A noun meaning help that comes from an ally or assistant — reinforcement, aid, support from one who comes alongside. Used by Paul in his defense before Agrippa to describe the divine help that sustained his ministry.
Paul's statement in Acts 26:22 — 'I have had the help (epikouria) that comes from God' — is one of the most compressed autobiographies in Scripture. After cataloging every danger he faced (Acts 27; 2 Corinthians 11), he reduces the entire account to this single phrase: divine help. The word was used in Greek culture for military reinforcements — fresh troops arriving at a critical moment. This is precisely the picture: when Paul's strength was exhausted, when he was shipwrecked and beaten, God's epikouria arrived. For the believer, divine help is not a supplement to human effort but the very sustainer of the mission. 'I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me' (Philippians 4:13) is the New Testament echo.