οἰκουργός (oikourgos)
oikourgos
home-working
Quick Reference
- Language
- Koine Greek
- Testament
- New Testament
- Occurrences
- 1 verses
- Root
- —
Word Overview
The Greek word oikourgos describes someone who works within the household. It combines oikos, meaning house or home, with ergon, meaning work. This creates a clear picture of domestic labor, specifically the tasks required to maintain and manage a family’s daily life.
Lexical sources note that this term appears only once in the New Testament, in Titus 2:5. Here, it is used to encourage older women to train younger ones. The context suggests duties like cooking, cleaning, and caring for children, rather than professional employment outside the home. Translators often render it as "workers at home" or "keepers at home" to capture this specific domestic focus.
Its rarity makes its usage in Titus significant. By choosing this word, Paul emphasizes the value of ordinary, unseen labor. It validates the daily efforts of managing a household as essential work, worthy of respect and spiritual instruction. The term grounds Christian virtue in the practical realities of family life.
Based on public-domain lexicons (Strong's, Thayer, Gesenius, Brown-Driver-Briggs and others).
What This Word Means for Your Faith
The term oikourgos paints a quiet but vital picture of life within the home. It describes someone who works diligently in their own household, tending to the daily needs that keep a family running. In Titus 2:5, Paul uses this specific word to encourage older women to guide younger ones in these practical duties. This is not a dismissal of other forms of labor, but an affirmation that the work done behind closed doors holds deep spiritual weight.
When we see domestic tasks like cooking, cleaning, and caring for children through this lens, they become more than chores. They are acts of service that reflect God’s care for His people. This word reminds us that faithfulness in the ordinary moments is just as important as any public ministry. The stability of a home often rests on these unseen efforts, making them essential to the health of the church and the witness of the community.
How it's translated
How this word is rendered word-by-word in the 1 verses where it appears, by frequency.
- busy at home1×
Forms in the text
The inflected forms of this word as they appear in Scripture, by frequency.
- οἰκουργοὺς1×
Key Verses
-
Titus 2:5
to be sober minded, chaste, workers at home, kind, being in subjection to their own husbands, that God’s word may not be blasphemed.
This is the only occurrence of the word in the New Testament, where it specifically defines the domestic role older women are to train younger women in.