Quick Definition
πρεσβύτερος, α, ον Adj elder
Strong's Definition
comparative of presbus (elderly); older; as noun, a senior; specially, an Israelite Sanhedrist (also figuratively, member of the celestial council) or Christian "presbyter"
KJV Usage: elder(-est), old
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament
adjc. | -α, -ον | πρεσβεύω
67.102 · Time · Duration of Time without Reference to Points or Units of Time: Time, Spend Time, Always, Eternal, Old, Immediately, Young
older pertaining to the older of two objects
67.27 · Time · A Point of Time with Reference to Other Points of Time: Before, Long Ago, Now, At the Same Time, When, About, After
of ancient times pertaining to a person who has lived in ancient times, that is to say, at a point long before the point of time of the discourse itself (πρεσβύτερος[b] may also carry the implication of prestige)
noun, m. | -ου | πρεσβεύω
9.31 · People · Males
old man, old woman an adult male or female advanced in years
53.77 · Religious Activities · Roles and Functions
elder a person of responsibility and authority in matters of socio-religious concerns, both in Jewish and Christian societies In some languages πρεσβύτερος[b] is best rendered as ‘older leaders,’ but in other languages the more appropriate term would be the equivalent of ‘counselor,’ since it would be assumed that counselors would be older than the average person in a group as well as having authority to lead and direct activities.
MAT 15:2 · MAT 16:21 · MAT 21:23 · MAT 26:3 · MAT 26:47 · MAT 26:57 · MAT 27:1 · MAT 27:3 · MAT 27:12 · MAT 27:20 · MAT 27:41 · MAT 28:12 · MRK 7:3 · MRK 7:5 · MRK 8:31 · MRK 11:27 · MRK 14:43 · MRK 14:53 · MRK 15:1 · LUK 7:3 · LUK 9:22 · LUK 20:1 · LUK 22:52 · ACT 4:5 · ACT 4:8 · ACT 4:23 · ACT 6:12 · ACT 11:30 · ACT 14:23 · ACT 15:2 · ACT 15:4 · ACT 15:6 · ACT 15:22 · ACT 15:23 · ACT 16:4 · ACT 20:17 · ACT 21:18 · ACT 23:14 · ACT 24:1 · ACT 25:15 · 1TI 5:17 · 1TI 5:19 · TIT 1:5 · JAS 5:14 · 1PE 5:1 · 1PE 5:5 · 2JN 1:1 · 3JN 1:1 · REV 4:4 · REV 4:10 · REV 5:5 · REV 5:6 · REV 5:8 · REV 5:11 · REV 5:14 · REV 7:11 · REV 7:13 · REV 11:16 · REV 14:3 · REV 19:4
1 πρεσβύτης and πρεσβύτερος[a] (m) may differ somewhat in connotation from γέρων grown man (9.30) in the implication of greater status or dignity.
UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament © United Bible Societies, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Thayer's Greek Lexicon
πρεσβύτερος, -a, -ov, (compar. of πρέσβυς), [fr. Hom. down ], elder ; used 1. of age; a. where two persons are spoken of, the elder: ὁ vids ὁ mpeoB. (Ael. v. ἢ. 9,42), Lk. xv. 25. b. univ. advanced in life, an elder, a senior: opp. to νεανίσκοι, Acts 11. 17; opp. to νεώτερος, 1 Tim. v. 1 sq., (Gen. xviii. 11 sq.; Sap. vill. 10; Sir. vi. 34 (33); vii. 14; 2 Mace. viii. 30). οἱ πρεσβύrepo, [A.V. the elders], forefathers, Heb. xi. 2; παράδοσις (q-V-) τῶν mpeoB., received from the fathers, Mt. xv. 2; Mk. vii. 3, 5. 2. a term of rank or office; as such borne by, a. among the Jews, a. members of the great council or Sanhedrin (because in early times the rulers of the people, judges, ete., were selected from the elderly men): Mt. xvi. 21; xxvi. 47, 57, 59 Rec.; XXVii. 3, 12, 20,41; xxviii.12; Mk. viii. 31; xi. 27; xiv. 43,53; xv. 1; Lk. ix. 22; xx. 1; xxii. 52; Jn. viii. 9; Acts iv. 5,23; vi. 12; xxiii. 14; xxiv. 1; with the addition of τοῦ Ἰσραήλ, Acts iv. 8 RG; of τῶν Ἰουδαίων, Acts xxv. 15; of τοῦ λαοῦ, Mt. xxi. 23; xxvi. 3; xxvii. 1. B. those who in the separate cities managed public affairs and administered justice: Lk. vii.3. [Cf. BB. DD.s. v. Elder. ] b. among Christians, those who presided over the assemblies (or churches): Acts xi. 30; xiv. 23; xv. 2, 4, 6, 22 sq. ; xvi. 4; xxi. 18; 1 Tim. v.17, 19; Tit. i. 5; 2.15.1; 3Jn.1; 1 Pet. ν. 1,5; with τῆς ἐκκλησίας added, Acts xx. 17; Jas. ν. 14. That they did not differ at all from the (ἐπίσκοποι) bishops or overseers (as is acknowledged also by Jerome on Tit. i. 5 [ef. Bp. Lghtft. Com. on Phil. pp. 98 84. 229 sq.]) is evident from the fact that the two words are used indiscriminately, Acts xx. 17, 28; Tit. i. 5, 7, and that the duty of presbyters is described by the terms ἐπισκοπεῖν, 1 Pet. v. 1 sq., and ἐπισκοπή, Clem. Rom. 1 Cor. 44,1; accordingly only two ecclesiastical officers, of ἐπίσκοποι and οἱ διάκονοι, are distinguished in Phil. i.1; 1 Tim. iii. 1,8. The title ἐπίσκοπος denotes the function, πρεσβύτερος the dignity; the former was borrowed from Greek institutions, the latter from the Jewish; οἵ. [Bp. Lghtft., as above, pp- 95 sqq. 191 sqq.]; Ritschl, Die Entstehung der altkathol. Kirche, ed. 2 p. 350 sqq.; Hase, Protest. Polemik, ed. 4 p. 98 sqq.; [ Hatch, Bampton Lects. for 1880, Lect. iii. and Harnack’s Analecten appended to the Germ. trans. of the same (p. 229 sqq.); also Harnack’s note on Clem. Rom. 1 Cor. 1, 3 (cf. reff. at 44 init.), and Hatch in Dict. of Christ. Antiq. 85. v. Priest. Cf. ἐπίσκοπος. ]. Ὁ: the twenty-four members of the heavenly Sanhedrin or court, seated on thrones around the throne of God: Rey. iv. 4,10; v. 5, 6,8, 11, 14; vil. 11,13; xi. 16; xiv. 3; xix. 4.
Mounce Concise Greek Dictionary
πρεσβύτερος presbyteros 66x
elder, senior; older, more advanced in years, Lk. 15:25; Jn. 8:9; Acts 2:17; an elder in respect of age, person advanced in years, 1 Tim. 5:1, 2; pl. spc. ancients, ancestors, fathers, Mt. 15:2; Heb. 11:2; as an appellation of dignity, an elder, local dignitary, Lk. 7:3; an elder, member of the Jewish Sanhedrin, Mt. 16:21; 21:23; 26:3, 47, 57, 59; an elder or presbyter of the Christian church, Acts 11:30; 14:23, et al. freq.
Abbott-Smith Greek Lexicon
πρέσβυς, -εως, ὁ, poët. form of πρεσβύτης (q.v.),
[in LXX (= πρεσβευτής, an ambassador): Nu 21:20 (21), al. (מַלְאָךְ), Is 13:8 57:9 (צִיר), I Mac 9:70, al.;]
an old man. Compar., πρεσβύτερος, -α, -ον, [in LXX chiefly for זָקֵן;] of age, elder: ὁ νἱὸς ὁ π., Lk 15:25; as subst., opp. to νεανίσκοι, Ac 2:17; to νεώτερος, I Ti 5:1, 2; of the religious leaders of the past, Mt 15:2, Mk 7:3, 5, He 11:2 (= οἱ πατέρες, He 1:1).
Of dignity, rank or office (as found in π. and Inscr. of civil and religious offices, including priesthood, in Asia Minor and in Egypt; v. Deiss., BS, 154 ff., 233 ff.; LAE, 373); among Jews: Mt 16:21 26:47, 57 27:3, 12, 20, 41 28:12, Mk 8:31 11:27 14:43, 53 15:1, Lk 7:3 9:22 20:1 22:52, Jo 8:[9], Ac 4:5, 8, 23 6:12 23:14 24:1; τ. Ἰουνδαίων, Ac 25:15; τ. λαοῦ, Mt 21:23 26:3 27:1;
among Christians: Ac 11:30 14:23 15:2, 4, 6, 22, 23 16:4 21:18, I Ti 5:17, 19, Tit 1:5, II Jo 1, III Jo 1, I Pe 5:1, 5; τ. ἐκκλησίας, Ac 20:17, Ja 5:14;
in the visions of the Apocalypse: Re 4:4, 10 5:5, 6, 8, 11, 14 7:11, 13 11:16 14:3 19:4. (On the NT use of this word and its relation to ἐπίσκοπος (q.v.), cf. Lft., Phl., 93 ff., 189 ff.; CGT, Past. Epp., lvi ff.) †
Moulton & Milligan — Vocabulary of the Greek NT
πρεσβύτερος. (1) For πρεσβύτερος in the literal sense of the “elder ”’ of two, as in Lk 1535, cf. P Oxy VII. τοῦτ (B.c. 22) of an elder brother, and 74. VIII. 1109? (A.D. 160-1) of an elder son. The fem. occurs in BGU II. 6654.2! (i/a.p.) ἡ mpeoBurépa, Predsigke 1428’ AvovBias πρεσβυτέρα Μέστου, and a curious double comparative in P Lond 177} (A.b. 40-1) (=II. p. 169) 4 πρεσβυτερωτέρα Hp ὧν] ἀδελφή. (2) The use of πρεσβύτερος in 1 Tim κ᾽ to denote an “elder,” a ‘‘senior,’’ as opposed to νεώτερος, may be illustrated from P Par 66% 23 (Ptol./Rom.) where πρεσβύτεροι καὶ ἀδύνατοι Kal νεώτεροι are employed as guardians in connexion with the work on canals and dykes: cf. further from the inscrr. Priene 117° (i/B.C.) ἀεί πΊοτε μὲν πρεσBuré[pous τιμῶν ὡς yovet|s, τοὺς δὲ καθήλικας ὡς ἀδελφούς, τοὺς δὲ [νεωτέρους ὡς παῖδας, and Latyschev I. 22°" (iii/a.D.) τοῖς μὲν ἡλικιώταις προσφερόμενος ὡς ἀδελφός, τοῖς δὲ πρεσβυτέροις ὡς vids, τοῖς δὲ παισὶν ὡς πατήρ (cited by Dibelius HZNT ad Tim 14). With the word, as in Heb 11?, Moffatt (7CC ad Δ) compares Philo ae Sobrietate 16 (ed. Wendland) πρεσβύτερον . . . τὸν γέρως καὶ τιμῆς ἄξιον ὀνομάζει. (3) We are not at present concerned with the precise force of πρεσβύτερος in the Jewish or Christian Church (see the discussions by Lightfoot Dzssertatzons on the Apostolic Age, p. 135 ff., and Armitage Robinson in 7 he Zarly History of the Church and the Ministry (Essays edited by Swete), p. 57 ff.), but in this connexion it is interesting to notice that the word was already familiar in Egypt as an honorific title with reference to certain village or communal officers. These varied in number according to the size of the villages, while their duties were of the most varied kind. Thus, to take two early exx.,(1) in P Petr IT. 4(6)!8 (B.C. 255-4) of πρεσβύτεροι οἱ παρεστεί-- )kOres interfere in the maintenance of order: (2) the corn required in connexion with a visit (παρουσία) of Soter IT. is collected by the headman of the village and τ[ῶν] πρεσβυτέρων τῶν yew(pyav) τῆς αὐτῆς, “ the elders of the cultivators of the said village” (P Tebt I. 484—<c. B.c. 113). Similarly πρεσβύτεροι are appealed to in connexion with the rent of land (P Lips I. 10644—a.p. 98), the issuing of public notices (P Flor I. 993—i/ii A.D. (=Se/ectzons p. 71)), the lease of pasturage (P Lond 842°—a.p. 140) (= III. p. 141), payments of bailey for military purposes (P Amh II. 107°—a.p. 185), and questions of taxation (BGU I. 3341—1i/i11 a.p.). In like manner, Deissmann has shown (#5 p. 156) that “the Inscriptions of Asia Minor prove beyond doubt that πρεσβύτεροι was the technical term, in the most diverse localities, for the members of a corporation”: e.g. Cos 1198 (possibly time of Claudius) γυμνασιαρχήσαντα τῶν πρεσButépwv σεμνῶς. Hicks (CA. p. 44) had already reached the same conclusion: ‘‘ All these terms [yepovota, mpeoβύτεροι, συνέδριον], so familiar to us first in their Jewish, and afterwards in their Christian usage, had been commonly employed before, in a precisely analogous sense, in GraecoRoman civic life.”’ (4) A still closer parallel to the Biblical usage, as Deissmann again has shown (BS p. 233ff.), is afforded by the application of the term to the gvzes/s of pagan temples, as when the five presbyter-priests of the Socnopaeus temple (τῶν € πρεσβυτέρων ἱερέων πενταφυλίας θεοῦ Σοκνοί π]αίου) inquire 5 πρηνής into the conduct of a brother-priest (συνιερέως), who was charged with letting his hair grow too long (κομῶντος : cf. 1 Cor 1115} and of wearing woollen garments (BGU I. 16— A.D. 159-160 (= Selections, p. 83 f.)): cf. P Tebt 11. 3097 (A.D. 116-7) τ]οῖς δέκα πρεσβυτέροις [ἱερεῦσι, and see further Otto Prester i. p. 49 ff., Poland p- 373, and the literature referred to in Preisigke /achworter, σὺ. (5) We may add a few instances of πρεσβύτερος as it meets us in Christian papyri—P Grenf II. 73! (late iii/a.p.) (= Selections, p.117) a letter addressed Ψενοσίρι πρεσβ[υτέϊρῳ ᾿Απόλλωνι πρεσβυτέρῳ ἀγαπητῷ ἀδελφῷ ἐν K(vpl)w χαίρειν, 26. I. 5338 (iv/A.D.) where with reference to a gross case of misconduct the writer says μὴ ἐμὲν (for ἐμὲ) ἐξέταζε ἀλλὰ τί ο]ὺ[9] πρεσβυτέρους τῆς ἐκκλησίας, ‘‘if you do not believe ine, ask the elders of the church” (Ed.), P Oxy VIII. 1162! (iv/A.bD.) Λέων πρεσβύτερος τοῖς κατὰ τόπον guvAtroupyoi[s] (“ὙΠῸ share the local service’’) πρεσβυτίέ]ροις καὶ διακώνοις, and P Strass I. 15!f (v/vi a.p.) TI(apa) Θεοφίλου ὑποδιακ(όνου) καὶ évorkoddy(ov). To εὐλαβεστάτῳ ᾿Ανουβίωνι πρεσ(βυτέρῳ). In addition to the literature already mentioned, reference should be made to the full discussion of πρεσβύτερος by H. Hauschildt in ZV7IV iv. (1903), p. 235 ff. ; cf. M. L. Strack 7. p. 213 ff. Vereinswesen,
Liddell-Scott-Jones — Greek-English Lexicon
πρεσβύτερος (presbuteros) — elder: Elder. Related to: πρεσβῠτέριον or πρεσβῠ-εῖον, τό, council of elders, presbytery, [NT]
II. honour or privilege of an elder, [LXX+2nd c.AD+]
πρεσβύτερος (presbuteros) — elder: old. Related to: πρεσβῠτέριον or πρεσβῠ-εῖον, τό, council of elders, presbytery, [NT]
II. honour or privilege of an elder, [LXX+2nd c.AD+]