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Home, at Home

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

"a house, dwelling," is used (a) with the preposition eis, "unto," with the meaning "to home," lit., "to a house," in Mark 8:3 , RV, "to (their) home," AV, "to (their own) houses;" so Mark 8:26 , "to (his) home;" Luke 15:6 , "home," lit., "into the house;" (b) with the preposition en, "in," 1 Corinthians 11:34 , "(let him eat) at home;" 1 Corinthians 14:35 , "(let them ask ...) at home;" (c) with the preposition kata, "down," Acts 2:46 , "(breaking bread) at home," RV (AV, "from house to house"); so in Acts 5:42 (AV, "in every house").

Notes: (1) In Mark 3:19 , the AV and RV marg., have "home," for the text "to a house;" the latter seems the more probable. See HOUSE.

(2) In 1 Timothy 5:4 , the phrase ton idion oikon, is rendered "at home," of the necessity that children should show piety there; RV, "towards their own family," the house being put by metonymy for the family. The neuter plural of idios, "one's own," with the article, preceded by eis, "unto," lit., "unto one's own (things)," is translated "home" in Acts 21:6; in John 19:27 , "unto his own home" ("home" being italicized).

Note: In John 16:32 , this phrase is rendered "to his own" (of the predicted scattering of the disciples), AV marg., "his own home;" cp. John 1:11 , "His own things," RV, marg. (i.e., "His possessions").

For oikia in Matthew 8:6 , AV, "at home," see HOUSE.

(3) In Luke 24:12 the reflexive pronoun hauton (in some mss. heauton), preceded by pros, to, is rendered "to his home," RV (lit., "to himself"), of the departure of Peter from the Lord's tomb; in John 20:10 , the same construction is used, in the plural, of Peter and John on the same occasion, and rendered "unto their own home."

"working at home" (oikos, and a root of ergon, "work"), is used in Titus 2:5 , "workers at home," RV, in the injunction given to elder women regarding the training of the young women. Some mss. have oikouros, "watching" or "keeping the home" (oikos, and ouros, "a keeper"), AV, "keepers at home."

lit., "to be among one's people" (en, "in," demos, "people;" endemos, "one who is in his own place or land"), is used metaphorically of the life on earth of believers, 2 Corinthians 5:6 , "at home (in the body);" in 2 Corinthians 5:8 of the life in Heaven of the spirits of believers, after their decease, "at home (with the Lord)," RV (AV, "present"); in 2 Corinthians 5:9 , "at home" (AV, "present") refers again to the life on earth. In each verse the verb is contrasted with ekdemeo, "to be away from home, to be absent;" in ver. 6, "we are absent," i.e., away from "home" (from the Lord); in ver. 8, "to be absent" (i.e., away from the "home" of the body); so in ver. 9, "absent." The implication in being "at home with the Lord" after death is a testimony against the doctrine of the unconsciousness of the spirit, when freed from the natural body.