The Greek verb ekdidomi is a compound of ek (out) and didomi (to give), meaning to give out, let out on lease, or hand over. It appears in the parable of the wicked tenants (Matthew 21:33; Mark 12:1; Luke 20:9), describing a landowner who lets out his vineyard to tenants — a central image for God's relationship to Israel.
Ekdidomi in the parable of the vineyard (Matthew 21:33-41) carries enormous theological weight. The landowner who lets out (ekdidomi) his vineyard to tenants represents God entrusting Israel with His covenant inheritance. The tenants' murder of the son (v.38) points to the crucifixion of Christ. The parable represents Israel's history of rejecting God's messengers and culminates in the transfer of the kingdom to a people producing its fruit (v.43). Stewardship theology — that everything humans hold is on lease from God — flows directly from this verb.