Exploring the Meaning of Komizo in Greek

κομίζω gathers two closely related ideas in the passages where it appears: bringing something to someone, and receiving what is due back. Across the Gospels, Paul’s letters, Hebrews, and 1 Peter, it is used for money returned, an object brought into a meal, outcomes received at judgment, recompense for deeds, and promised or eschatological gifts received.

Occurrences

“You ought therefore to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I should have received back my own with interest.” (Matthew 25:27)

In this line from a parable, κομίζω expresses the master’s expectation of getting something back at his return. The emphasis falls on the rightful recovery of “my own,” now increased “with interest,” so the verb frames a return that is both personal (it belongs to him) and accountable (it should have been handled in a way that yields a recoverable gain).

“Behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that he was reclining in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster jar of ointment.” (Luke 7:37)

Here κομίζω moves from repayment language to physical conveyance: the woman “brought” a concrete item into a specific setting (“the Pharisee’s house”) where Jesus is reclining. The verb foregrounds purposeful action—she arrives not empty-handed but carrying an object suited to what will unfold at the meal.

“For we must all be revealed before the judgment seat of Christ that each one may receive the things in the body according to what he has done, whether good or bad.” (2 Corinthians 5:10)

In this judgment scene, κομίζω is tied to moral accounting: “each one may receive” in accordance with deeds “in the body.” The verb functions as the hinge between action and outcome; what is done becomes something one “receives,” and the scope is comprehensive (“we must all”) and impartial as to the moral quality (“whether good or bad”).

“knowing that whatever good thing each one does, he will receive the same good again from the Lord, whether he is bound or free.” (Ephesians 6:8)

κομίζω here places recompense in the hands of “the Lord.” The line stresses correspondence (“the same good again”) between “whatever good thing” is done and what is later received. By adding “whether he is bound or free,” the verse uses the verb to assert that social condition does not block the return of good from the Lord.

“But he who does wrong will receive again for the wrong that he has done, and there is no partiality.” (Colossians 3:25)

This occurrence parallels Ephesians but frames the negative side: wrongdoing also comes back to the doer. κομίζω carries a payback logic—“receive again for the wrong”—and the closing claim “there is no partiality” tightens the sense of equitable return, not dependent on status or favoritism.

“For you need endurance so that, having done the will of God, you may receive the promise.” (Hebrews 10:36)

In Hebrews, κομίζω is linked to perseverance: endurance is needed so that obedience (“having done the will of God”) reaches its intended outcome (“receive the promise”). The verb marks the transition from present faithfulness to later enjoyment of what has been pledged, and it places that reception on the far side of sustained endurance.

“concluding that God is able to raise up even from the dead. Figuratively speaking, he also did receive him back from the dead.” (Hebrews 11:19)

Here κομίζω depicts a “receiving back,” cast in vivid resurrection language. The context speaks of God’s power “to raise up even from the dead,” and then says that, “Figuratively speaking,” he “did receive him back.” The verb thus conveys recovery and return, not as ordinary retrieval but as a kind of restored possession described in terms of life regained.

“These all, having had testimony given to them through their faith, didn’t receive the promise,” (Hebrews 11:39)

This statement uses κομίζω in the negative to underscore tension between commendation and fulfillment. They had “testimony given to them through their faith,” yet “didn’t receive the promise.” The verb draws attention to the withheld or delayed reception: approval is real, but the promised outcome is not yet in hand.

“receiving the result of your faith, the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:9)

In 1 Peter, κομίζω presents faith as having a discernible outcome. The verb frames “the salvation of your souls” as “the result of your faith,” something received as faith reaches its goal. The wording makes the reception concrete: salvation is not merely discussed but depicted as a received end-product.

“When the chief Shepherd is revealed, you will receive the crown of glory that doesn’t fade away.” (1 Peter 5:4)

This final occurrence places κομίζω in an eschatological moment—“When the chief Shepherd is revealed.” The verb points to an ensuing bestowal: “you will receive the crown of glory,” characterized as enduring (“doesn’t fade away”). Reception is timed to revelation, and what is received is portrayed as lasting reward.

Sense and Usage

Across these texts, κομίζω operates within two overlapping frames: (1) transfer toward someone (bringing), and (2) return to someone (being repaid/receiving back). Luke 7:37 shows the straightforward movement of an item into a setting: the woman comes to a house and brings an “alabaster jar of ointment,” with the verb highlighting her intentional delivery of something tangible. Matthew 25:27, by contrast, depicts an owner expecting a return at his arrival: what should have been handled responsibly can and should be “received back,” and the phrase “my own” makes the return a matter of rightful possession, not mere gift.

Paul’s uses in 2 Corinthians 5:10, Ephesians 6:8, and Colossians 3:25 shift the focus from objects to outcomes. In 2 Corinthians, the arena is the “judgment seat of Christ,” where what is “done” becomes something “received”; κομίζω links embodied conduct with fitting recompense, and its breadth (“each one,” “whether good or bad”) makes the return comprehensive. Ephesians and Colossians apply the same logic to everyday moral action: good done is met with “the same good again from the Lord,” and wrong done is met with receiving “again for the wrong.” Taken together, these three occurrences show κομίζω as a verb of correspondence—actions are not inert; they travel forward into a fitting return.

Hebrews extends that forward-looking dynamic into the category of promise. Hebrews 10:36 places reception after endurance and obedience: doing God’s will aims toward “receive the promise,” and the verb carries the sense of coming into possession of what was pledged. Hebrews 11:39 reinforces the waiting dimension by saying the faithful “didn’t receive the promise,” even while their faith was publicly attested; κομίζω thereby articulates the difference between being commended and actually holding the promised good. Hebrews 11:19 adds a different angle: “receive him back” is expressed with resurrection imagery, so the verb can depict restoration after loss, framed as a kind of recovery granted by God’s life-giving power.

In 1 Peter, κομίζω describes reception as both present-directed and future-oriented. “Receiving the result of your faith” presents salvation as the telos of persevering trust, something received as faith reaches its intended end. “You will receive the crown of glory” sets reception in the moment of the chief Shepherd’s revelation and highlights the permanence of what is received (“doesn’t fade away”). In these Petrine uses, κομίζω keeps the same basic pattern: faithful activity is not disconnected from outcome; it moves toward a reception that is both defined (“salvation,” “crown of glory”) and timed to God’s action (“is revealed”).

Imagery

The passages build a consistent set of scenes around κομίζω: a master returning and collecting what is his (Matthew 25:27), a woman entering a dining setting with a costly jar in hand (Luke 7:37), and the disclosure of lives before Christ where deeds come back as received outcomes (2 Corinthians 5:10). Hebrews and 1 Peter add promise-shaped imagery: endurance that reaches the point of receiving, a “receiving back” described in terms of life from the dead, and a crown that is received when the chief Shepherd is revealed (Hebrews 10:36; Hebrews 11:19; 1 Peter 5:4). In each case, κομίζω keeps attention on the movement from action or possession toward an actual return into one’s hands—whether through coming, judgment, endurance, or revelation.

Sources: Lexical data from Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance and the Translators Brief Lexicon of Extended Strongs for Greek (STEPBible, CC BY). Occurrence data from the Translators Amalgamated Greek New Testament (STEPBible, CC BY). Scripture quotations from the World English Bible (public domain).