ϑεοὶ χρηστῶν ἐπίσκοποι καὶ πονηρῶν ἔργων

ἐπίσκοπος, ου, ὁ (s. prec. entry; Hom. et al.; Diod S 37, 28, 1 [of a king w. synonym θεατής], ins, pap, LXX; JosAs 15:7 cod. A [p. 61, 16 Bat.] μετάνοια … ἐπίσκοπος πάντων τῶν παρθένων; Philo, Joseph.—LPorter, The Word ἐπίσκοπος in Pre-Christian Usage: ATR 21, ’39, 103–12) gener. ‘one who watches over, guardian’. BThiering, ‘Mebaqqer’ and ‘Episkopos’ in the Light of the Temple Scroll: JBL 100, ’81, 59–74 (office of ‘bishop’ adopted fr. Essene lay communities; cp. CD 14, 8–12; בקר Ezk 34:11 [LXX ἐπισκέπτειν]).

① one who has the responsibility of safeguarding or seeing to it that someth. is done in the correct way, guardian (so Il. 22, 255, deities are guardians of agreements, i.e. they ‘see to it’ that they are kept; Aeschyl., Sept. 272; Soph., Ant. 1148; Pla., Leg. 4, 717d; Plut., Cam. 5, 6 θεοὶ χρηστῶν ἐπίσκοποι καὶ πονηρῶν ἔργων; Maximus Tyr. 5, 8e ὦ Ζεῦ κ. Ἀθηνᾶ κ. Ἄπολλον, ἐθῶν ἀνθρωπίνων ἐπίσκοποι; Babrius 11, 4 P. ’84=L-P.; Herodian 7, 10, 3. Oft. Cornutus, ed. Lang, index; SIG 1240, 21; UPZ 144, 49 [164 B.C.]; PGM 4, 2721; Job 20:29; Wsd 1:6; Philo, Migr. Abr. 115 al.; SibOr, Fgm. 1, 3) παντὸς πνεύματος κτίστης κ. ἐπίσκοπος creator and guardian of every spirit 1 Cl 59:3.—Of Christ (w. ποιμήν) ἐ. τῶν ψυχῶν guardian of the souls 1 Pt 2:25. The passages IMg 3:1 θεῷ τῷ πάντων ἐ.; cp. 6:1 show the transition to the next mng.

② In the Gr-Rom. world ἐ. freq. refers to one who has a definite function or fixed office of guardianship and related activity within a group (Aristoph., Av. 1023; IG XII/1, 49, 43ff [II/I B.C.], 50, 34ff [I B.C.]; LBW 1989; 1990; 2298; Num 31:14 al.; PPetr III, 36a verso, 16 [III B.C.]; Jos., Ant. 10, 53; 12, 254), including a religious group (IG XII/1, 731, 8: an ἐ. in the temple of Apollo at Rhodes. S. Dssm., NB 57f [BS 230f]. Cp. also Num 4:16. On the Cynic-Stoic preacher as ἐπισκοπῶν and ἐπίσκοπος s. ENorden, Jahrb. klass. Phil Suppl. 19, 1893, 377ff.—Philo, Rer. Div. Her. 30 Moses as ἐ.). The term was taken over in Christian communities in ref. to one who served as overseer or supervisor, with special interest in guarding the apostolic tradition (Iren., Orig., Hippol.). Ac 20:28 (RSchnackenburg, Schriften zum NT, ’71, 247–67; ELöwestam, Paul’s Address at Miletus: StTh 41, ’87, 1–10); (w. διάκονοι) Phil 1:1 (JReumann, NTS 39, ’93, 446–50); D 15:1; 1 Ti 3:2; Tit 1:7 (s. BEaston, Pastoral Epistles ’47, 173; 177; 227). ἀπόστολοι, ἐ., διδάσκαλοι, διάκονοι Hv 3, 5, 1; (w. φιλόξενοι) Hs 9, 27, 2. Esp. freq. in Ignatius IEph 1:3; 2:1f; 3:2; 4:1; 5:1f and oft.; 2 Ti subscr.: Tim., overseer of the Ephesians; Tit subscr.: Titus overseer of the Cretan Christians. The ecclesiastical loanword ‘bishop’ is too technical and loaded with late historical baggage for precise signification of usage of ἐπίσκοπος and cognates in our lit., esp. the NT.—EHatch-AHarnack, D. Gesellschaftsverf. d. christ. Kirchen im Altert. 1883; Harnack, D. Lehre d. 12 Apostel 1884, 88ff, Entstehung u. Entwicklung der Kirchenverfassung u. des Kirchenrechts in d. zwei ersten Jahrh. 1910; ELoening, D. Gemeindeverf. d. Urchristent. 1888; CWeizsäcker, D. apost. Zeitalter² 1892, 613ff; RSohm, Kirchenrecht I 1892; JRéville, Les origines de l’épiscopat 1894; HBruders, D. Verf. d. Kirche bis z. J. 175, 1904; RKnopf, D. nachapostl. Zeitalter 1905, 147ff; PBatiffol-FSeppelt, Urkirche u. Katholicismus 1910, 101ff; OScheel, Z. urchristl. Kirchen-u. Verfassungsproblem: StKr 85, 1912, 403–57; HLietzmann, Z. altchr. Verfassungsgesch.: ZWT 55, 1913, 101–6 (=Kleine Schriften I, ’58, 144–48); EMetzner, D. Verf. d. Kirche in d. zwei ersten Jahrh. 1920; KMüller, Beiträge z. Gesch. d. Verf. in d. alten Kirche: ABA 1922, no. 3; HDieckmann, D. Verf. d. Urkirche 1923; GvHultum, ThGl 19, 1927, 461–88; GHolstein, D. Grundlagen d. evangel. Kirchenrechts 1928; JJeremias, Jerusalem II B 1, 1929, 132ff (against him KGoetz, ZNW 30, ’31, 89–93); BStreeter, The Primitive Church 1929; OLinton, D. Problem d. Urkirche usw. ’32 (lit. from 1880); JLebreton-JZeiller, L’Eglise primitive ’34; HBeyer, D. Bischofamt im NT: Deutsche Theologie 1, ’34, 201–25; HGreeven, Propheten, Lehrer, Vorsteher bei Pls: ZNW 44, ’52/53, 1–43 (lit.); HvCampenhausen, Kirchl. Amt u. geistl. Vollmacht in den ersten 3 Jahrhunderten ’53; WMichaelis, Das Ältestenamt der christlichen Gemeinde im Lichte der Hl. Schrift ’53; RBultmann, Theol. of the NT (tr. KGrobel) ’55, II, 95–111; TManson, The Church’s Ministry ’56; FNötscher, Vom Alten zum NT ’62, 188–220; DMoody, Interpretation 19, ’65, 168–81; HBraun, Qumran u. das NT ’66, II 326–42; RGG³ I 335–37 (lit.); JFitzmyer, PSchubert Festschr., ’66, 256f, n. 41 (lit.); RAC II 394–407; RBrown, TS 41, ’80, 322–38 (rev. of NT data).—Poland 377. M-M. EDNT. TW. Sv.