γραμματεύς
grammateús · G1122 · Greek · 63 occurrences
Meanings
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one who is learned in the Law, expert in the Law, expert in the Law of Moses
A recognized expert in Jewish law (including both canonical and traditional laws and regulations)
ExamplesMatthew 2:4 And gathering together all the chief priests and scribes of the people, he inquired of them where the Messiah was to be born.
Matthew 5:20 “For I say to you that unless your righteousness far surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven.
Matthew 7:29 for He was teaching them as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.
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scholar, teacher
A person who has acquired a high level of education in a certain body of literature or discipline
ExamplesMatthew 13:52 And Jesus said to them, “Therefore every scribe who has become a disciple of the kingdom of heaven is like a head of a household, who brings out of his treasure new things and old.”
Matthew 23:34 “Therefore, behold, I am sending you prophets and wise men and scribes; some of them you will kill and crucify, and some of them you will flog in your synagogues, and persecute from city to city,
1 Corinthians 1:20 Where is the wise person? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has God not made foolish the wisdom of the world?
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town clerk, town secretary
A city official with responsibility for the records of a town or city and apparently certain responsibilities for maintaining law and order
ExamplesActs 19:35 After quieting the crowd, the town clerk said, “Men of Ephesus, what person is there after all who does not know that the city of the Ephesians is guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of the image which fell down from the sky?
How it’s used In 8 roles
Every occurrence, grouped by the words it is grammatically related to.
the word studied the word it goes with
Whose, or of whatGenitive or possessive
6 occurrences in 4 groups
- αὐτόςhe, she, it, same 3
- λαόςpeople 1
- μέροςpart 1
- ΦαρισαῖοςPharisee 1
Words describing itAdjectives, demonstratives, participles
2 occurrences in 2 groups
- εἷςone 1
- μαθητεύωto follow 1
Named alongside itApposition
9 occurrences in 9 groups
- ὑποκριτήςhypocrite 6
- Other words · 8 groups that occur once or twice (9) 9
What it doesIt is the subject
37 occurrences in 24 groups
- λέγωto say 5
- ἔπωto say 4
- ζητέωto seek, to look for 4
- συνάγωto gather together, to call together 4
- προσέρχομαιto come to, to approach 3
- Other words · 19 groups that occur once or twice (22) 22
What is done to itIt is the object
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- συγκινέωto stir up 1
- συνάγωto gather together, to call together 1
- ἀποστέλλωto send 1
It is given or told toIndirect object
2 occurrences in 1 groups
- παραδίδωμιto hand over, to betray 2
What it is said to bePredicate
3 occurrences in 3 groups
- κάθημαιto sit 1
- ὅμοιοςlike 1
- ποῦwhere? 1
After prepositionsPrepositional phrases
9 occurrences in 4 groups
- ἀπόfrom 8
- μετάwith, after 6
- ὑπόby, under 2
- παράfrom, with, beside 1
When two words share a role, as in “Paul and Barnabas said”, the verse appears under each, so a section’s counts can add up to more than the number of occurrences.
MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Semantic domains 3 entries
- Scholar, teacher27.22
- Used of a professional interpreter of the Law, as of the scribes gathered by Herod to locate the Messiah's birthplace in Matthew 2:4 and the scribe who approaches Jesus offering to follow Him in Matthew 8:19.
- Town clerk, town secretary37.94
- Used of a civic administrative official, distinct from the religious-teacher sense elsewhere in this lexeme's range.
- One who is learned in the Law, expert in the Law, expert in the Law of Moses53.94
- Used of religious legal experts contrasted with Jesus' own authoritative teaching, as of the righteousness required to surpass that of the scribes and Pharisees in Matthew 5:20 and Jesus teaching not as the scribes in Matthew 7:29.
Word family 14 words
Words formed from the same root. They share a form, not always a meaning.
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon γραμματέως (accusative plural γραμματεῖς, Winers Grammar, § 9, 2; (Buttmann, 14 (13))), ὁ…
1. in secular authors and here and there in the O. T. (e. g. 2 Sam 8:17; 2 Sam 20:25; 2 Kgs 19:2; 2 Kgs 25:19; Ps 44:2, a clerk, scribe, especially a public scribe, secretary, recorder, whose office and influence differed in different states: Acts 19:35 (Sir. 10:5); (cf. Lightfoot in The Contemporary Review for 1878, p. 294; Wood, Discoveries at Ephesus, Appendix, Inscriptions from the Great Theatre, p. 49 n.),
2. in the Bible, a man learned in the Mosaic law and in the sacred writings, an interpreter, teacher: Mt 23:34; 1 Cor 1:20 (called also νομικός in Lk 10:25, and νομοδιδάσκαλος in Lk 5:17; (Meyer (on Mt 22:35), while denying any essential different between γραμματεύς and νομικός (cf. Lk 11:52, Lk 11:53 — yet see critical texts), regards the latter name as the more specific (a jurisconsult) and Classic, γραμματεύς as the more general (a learned man) and Hebraistic; it is also the more common in the Apocrypha, where νομικός occurs only 4 Macc. 5:3. As teachers they were called νομοδιδάσκαλοι. Cf. B. D. under the word , also under the word I. 1 note)); Jer 8:8 (cf. 2:8); Neh 8:1; Neh 12:26, Neh 12:36; Neh 12:2 Esdr. 7:6, 11, and especially Sir. 38:24, 31ff Sir. 39:1-11. The γραμματεῖς explained the meaning of the sacred oracles, Mt 2:4 (γραμματεῖς τοῦ λαοῦ, Josh 1:10; Josh 1:1 Macc. 5:42; cf. Sir. 44:4); ; Mk 9:11; Mk 12:35; examined into the more difficult and subtile questions of the law, Mt 9:3; Mk 2:6; Mk 12:28; added to the Mosaic law decisions of various kinds thought to elucidate its meaning and scope, and did this to the detriment of religion, Mt 5:20; Mt 15:1ff; 23:2ff; Mk 7:1ff; cf. Lk 11:46. Since the advice of men skilled in the law was needed in the examination of causes and the solution of difficult questions, they were enrolled in the Sanhedrin; and accordingly in the N. T. they are often mentioned in connection with the priests and elders of the people: Mt 21:15; Mt 26:3 R G; Mk 11:18, Mk 11:27; Mk 14:1; Mk 15:1; Lk 19:47; Lk 20:1; Lk 22:2. Cf. Schürer, Neutest. Zeitgesch. § 25 ii.; Klöpper in Schenkel v. 247ff; (and thorough articles in BB. DD. under the word ; cf. Winer's Grammar, Robertson Smith, The O. T. in the Jewish Ch., Lect. iii.):
3. universally, a religious teacher: γραμματεύς μαθητευθείς εἰς τήν βασιλείαν τῶν οὐρανῶν a teacher so instructed that from his learning and ability to teach advantage may redound to the kingdom of heaven, Mt 13:52 (but G T Tr WH read μαθητευθείς τῇ βασιλεία (L ἐν τῇ βασιλείαν); and many interpret made a disciple unto the kingdom of heaven (which is personified); see μαθητεύω, at the end).
Thayer's Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (1889), public domain
Topical studies with this word 3 entries
Meanings adapted from the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament, © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0 and the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew (from the Semantic Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew), © United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0; MACULA Greek Linguistic Datasets, available at https://github.com/Clear-Bible/macula-greek/, licensed CC BY 4.0; MACULA Hebrew Linguistic Datasets © 2022-2024 by Biblica, Inc., CC BY 4.0. Westminster Leningrad Codex (tanach.us). OpenScriptures Hebrew Bible morphology (hb.openscriptures.org), CC BY 4.0.
Sources
eRhema lexical overview, based on the UBS Dictionary of Biblical Hebrew and the UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament (© United Bible Societies, CC BY-SA 4.0) and Macula Hebrew and Greek (Clear Bible, CC BY 4.0); released under CC BY-SA 4.0
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