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Master (2)

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

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MASTER (Lat. magister from root of magnus = ‘great.’ Hence ‘master’ corresponds to rabbi, which is from רַב ‘great’; and in Authorized Version ῥαββεί is frequently translation ‘master,’ e.g. Matthew 26:25, Mark 9:5, John 4:31, though in all such cases Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 retains ‘rabbi’).—The word most generally rendered ‘master’ is διδάσκαλος, which strictly means teacher; and this meaning is given in every case as an alternative reading in (Revised Version margin) , e.g. Matthew 8:19; Matthew 22:16, Mark 5:35; Mark 10:17, Luke 3:12; Luke 8:49, John 11:28; John 13:13-14. In Luke 8:24; Luke 9:33 the Gr. word for ‘master’ is ἐπιστάτης, a word generally used in the sense not of ‘teacher’ but of ‘chief’ or ‘overseer.’ In Matthew 23:10 καθηγητής, rendered ‘master,’ is more correctly translation ‘leader’ or ‘guide.’ ‘Master’ was the ordinary title of courtesy and respect paid to a religious teacher. See art. Rabbi.

Dugald Clark.