Understanding the Meaning of Dorema in Greek

δώρημα means “free gift,” a term used to speak of giving as an unearned bestowal. In the New Testament it appears in Romans 5:16 and James 1:17, where it frames God’s giving in contrast to condemnation and as a steady generosity “from above.”

Root and Related Words

δώρημα (Dorema) derives from doreomai (δωρέω), “to give” (Strong’s G1433). The noun form presents the act of giving in terms of what is given.

Occurrences

Romans 5:16: “The gift is not as through one who sinned; for the judgment came by one to condemnation, but the free gift came of many trespasses to justification.”

Here δώρημα is set into a tight comparison that turns on outcomes. On one side stands “judgment” leading “to condemnation,” traced “by one” in relation to sin. On the other side stands “the free gift,” which “came of many trespasses to justification.” Within the sentence, the word functions as the counterweight to judgment: it names a giving that is not a legal penalty but a bestowed result. The text also places it against a background of accumulating wrongs (“many trespasses”), and yet the movement attributed to the free gift is toward “justification.” The phrase “came of many trespasses” makes the setting of the gift striking: it is spoken of in the same breath as trespasses, but its direction is the opposite of condemnation. Thus, δώρημα marks the positive, bestowed outcome in the argument’s contrast—an answer that is described not as earned by moral success but as granted in the context of transgression.

James 1:17: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow.”

James uses δώρημα in a paired expression: “Every good gift and every perfect gift.” The repetition (“every… and every…”) presents giving as abundant and wide-ranging, while the descriptors “good” and “perfect” highlight the quality of what is given. The verse then anchors the gifts’ origin: they are “from above,” “coming down from the Father of lights.” In this scene, δώρημα belongs to a vertical movement—downward from a heavenly source—so the word carries the idea of bestowed benefit arriving from God rather than being generated from below. The closing clause, “with whom can be no variation, nor turning shadow,” places the giving alongside God’s steadiness. The “gift” language thus serves to connect divine generosity with divine constancy: the gifts come from a source whose character is unwavering.

Sense and Usage

Across these two passages, δώρημα consistently frames giving as unearned, with attention placed on the giver and the resulting benefit rather than on the recipient’s contribution. In Romans 5:16, the word is embedded in a judicial contrast: condemnation follows judgment, but the free gift leads to justification. The term’s force emerges from the opposition—gift versus judgment, justification versus condemnation—so that “free gift” conveys a bestowed outcome that is not the natural sequel to “many trespasses.” The language does not treat the gift as a mere object alongside other objects; it is the hinge of a moral and legal reversal within the sentence’s logic.

In James 1:17, the word is broadened to a general statement about God’s giving: “Every good gift and every perfect gift.” The scope becomes comprehensive (“every”), and the emphasis falls on origin (“from above”) and manner (“coming down”). The descriptive pairing of “good” and “perfect” underscores that what is given bears the stamp of its source. The final clause about “no variation, nor turning shadow” places the giving within the unchanging character of the giver, so δώρημα is heard not merely as a single instance of generosity but as a pattern consistent with who God is.

Taken together, these uses show δώρημα functioning in two complementary registers. In Romans it serves as a focused term within a specific contrast of consequences, spotlighting a gracious bestowal that results in justification rather than condemnation. In James it operates as a general category for God’s beneficent giving, marked by goodness, completeness, and heavenly origin. Both contexts keep the emphasis on the giving as something granted: the word places the weight on the gift’s character as freely bestowed and on the giver’s initiative, whether the discussion is redemption amid “many trespasses” or the steady stream of “good” and “perfect” gifts “from above.”

Imagery

The passages that use δώρημα carry distinct but compatible pictures. Romans 5:16 evokes the courtroom-like movement from “judgment” to “condemnation” contrasted with a different movement toward “justification,” and δώρημα names the unexpected bestowal that drives that latter outcome. James 1:17 supplies spatial imagery: gifts “coming down” from above, from the “Father of lights,” with “no variation, nor turning shadow,” portraying giving as a steady descent of benefit from an unchanging source.

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).