A noun expressing attentive care, diligent provision, or the tender attention given to someone who needs help. Used in Acts to describe the care given to Paul after the shipwreck — a picture of providential hospitality.
Acts 27:3: 'Julius treated Paul kindly and gave him leave to go to his friends and be cared for (epimeleia).' In the chaos of a Mediterranean voyage and impending shipwreck, this small act of human epimeleia stands out as a beacon. The centurion who would later save Paul's life (27:43) first showed him this ordinary care. The word belongs to the same family as the Good Samaritan's attention to the wounded traveler (Luke 10:34 uses the verb form) — the deliberate, sustained, going-out-of-your-way care for the vulnerable. Epimeleia is the practical face of love: not sentiment but provision.