Bible Dictionaries
Officer

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

Search for…

Enter query below:

or

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Prev Entry
Offering

Next Entry
Og

Resource Toolbox

Print Article

Additional Links

Concordances
Nave Topical Bible
• Officer
• Malfeasance in Office
Dictionaries
American Church Dictionary
• Penitential Office
• Office
• Occasional Offices
•   (only first 3 shown)
Charles Buck Dictionary
• Offices of Christ
• Officers Church
Easton's Bible Dictionary
• Kingly Office of Christ
Fausset Bible Dictionary
• Officer
Spurgeon's Illustration Collection
• Self-Examination: Its Right Offices
Holman Bible Dictionary
• Offices in the New Testament
• Judge (Office)
Hastings' BibleDictionary
• Officer
Hastings' NT Dictionary
• Offices of Christ
• Officer (2)
• Officer
King James Dictionary
• Officer
• Office
Morrish Bible Dictionary
• Officer
1910 New Catholic Dictionary
• Prayers in the Divine Office
• Passion Offices
• Offices, Passion
•   (only first 3 shown)
People's Bible Dictionary
• Names Titles and Offices of Christ
Smith Bible Dictionary
• Officer
Vines' Expository Dictionary
• Priesthood, Priest's Office
• Officer
• Office
Webster Dictionary
• Post Office
• Officering
• Officered
•   (only first 3 shown)
Encyclopedias
1911 Encyclopedia Britannica
• Colonial Office
• Foreign Office
• Great Officers of State
•   (only first 3 shown)
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia
• Christ, Offices of
• Office
• Officer
•   (only first 3 shown)
McClintock and Strong's Bible Encyclopedia
• Ambrosian Office
• Christ, Offices of
• Holy Office
•   (only first 3 shown)
The Nuttall Encyclopedia
• Circumlocution Office
• Holy Office
• Petty Officers
The Catholic Encyclopedia
• Assessor of the Holy Office
• Divine Office
• Little Office of Our Lady
•   (only first 3 shown)
Lexicons
• ܓ݁ܰܒ݁ܳܝܳܐ
• ܕ݁ܰܚܫܶܐ
• ܩܰܫܺܝܫܽܘܬ݂ܳܐ
• ἐπισκοπή
• ἱερατεία
• ἱερατεύω
•   (only first 3 shown)
• אֱמונָּה
• כָּהַן
• כֹּהֵן
•   (only first 3 shown)

OFFICER . By this somewhat indefinite expression are rendered some eight or ten different Heb. and Gr. words, several of which seem to have had an equally wide application. Of the Heb. words the commonest is shôtçr , from a root which in Assyrian means ‘to write.’ The shôtçr , accordingly, was originally, it would seem, a subordinate official attached to the higher military, civil, and judicial officers of the State for secretarial purposes (see Driver’s summary of their duties in his Com. on Deuteronomy 1:15 ). In the narrative of the oppression of the Hebrews in Egypt, the ‘officers’ are the Hebrew subordinates of the Egyptian taskmasters (see Exodus 5:14 ); one of their duties, it may be assumed, was to keep account of the tale of bricks made by each of their compatriots.

In Genesis 37:36 and elsewhere ‘officer’ is the tr. [Note: translate or translation.] of the usual word for ‘ eunuch ’ (wh. see), but, as Genesis 39:1 shows, the original ( sârîs ) must here signify, more generally, a court official. Still another word, rendered ‘officer’ in 1 Kings 4:5; 1 Kings 4:7 etc., denotes the heads of the twelve administrative districts into which Solomon divided his kingdom, corresponding some what to the ‘collectors’ in our Indian administration.

In NT ‘officer’ is, with one exception (Luke 12:58 ), the tr. [Note: translate or translation.] of a Gr. word of equally wide application. In the account of our Lord’s betrayal and capture the ‘officers’ are members of the Temple police ( John 7:32 etc.), as also in the account of the imprisonment of Peter and John ( Acts 5:22; Acts 5:26; cf. Acts 4:1 ). The same word is elsewhere rendered ‘minister,’ either in the more general sense of ‘attendant’ (so Acts 13:6 RV [Note: Revised Version.] ), or in the special sense of the ‘minister’ (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘attendant’) or officer of the Jewish synagogue ( Luke 4:20 ), for whom see Synagogue.

A. R. S. Kennedy.