# G3860 - paradidomi **Strong's:** [G3860](https://www.blueletterbible.org/lexicon/g3860/) · BLB lookup **Pronunciation:** par-ad-id'-o-mee **Part of speech:** verb **Etymology:** *para* (alongside / over) + *didōmi* (to give), literally "to give over / hand over" **NT occurrences:** ~119 ## Semantic range (Thayer / BDAG) 1. **To deliver / hand over physically**, transfer to another's custody. 2. **To betray**, to deliver treacherously to an enemy. Used famously of Judas. 3. **To transmit / hand down tradition**, pass on teaching from one generation to the next; technical term for transmission of authoritative tradition. 4. **To commit / entrust**, put under another's responsibility ([1 Corinthians 13:3](/codex/1-corinthians-13-3/)). 5. **(Theologically) to deliver up for atoning purposes**, Christ "given over" for our transgressions ([Romans 4:25](/codex/romans-4-25/)). The verb covers the full spectrum from treachery (Judas) to faithful transmission (apostolic tradition) to redemptive substitution (Christ's atonement). The shared idea: a person or thing is *handed over* from one party to another. ## Theological force, three load-bearing applications **1. Pre-Pauline gospel tradition.** [1 Corinthians 15.3-8](/codex/1-corinthians-15-3-8/), Paul writes: > For I delivered (*paredōka*) to you as of first importance what I also received (*parelabon*): that Christ died for our sins… The vocabulary *paredōka* / *parelabon* is **technical first-century Jewish-rabbinic terminology** for transmitting authoritative tradition (compare m. *Avot* 1:1, "Moses received [קבל / *qibbel*] the Torah at Sinai, and *delivered* [מסר / *masar*] it to Joshua… and the Men of the Great Assembly delivered it to…"). Paul deliberately uses Greek-equivalent terms to mark the gospel content (Christ's death, burial, resurrection, appearances) as **received** and **transmitted**, i.e., *not Pauline innovation* but apostolic tradition handed down. The dating implication: Paul wrote 1 Corinthians c. AD 54-55. He says he *delivered* this content to the Corinthians on his founding visit (c. AD 50-51). He *received* it earlier, most likely at his Jerusalem visit with Peter and James (c. AD 36-38, three years after his conversion, per [Galatians 1:18](/codex/galatians-1-18/)). This places the *content* of the gospel creed within ~5 years of the resurrection. Modern apologetic (Habermas, Licona, Bauckham) uses this *paradidōmi* / *paralambanō* vocabulary as the linchpin of the historical-resurrection argument: there is no time-window for legendary development; the content is bedrock-early. **2. Christ's substitutionary atonement.** The verb appears in passive form for Christ's "being handed over": - **[Romans 4:25](/codex/romans-4-25/)**, "He who was *paredothē* (delivered over) for our transgressions, and was raised because of our justification" - **[Romans 8:32](/codex/romans-8-32/)**, "He… *paredōken* (delivered Him over) for us all" - **[Galatians 2:20](/codex/galatians-2-20/)**, "the Son of God, who loved me and *paredōken* Himself up for me" - **[Ephesians 5:2](/codex/ephesians-5-2/), [25](/codex/ephesians-5-25/)**, Christ "*paredōken* Himself up for us / for the church" The dual subject, God the Father *paradidōmi*-s the Son; the Son *paradidōmi*-s Himself, preserves both the sovereign-divine plan (the cross is not accident or tragedy) and the voluntary self-giving of the Son (He gives Himself, not against His will). **3. Judas's betrayal.** *Paradidōmi* is the standard verb for Judas's act: - **[Mark 14:10](/codex/mark-14-10/), [11](/codex/mark-14-11/), [18](/codex/mark-14-18/), [21](/codex/mark-14-21/), [41](/codex/mark-14-41/), [42](/codex/mark-14-42/), [44](/codex/mark-14-44/)**, Judas "*paradidonai* (handed over) Jesus" - **[Matthew 26:15-16](/codex/matthew-26-15-16/), [21](/codex/matthew-26-21/), [23-25](/codex/matthew-26-23-25/), [45-48](/codex/matthew-26-45-48/)**, same pattern - **[John 13:2](/codex/john-13-2/), [11](/codex/john-13-11/), [18](/codex/john-13-18/):2, 5**, Judas "*paradidōn* Jesus" The same verb names both the *redemptive* delivering-up of Christ by the Father ([Romans 4:25](/codex/romans-4-25/), [8](/codex/romans-4-8/):32) and the *treacherous* delivering-up by Judas ([Mark 14](/codex/mark-14/)). The double application is theologically rich: God's sovereign hand and Judas's free wickedness operate on the same act, with utterly different motives. *[Acts 2:23](/codex/acts-2-23/)* makes the dual structure explicit: "this Man, delivered over (*ekdoton*) by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men." ## Notable verses ### Pre-Pauline gospel creed - **[1 Corinthians 15.3-8](/codex/1-corinthians-15-3-8/)**, *paredōka… parelabon*, the gospel-creed transmission formula - **[1 Corinthians 11:23](/codex/1-corinthians-11-23/)**, "I received from the Lord that which I also delivered to you", the Last Supper institution - **[2 Thessalonians 2:15](/codex/2-thessalonians-2-15/); 3:6**, "stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught… in accordance with the tradition (*paradosis*, the cognate noun) you received from us" ### Christ's substitutionary delivering-up - **[Romans 4:25](/codex/romans-4-25/)**, "delivered over for our transgressions" - **[Romans 8:32](/codex/romans-8-32/)**, "He… delivered Him over for us all" - **[Galatians 2:20](/codex/galatians-2-20/)**, "the Son of God, who… delivered Himself up for me" - **[Ephesians 5:2](/codex/ephesians-5-2/), [25](/codex/ephesians-5-25/)**, Christ "delivered Himself up" - **[Isaiah 53:6](/codex/isaiah-53-6/), [12](/codex/isaiah-53-12/) (LXX)**, *paredōken*, the Servant's vicarious giving ### Judas's betrayal - **[Mark 14:10-44](/codex/mark-14-10-44/); [Matthew 26](/codex/matthew-26/); [Luke 22:21-22](/codex/luke-22-21-22/); John 13**, repeated *paradidōmi* of Judas's act ### Pilate's handing-over - **[Mark 15:1](/codex/mark-15-1/), [15](/codex/mark-15-15/)**, Pilate *paredōken* Jesus to be crucified ### Apostolic transmission - **[Galatians 1:14](/codex/galatians-1-14/)**, Paul advancing in the *paterikōn paradoseōn* (ancestral traditions), pre-Christian Pharisaic context - **[2 Peter 2:21](/codex/2-peter-2-21/)**, "the holy commandment delivered to them" - **[Jude 3](/codex/jude-3/)**, "contend earnestly for the faith which was *paradotheisē* (once for all delivered) to the saints" ## Patristic / scholarly note The patristic tradition uses *paradidōmi* / *paradosis* as the verb / noun pair for *tradition*. Tertullian (*Prescription Against Heretics* 36-37, c. AD 200) and Irenaeus (*Against Heresies* III.3) develop the apostolic tradition as authoritative, the Catholic / Orthodox view that scripture-and-tradition together constitute the apostolic deposit. The Reformation pressed *sola scriptura*, the only infallible *paradosis* is the apostolic teaching as preserved in canonical Scripture, against the medieval Catholic claim that ongoing church tradition is co-equally inspired. Modern resurrection apologetic, Gary Habermas (*The Risen Jesus and Future Hope*, 2003; *The Case for the Resurrection of Jesus*, 2004); N. T. Wright (*The Resurrection of the Son of God*, 2003); Mike Licona (*The Resurrection of Jesus*, 2010), develops the *paradidōmi* / *paralambanō* vocabulary in [1 Corinthians 15:3](/codex/1-corinthians-15-3/) as the linchpin of the early-creed argument: the resurrection content is pre-Pauline, traceable to within 2-5 years of the events. ## Verses in this codex _See Obsidian's backlinks pane for every verse page linking here._ ## See also - G3844 - para, preposition root - G1325 - didomi, verb root "to give" - G3862 - paradosis, cognate noun "tradition / what is handed down" - [1 Corinthians 15.3-8](/codex/1-corinthians-15-3-8/), locus classicus for the gospel-creed argument - [Romans 5.8](/codex/romans-5-8/), Christ's substitutionary delivering-up - [Argument from the Resurrection](/codex/argument-from-the-resurrection/) (syllogism, pending in [Arguments](/codex/arguments/))