Quick Definition
ἐφημερία, ας, ἡ n.f. a class of priests
Strong's Definition
from 2184; diurnality, i.e. (specially) the quotidian rotation or class of the Jewish priests' service at the Temple, as distributed by families
KJV Usage: course
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
noun, f. | -ας | ἡμέρα
11.47 · Groups and Classes of Persons and Members of Such Groups and Classes · Socio-Religious
work group, division a class or division of persons who perform certain daily duties (in the one NT occurrence, a reference to a group of priests performing certain functions in the Temple at Jerusalem) It may be necessary to expand somewhat the expression ‘the work group of Abijah’ (LUK 1:5) to read ‘a work group known as the division of Abijah.’ Otherwise, one might get the impression that this was a work group under the command of Abijah or a group of persons who belonged specifically to the person named Abijah. If it is difficult to obtain a satisfactory expression for ‘work group,’ one can of course translate the final clause of LUK 1:5 as simply ‘who belonged to a group of priests known as the group of Abijah.’
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
ἐφ-ημερία, -as, ἡ, (ἐφημέριος, -ov, by day, lasting or acting for a day, daily), a word not found in prof. auth. ; Sept. in Chron. and Neh. ; 1. a service limited to a stated series of days (cf. Germ. Tagdienst, Wochendienst); so used of the service of the priests and Levites: Neh. xiii. 30; 1 Chr. xxv. 8; 2 Chr. xiii. 10, ete. 2. the class or course itself of priests who for a week at a time performed the duties of the priestly office (Germ. Wéchnerzunft): 1 Chr. xxiii. 6; xxviii. 13, ete.; 1 Esdr. i. 2, 15; so twice in the N. T.: Lk. i. 5,8. For David divided the priests into twenty-four classes, each of which in its turn discharged the duties of the office for an entire week from sabbath to sabbath, 1 Chr. xxiv.4; 2 Chr. viii. 14; Neh. xii. 24; these classes Josephus calls πατριαί and ἐφημερίδες, antt. 7, 14,7; de vita sua 1; Suidas, ἐφηpepia: ἡ πατριά. λέγεται δὲ καὶ ἡ τῆς ἡμέρας λειτουργία. Cf. Fritzsche, Com. on 3 Esdr. p. 12. [BB.DD. 5. v. Priests; Edersheim, Jesus the Messiah, bk. ii. ch. iii.]
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
ἐφημερία ephēmeria 2x
pr. daily course; the daily service of the temple; a class of priests to which the daily service for a week was allotted in rotation, Lk. 1:5, 8*
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
† ἐφ-ημερία, -ας, ἡ
(< ἐφήμερος), [in LXX chiefly for מִשְׁמֶרֶת, מַחֲלֹקֶת ;]
a course of daily services (Ne 13:30, I Ch 25:8, al.).
a class or course of priests detailed for service in the temple (I Ch 23:6, al.): Lk 1:5, 8 (cf. MGr., ἐφημέριος, priest).†
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
ἐφημερία. A hitherto unknown derivative of this word is found in P Petr II. 10(2)}8 (iii/B.c.) ἐν τῶι ἐφημερευτηριῶι, with reference apparently to the *‘guardroom, where soldiers remain all day on duty” (Ed.). For the verb ἐφημερέω see OG/S 5059 (ii/A.D.) épnpep(od)vtos Τ᾽ (αἴου) Οὐαλερίον Καλλικράτους. The subst. ἐφημερίς -- ‘‘daybook” occurs in official documents e.g. P Oxy II. 26829 (a.p. 58), 2718 (A.D. 56), 76. XII. 1497® (c, A.D. 279). In MGr ἐφημερία is an eccles. term = ‘‘ parish,” ‘‘cure,” and ἐφημερίδα = ‘ newspaper.
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
ἐφημερία (ephēmeria) — division. ἐφημερ-ία, ἡ, division of the priests for the daily service of the temple, [LXX+NT]
2. the service itself, [LXX]