορέω
I am contiguous with
Definition
The verb συνομορέω means 'to be contiguous with' or 'to be next door to.' It describes a state of physical adjacency, where one property or location shares a common border with another. In its sole biblical occurrence in Acts 18:7, it specifies the close proximity of a house to a synagogue. There are no other distinct senses of the word in the New Testament, as it is used only this once to denote literal, spatial nearness.
Biblical Usage
This word is used only once in the New Testament, in Acts 18:7. It describes the location of a house belonging to a man named Titius Justus, which was 'next door to' (συνομορῶσα) the synagogue in Corinth. The usage is purely geographical, providing a specific detail in the narrative of Paul's ministry. No patterns exist due to its single occurrence.
Etymology
The word συνομορέω is a compound verb derived from the preposition σύν (syn), meaning 'with' or 'together,' and the verb ὁμορέω (homoreō), meaning 'to border on' or 'to be adjacent to.' The root ὁμορέω itself comes from ὅρος (horos), meaning 'boundary' or 'landmark.' Thus, the combined meaning is literally 'to border on together with,' emphasizing shared contiguity.
Semantic Range
In the ancient world, property boundaries and adjacency were significant for social, legal, and religious life. A house being 'next door to' a synagogue, as in Acts 18:7, placed it in immediate physical and social proximity to the center of Jewish community and worship. This detail underscores the strategic nature of Paul's move; he remained intimately close to the synagogue audience even after being rejected from preaching within it, facilitating continued contact with both Jews and God-fearing Gentiles.
πλησίον (plēsion, G4139) — emphasizes nearness in a general sense, often translated 'neighbor,' focusing on relational proximity rather than strict physical adjacency. ἐγγύς (engys, G1451) — denotes nearness in space, time, or relationship, but is a more common and general term for 'near' without the specific connotation of sharing a border.
Word Details
How this works
Definitions are from the Dodson Greek-English Lexicon, a concise public-domain resource suitable for introductory word study. Brief glosses are supplemented by STEPBible TBESG data (CC BY 4.0). For advanced research, standard scholarly references include BDAG (Danker, 3rd ed.) and LSJ.
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