From meta (with) and lambanō (to receive). To take a share, to partake, to receive. Used of sharing in food, receiving spiritual benefit, and participating in blessings.
This word appears in Hebrews 6:7, where the ground that drinks in rain and produces crops receives God's blessing — a metaphor for the fruitful believer. Paul uses it of laborers deserving to share in the harvest (2 Timothy 2:6). The word teaches the principle of participation and shared benefit — those who labor faithfully in God's work will partake of the reward.