Five-minute study · Day 192 · Luke 10
Luke 10:34
A word worth stopping on: inn πανδοχεῖον pandocheion
The Samaritan brings the beaten man to a pandocheion. The word means 'all-receiving.' Pan: all. Dechomai: to receive. A commercial establishment that took in anyone who could pay. The Samaritan paid two denarii, which covered roughly two days of room and board for a laborer. Then he told the innkeeper, 'Whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.' An open tab. No spending limit. The injured man's recovery had a blank check attached to it.
Word study: inn
- Greek
- πανδοχεῖον
- Pronounced
- pandocheion
- Strong's
- G3829
- Definition
- An inn, a public house, a place that receives all comers. A compound of pas (all) and dechomai (to receive, to welcome). A commercial lodging establishment that accepted travelers regardless of origin.
Pandocheion appears only once in the New Testament, here in Luke 10:34. BDAG defines it as 'an inn, a place that receives all travelers.' The compound etymology is significant: pan (all) plus docheion (a receptacle, from dechomai, to receive). The pandocheion was, by definition, a place that turned no one away.
Bailey's 'Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes' provides essential cultural context. The road from Jerusalem to Jericho descends roughly 3,400 feet over 17 miles through barren, rocky terrain. It was notorious for banditry. Commercial inns along major trade routes in the Roman East were common, often operating as way stations with sleeping quarters, stabling for animals, and basic provisions. The innkeeper (pandocheus, also a unique New Testament word) was the manager of such an establishment.
The two denarii the Samaritan left are economically specific. A denarius was a day's wage for a laborer (Matthew 20:2). Two denarii would cover approximately two days of food and lodging. The Samaritan expected to be away longer than two days, so he added the open-ended promise: 'Whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee.' The innkeeper became a creditor with the Samaritan's word as guarantee.
The word pandocheion is distinct from katalyma, the word used for the place where there was 'no room' in Luke 2:7 at Jesus' birth. A katalyma was a guest room, often in a private home. A pandocheion was a commercial operation. The distinction matters: the Samaritan did not find a friend to take in the wounded man. He used the commercial infrastructure of the road, paid for the service, and guaranteed the debt. Compassion used the systems available to it.
Bailey notes that the 'all-receiving' nature of the inn mirrors the 'all-receiving' nature of the Samaritan's mercy. The man on the road was stripped, beaten, and 'half dead.' His ethnicity was unidentifiable. His clothing, which would have marked his social status and origin, was gone. The Samaritan received him as the inn received travelers: without requiring credentials.
Historical context · First century AD, Roman Judea
The Jericho Road and Its Commerce
The road from Jerusalem to Jericho was one of the most traveled and most dangerous routes in first-century Judea. It descended from Jerusalem's elevation of approximately 2,500 feet above sea level to Jericho's location near 800 feet below sea level, a drop of over 3,300 feet in roughly 17 miles. The terrain was arid, rocky, and full of narrow passes ideal for ambush. Strabo, the Greek geographer, noted that Pompey had to clear bandits from caves along this route during his campaign in 63 BC.
Commercial inns were a feature of the Roman road system. They ranged from simple caravanserais offering a walled courtyard and a roof to more established operations with individual rooms, animal stalls, and food service. The innkeeper served as host, security, and sometimes physician for injured travelers. The Samaritan's arrangement, paying in advance and promising to cover additional costs on return, reflects a recognized commercial practice. The innkeeper accepted the deal because the Samaritan was apparently a regular traveler on this route, known well enough to extend credit.
The economic details of the parable are precise. Two denarii represented real purchasing power. A room at a basic inn in the Roman East cost roughly one-twelfth of a denarius per night. Food cost more. Bailey estimates that two denarii could cover 24 days of lodging or a more realistic combination of room, food, and basic medical attention for about two weeks. The Samaritan was financing a recovery period, giving the beaten man time to heal before returning to travel.
Jesus told this parable in response to a lawyer's question: 'And who is my neighbour?' (Luke 10:29). The parable inverts the question. The lawyer wanted a definition, a boundary: who qualifies as my neighbor, and who does not? Jesus answered with a story where the question becomes 'who showed up?' The pandocheion, the all-receiving inn, stands at the center of the answer. The place that turned no one away became the location of healing.
For reflection
The Samaritan left an open tab. No cap on the expense. He told the innkeeper to spend whatever was needed and he would cover the difference. Think about the last time you helped someone. Did you set a limit on the cost, or did you leave the account open?
Two denarii started the care. The promise to return and pay more finished it.
Sources: BDAG; Bailey, 'Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes'; Strabo, 'Geographica' 16.2; Marshall, 'The Gospel of Luke' (NIGTC)