our great God and Savior Christ Jesus

σωτήρ, ῆρος, ὁ (σῴζω) one who rescues, savior, deliverer, preserver, as a title of divinities Pind., Aeschyl.+; ins, pap; TestSol 17:4. This was the epithet esp. of Asclepius, the god of healing (Ael. Aristid. 42, 4 K. ς. τῶν ὅλων; OGI 332, 9 [138–133 B.C.], s. note 8; SIG 1112, 2; 1148); Celsus compares the cult of Ascl. w. the Christian worship of the Savior (Origen, C. Cels. 3, 3). Likew. divinities in the mystery religions, like Sarapis and Isis (Σαράπιδι Ἴσιδι Σωτῆρσι: OGI 87; Sb 597 [both III B.C.]; Sb 169 [Ptolemaic times]; 596; CIG 4930b [I B.C.]), as well as Heracles (τῆς γῆς κ. τῶν ἀνθρώπων ς.: Dio Chrys. 1, 84) or Zeus (Ael. Aristid. 52 p. 608 D.: Ζεὺς ὁ ς.).—GAnrich, Das antike Mysterienwesen 1894, 47ff; GWobbermin, Religionsgesch. Studien 1896, 105ff.—In gnostic speculation: ὁ ς. = ὁ παράκλητος Iren. 1, 4, 5 (Harv. I, 38, 9). The LXX has σωτήρ as a term for God; so also ApcSed 13:6 p. 135, 29 Ja.; and so do Philo (s. MDibelius, Hdb., exc. on 2 Ti 1:10) and SibOr 1, 73; 3, 35; but ς. is not so found in EpArist, Test12Patr, or Josephus (s. ASchlatter, Wie sprach Jos. von Gott? 1910, 66).—At an early date σωτήρ was used as a title of honor for deserving pers. (s. X., Hell. 4, 4, 6, Ages. 11, 13; Plut., Arat. 53, 4; Herodian 3, 12, 2.—Ps.-Lucian, Ocyp. 78 in an address to a physician [s. θεός 4a]; JosAs 25:6 [of Joseph]; the same phrase IXanthos p. 45 no. 23, 3f, of Marcus Agrippa [I B.C.]; Jos., Vi. 244; 259 Josephus as εὐεργέτης καὶ σωτήρ of Galilee), and in ins and pap we find it predicated of high-ranking officials and of persons in private life. This is never done in our lit. But outside our lit. it is applied to personalities who are active in the world’s affairs, in order to remove them fr. the ranks of ordinary humankind and place them in a significantly higher position. For example, Epicurus is called σωτήρ by his followers (Philod.: pap, Herc. 346, 4, 19 ὑμνεῖν τὸν σωτῆρα τὸν ἡμέτερον.—ARW 18, 1930, 392–95; CJensen, Ein neuer Brief Epikurs: GGAbh. III/5, ’33, 80f). Of much greater import is the designation of the (deified) ruler as ς. (Ptolemy I Soter [323–285 B.C.] Πτολεμαῖος καὶ Βερενίκη θεοὶ Σωτῆρες: APF 5, 1913, 156, 1; see Sb 306 and oft. in later times, of Roman emperors as well [Philo, In Flacc. 74; 126, Leg. ad Gai. 22; cp. Jos., Bell. 3, 459]).—PWendland, Σωτήρ: ZNW 5, 1904, 335ff; Magie 67f; HLietzmann, Der Weltheiland 1909; WOtto, Augustus Soter: Her 45, 1910, 448–60; FDölger, Ichthys 1910, 406–22; Dssm., LO 311f (LAE 368f); ELohmeyer, Christuskult u. Kaiserkult 1919; Bousset, Kyrios Christos² 1921, 241ff; EMeyer III 392ff; E-BAllo, Les dieux sauveurs du paganisme gréco-romain: RSPT 15, 1926, 5–34; KBornhausen, Der Erlöser 1927; HLinssen, Θεος Σωτηρ, diss. Bonn 1929=Jahrb. f. Liturgiewiss. 8, 1928, 1–75; AOxé, Σωτήρ b. den Römern: WienerStud 48, 1930, 38–61; WStaerk, Soter, I ’33; II ’38. S. also GHerzog-Hauser, Soter … im altgriech. Epos ’31; ANock, s.v. εὐεργέτης.—CColpe, Die Religionsgeschichtliche Schule ’61 (critique of some of the lit. cited above); FDanker, Benefactor ’82.

ⓐ of God ὁ θεὸς ὁ σωτήρ μου (Ps 24:5; 26:9; Mi 7:7 al.) Lk 1:47. θεὸς ς. ἡμῶν 1 Ti 1:1; Jd 25. ὁ ς. ἡμῶν θεός 1 Ti 2:3; Tit 1:3; 2:10; 3:4. ς. πάντων ἀνθρώπων μάλιστα πιστῶν 1 Ti 4:10 (cp. PPetr III, 20 I, 15 [246 B.C.] πάντων σωτῆρα and s. above Heracles as τῶν ἀνθρώπων ς. and in b below Sarapis). ὁ τῶν ἀπηλπισμένων σωτήρ the Savior of those in despair 1 Cl 59:3.

ⓑ of Christ (Just., A I, 33, 7 τὸ … Ἰησοῦς … σωτὴρ τῇ Ἑλληνίδι διαλέκτῳ δηλοῖ) Lk 2:11; Ac 13:23; Phil 3:20; Dg 9:6; Ox 840, 12; 21 (restored); 30; GMary 463, lines 4, 8, 18, 22, 31; Ox 1081, 27 (SJCh 90, 4); Qua. W. ἀρχηγός Ac 5:31; 2 Cl 20:5 (ἀρχηγὸς τῆς ἀφθαρσίας). σωτὴρ τοῦ σώματος Savior of the body (i.e. of his body, the Christian community) Eph 5:23. ὁ σωτὴρ τοῦ κόσμου (ins; cp. WWeber, Untersuchungen zur Gesch. des Kaisers Hadrianus 1907, 225f; 222) J 4:42; 1J 4:14. ς. τῶν ἀνθρώπων (Ael. Aristid. 45, 20 K.=8 p. 90 D. calls Sarapis κηδεμόνα καὶ σωτῆρα πάντων ἀνθρώπων αὐτάρκη θεόν) GPt 4:13. ὁ ς. ἡμῶν Χρ. Ἰ. 2 Ti 1:10; ISm 7:1; w. Χρ. Ἰ. or Ἰ. Χρ. preceding Tit 1:4; 3:6; IEph 1:1; IMg ins; Pol ins. ὁ μέγας θεὸς καὶ ς. ἡμῶν Χρ. Ἱ. our great God and Savior Christ Jesus Tit 2:13 (cp. PLond III, 604b, 118 p. 80 [47 A.D.] τῷ μεγάλῳ θεῷ σωτῆρι; but the presence of καί Tit 2:13 suggests a difft. semantic aspect and may justify the rendering in NRSV mg). S. MDibelius, exc. after Tit 2:14; HWindisch, Z. Christologie der Past.: ZNW 34, ’35, 213–38.—ὁ σωτὴρ κύριος ἡμῶν Ἰ. Χρ. IPhld 9:2. ὁ ς. τῶν ψυχῶν MPol 19:2. ὁ θεὸς ἡμῶν καὶ ς. Ἰ. Χρ. 2 Pt 1:1. ὁ κύριος (ἡμῶν) καὶ ς. Ἰ. Χρ. vs. 11; 2:20; 3:18; without any name (so ὁ σωτήρ [meaning Asclep.] Ael. Aristid. 47, 1 K.=23 p. 445 D.; 66 K.=p. 462 D.; 48, 7 K.=24 p. 466 D.—Orig., C. Cels. 6, 64, 16; Hippol., Ref. 5, 8, 27) 2 Pt 3:2; AcPl Ha 8, 29 (restored: καὶ σωτῆρα). S. Loewe s.v. σωτηρία end.—Pauly-W. 2, VI 1211–21; Kl. Pauly V 289; RAC VI 54–219; DLNT 1082–84; BHHW I 430–32.—M-M. EDNT. TW. Spicq. Sv.