in presence of an old person

-ά,-όν A 1-0-0-0-0=1 Lv 19,32

grey; ἀπὸ προσώπου πολιοῦ in presence of an old person

Cf. SHIPP 1979 468.579

πρεσβύτερος, α, ον (Hom.+; comp. of πρέσβυς)

① pert. to being relatively advanced in age, older, old

ⓐ of an individual person older of two ὁ υἱὸς ὁ πρ. (cp. Aelian, VH 9, 42; TestJob 15:2 τῷ ἀδελφῷ τῷ πρεσβυτέρῳ; JosAs; Just., A II, 6, 1) Lk 15:25; of Manasseh (w. Ephraim) B 13:5. In contrast to the younger generation οἱ πρεσβύτεροι the older ones J 8:9. Opp. οἱ νεανίσκοι Ac 2:17 (Jo 3:1). Opp. νεώτεροι (s. νεός 3aβ) 1 Ti 5:1 (similar advice, containing a contrast betw. πρ. and νεώτ., from ins and lit. in MDibelius, Hdb. ad loc.); 1 Pt 5:5 (though here the πρεσβύτεροι are not only the older people, but at the same time, the ‘elders’; s. 2bβ). The same double mng. is found for πρεσβύτεροι in 1 Cl 1:3 beside νέοι, while in 3:3; 21:6, beside the same word, the concept of being old is the dominant one (as Jos., C. Ap. 2, 206). On the disputed pass. Hv 3, 1, 8 (οἱ νεανίσκοι … οἱ πρεσβύτεροι) cp. MDibelius, Hdb. ad loc.—Fem. πρεσβυτέρα old(er) woman (opp. νεωτέρα, as Gen 19:31) 1 Ti 5:2.—With no ref. to younger persons, w. complete disappearance of the comparative aspect: πρεσβύτερος an old man (Jos., Ant. 13, 226; 292 [as a witness of events in the past, as Ps.-Pla., Virt. 3, 377b; 4, 377c]) Hv 3, 12, 2; cp. 3, 11, 3. The personified church is called λίαν πρεσβυτέρα very old 3, 10, 3; cp. 3, 11, 2. She appears as ἡ πρ. the elderly woman 2, 1, 3; 3, 1, 2; 3, 10, 6; 9 and has τὰς τρίχας πρεσβυτέρας the hair of an old woman 3, 10, 4; 5; 3, 12, 1.

ⓑ of a period of time (Petosiris, Fgm. 3 and 4 mention οἱ πρεσβύτεροι and οἱ νεώτεροι. In both instances the context shows that the reference is to astrologers from earlier and more recent times) οἱ πρεσβύτεροι the men of old, our ancestors Hb 11:2. ἡ παράδοσις τῶν πρεσβυτέρων the tradition of the ancients (cp. Iambl., Vi. Pyth. 35, 253 τῶν π. συγγράμματα) Mt 15:2; Mk 7:3, 5 (ELohse, D. Ordination im Spätjudentum u. NT, ’51, 50–56: scholars).

② an official (cp. Lat. senator), elder, presbyter

ⓐ among the Jews (the congregation of a synagogue in Jerusalem used πρεσβύτεροι to denote its officers before 70 A.D.: SEG VIII, 170, 9; cp. Dssm., LO 378–80 [LAE 439–41]).

α. for members of local councils in individual cities (cp. Josh 20:4; Ruth 4:2; 2 Esdr 10:14; Jdth 8:10; 10:6) Lk 7:3; 1 Cl 55:4.—Schürer II, 185.

β. for members of a group in the Sanhedrin (Schürer II, 206–8; JJeremias, Jerusalem z. Zt. Jesu II B 1: Die gesellschaftl. Oberschicht 1929, 88ff). They are mentioned together w. (the) other groups: ἀρχιερεῖς (Ac 4:5 has ἄρχοντες for this), γραμματεῖς, πρεσβύτεροι (the order is not always the same) Mt 16:21; 26:3 v.l.; 27:41; Mk 8:31; 11:27; 14:43, 53; 15:1; Lk 9:22; 20:1.—Only ἀρχιερεῖς (Ac 4:8 has for this ἄρχοντες τοῦ λαοῦ) and πρεσβύτεροι (τοῦ λαοῦ: cp. Ex 19:7; Num 11:16b, 24; 1 Macc 7:33; 12:35; Just., D. 40, 4 al.) Mt 21:23; 26:3, 47, 59 v.l.; 27:1, 3, 12, 20; 28:(11), 12; Lk 22:52 (here, as an exception, οἱ στρατηγοὶ τοῦ ἱεροῦ); Ac 4:23; 23:14; 25:15; cp. 24:1. Also οἱ πρεσβύτεροι καὶ οἱ ἱερεῖς GPt 7:25 (for this combination cp. Jos., Ant. 11, 83; 12, 406).—Only πρεσβύτεροι and γραμματεῖς Mt 26:57; Ac 6:12.—The use of πρεσβύτερος as a title among the Jews of the Diaspora appears quite late, except for the allusions in the LXX (cp. Schürer III/1, 102; MAMA III [Cilicia], 344; 448 [cp. ZNW 31, ’32, 313f]. Whether πρεσβύτερος is to be understood in the older Roman inscriptions [CIJ 378] as a title [so CIJ p. lxxxvi], remains doubtful).

ⓑ among the Christians (for their use of the word as a title one must bear in mind not only the Jewish custom, but also its use as a t.t. among the ἔθνη, in connection w. associations of the ‘old ones’ [FPoland, Geschichte des griech. Vereinswesens 1909, 98ff] and to designate civic as well as religious officials [Dssm., B 153ff=BS 154–57, NB 60ff=BS 233–35, also LO 315, 5; HHausschildt, ZNW 4, 1903, 235ff; MStrack, ibid. 213ff; HLietzmann, ZWT 55, 1914, 116–32 [=Kl. Schr. I ’58, 156–69]; MDibelius, exc. on 1 Ti 5:17ff; RAlastair-Campbell, The Elders, Seniority within Earliest Christianity ’94.].—BGU 16, 6 [159 A.D.] πρεσβύτεροι ἱερεῖς θεοῦ Σοκνοπαίου; 347, 6; PVindBosw 1, 31 [87 A.D.].—As honorary title: Iren. 4, 26, 5 [Harv. II 238, 3]. The Engl. word ‘priest’ comes fr. πρεσβύτερος via Lat. presbyter; later Christian usage is largely, if not entirely, responsible for this development; s. OED s.v. ‘priest’ B).

α. Ac 11:30; 14:23; 15:2, 4, 6, 22f; 16:4 (in all the places in Ac 15 and 16 mention is made of οἱ ἀπόστολοι καὶ οἱ πρεσβύτεροι in the Jerusalem church); 20:17; 21:18; 1 Ti 5:17, 19 (Nicol. Dam.: 90 Fgm. 103a Jac. νεωτέρῳ πρεσβυτέρου καταμαρτυρεῖν οὐκ ἔξεστι); Tit 1:5; Js 5:14; 1 Pt 5:1, 5 (s. 1a above); 1 Cl 44:5; 47:6; 54:2; 57:1. WWrede, Untersuchungen zum 1 Cl 1891, 8ff.—Acc. to 2 Cl 17:3, 5 exhortation and preaching in the church services were among their duties.—In Ign. the πρεσβύτεροι come after the bishop, to whom they are subordinate IMg 2; 3:1; 6:1, or betw. the bishop and the deacons IPhld inscr.; 10:2; IPol 6:1, or the higher rank of the bishop in comparison to them is made plain in some other way ITr 3:1; 12:2 (s. πρεσβυτέριον b; cp. Hippol., Ref. 9, 12, 22).—Polycarp—an ἐπίσκοπος, accord. to the title of the Ep. bearing his name—groups himself w. πρεσβύτεροι in Pol inscr., and further takes the presence of presbyters in Philippi for granted (beside deacons, though no ἐπίσκοπος is mentioned; cp. Hdb. on Pol inscr.) Pol 5:3.

β. Just how we are to understand the words ὁ πρεσβύτερος, applied to himself by the author of the two smallest Johannine letters 2J 1; 3J 1, remains in doubt. But in any case it is meant to indicate a position of great dignity the elder.—HWindisch, exc. on 3J, end; ESchwartz, Über den Tod der Söhne Zebedaei 1904, 47; 51; HWendt, ZNW 23, 1924, 19; EKäsemann, ZTK 48, ’51, 292–311; DWatson, NTS 35, ’89, 104–30, rhetorical analysis of 2J.—ὁ πρ. and οἱ πρ. are mentioned by Papias in these much-discussed passages: 2:3, 4, 5, 7, 14, 15. For some of the lit. s. the note on JKleist’s transl. ’48, p. 207 n. 18.

γ. In Rv there are 24 elders sitting on thrones about the throne of God; they form a heavenly council of elders (cp. Is 24:23) 4:4, 10; 5:5–14; 7:11, 13; 11:16; 14:3; 19:4. The elders have been understood as glorified human beings of some kind or astral deities (or angels) (for the var. views s. RCharles, ICC Rv I 128–33; JMichl, D. 24 Ältesten in d. Apk. d. hl. J. ’38); the number 24 has been referred to the following: the 24 priestly classes of the Jews (1 Ch 24:7–18; Jos., Ant. 7, 365–67) whose heads were called ‘elders’ (Yoma 1, 5; Tamid 1, 1; Middoth 1, 8); the 24 stars which, according to Babylonian belief, stood half on the north and half on the south of the zodiac (Diod S 2, 31, 4; POsl 4, 19: HGunkel, Z. religionsgesch. Verständnis des NT 1903, 42f; Boll 35f); the 24 hours of the day, represented as old men w. shining garments and w. crowns (acc. to the Test. of Adam [ed. CBezold, TNöldeke Festschr. 1906, 893–912]: JWellhausen, Analyse der Offb. Joh. 1907, p. 9, 1; NMorosof, Offb. Joh. 1912, 32); the 24 Yazatas in the state of the gods in heaven, acc. to Persian thought (Bousset). It is certainly an open question whether, or how far, the writer of Rv had any of these things in mind.—On the presbyters, and esp. on the question how ἐπίσκοπος and πρεσβύτερος were originally related to each other (a question which is raised particularly in the pastorals; cp. MDibelius, Hdb. exc. after 1 Ti 3:7 section 2 [w. lit.] and before 5:17), s. the lit. s.v. ἐπίσκοπος.—BEaston, Pastoral Epistles ’47, 188–97; WMichaelis, Das Ältestenamt ’53; GBornkamm, πρεσβύτερος; RCampbell, The Elders ’94.—B. 1472. DELG s.v. πρέσβυς. M-M. EDNT. TW.

διαθήκη, ης, ἡ (Democr., Aristoph.+; ins, pap, LXX, En, TestSol, TestAbr, Test12Patr; ParJer 6:21; ApcEsdr, ApcMos; AssMos Fgm. a; Philo, Joseph., Just.; Mel., HE 4, 26, 14) apart from the simplex θήκη ‘case, chest’, for the mng. of this word one must begin with the mid. form of the verb διατίθεμαι, which is freq. used in legal and commercial discourse of disposition of things (s. L-S-J-M s.v. διατιθημι B), w. implication of promissory obligation. Disposition of one’s personal effects would naturally come under testamentary law, hence

① last will and testament (so exclusively in Hellenistic times, Eger [s. 3 below] 99 note; exx. e.g. in Riggenbach 292ff; Behm 10, 1; 2; Philo, Joseph., Test12Patr; loanw. in rabb.) Hb 9:16f; δ. κεκυρωμένη a will that has been ratified Gal 3:15; cp. 17, where δ. shades into mng. 2 (s. κυρόω 1, προκυρόω); s. also EBammel, below, and JSwetnam, CBQ 27, ’65, 373–90. On Jewish perspective s. RKatzoff, An Interpretation of PYadin 19—A Jewish Gift after Death: ProcXXCongPap 562–65.

② As a transl. of בְּרִית in LXX δ. retains the component of legal disposition of personal goods while omitting that of the anticipated death of a testator. A Hellenistic reader would experience no confusion, for it was a foregone conclusion that gods were immortal. Hence a δ. decreed by God cannot require the death of the testator to make it operative. Nevertheless, another essential characteristic of a testament is retained, namely that it is the declaration of one person’s initiative, not the result of an agreement betw. two parties, like a compact or a contract. This is beyond doubt one of the main reasons why the LXX rendered בְּרִית by δ. In the ‘covenants’ of God, it was God alone who set the conditions; hence covenant (s. OED s.v. ‘covenant’ sb. 7) can be used to trans. δ. only when this is kept in mind. So δ. acquires a mng. in LXX which cannot be paralleled w. certainty in extra-Biblical sources, namely ‘decree’, ‘declaration of purpose’, ‘set of regulations’, etc. Our lit., which is very strongly influenced by LXX in this area, seems as a rule to have understood the word in these senses (JHughes, NovT 21, ’79, 27–96 [also Hb 9:16–20; Gal 3:15–17]). God has issued a declaration of his purpose Ro 11:27 (Is 59:21); 1 Cl 15:4 (Ps 77:37); 35:7 (Ps 49:16), which God bears in mind (cp. Ps 104:8f; 105:45 al.) Lk 1:72; it goes back to ancestral days Ac 3:25 (PsSol 9:10; ParJer 6:21). God also issued an ordinance (of circumcision) 7:8 (cp. Gen 17:10ff). Since God’s holy will was set forth on more than one occasion (Gen 6:18; 9:9ff; 15:18; 17:2ff; Ex 19:5 and oft.), one may speak of διαθῆκαι decrees, assurances (cp. διαθῆκαι πατέρων Wsd 18:22; 2 Macc 8:15.—But the pl. is also used for a single testament: Diog. L. 4, 44; 5, 16. In quoting or referring to Theophr. sometimes the sing. [Diog. L. 5, 52; 56] is used, sometimes the pl. [5, 51; 57]) Ro 9:4; Eph 2:12. Much emphasis is laid on the δ. καινή, mentioned as early as Jer 38:31, which God planned for future disposition (Hb 8:8–10; 10:16). God’s decree or covenant directed toward the Christians is a καινὴ δ. (δ. δευτέρα Orig., C. Cels. 2, 75) Lk 22:20; 1 Cor 11:25; 2 Cor 3:6; Hb 8:8; 9:15a; PtK 2 p. 15, 5, or δ. νέα Hb 12:24; PtK 2 p. 15, 6 which, as a δ. αἰώνιος (cp. Jer 39:40; En 99:2) Hb 13:20, far excels 7:22; 8:6 the παλαιὰ δ. 2 Cor 3:14, or πρώτη δ. Hb 9:15b, with which it is contrasted. Both are mentioned (Did., Gen. 46, 4; 235, 26) Gal 4:24; B 4:6ff (Ex 34:28; 31:18; Just., D. 67, 9). Blood was shed when the old covenant was proclaimed at Sinai Hb 9:20 (Ex 24:8); the same is true of the new covenant Hb 10:29. τὸ αἷμά μου τ. διαθήκης Mt 26:28; Mk 14:24 (ELohse, Märtyrer u. Gottesknecht², ’63, 122–29) is prob. to be understood in connection w. this blood (s. WWrede, ZNW 1, 1900, 69–74; TRobinson, My Blood of the Covenant: KMarti Festschr. 1925, 232–37; for a critique of this view s. GWalther, Jesus, D. Passalamm des Neuen Bundes, ’50, 22–27 and JJeremias TLZ, ’51, 547. For Syriac background JEmerton, JTS 13, ’62, 111–17; s. also ÉDelebrecque, Études grecques sur l’vangile de Luc ’76, 109–21).—The v.l. Lk 22:29 may be derived from Jer 39:40 or Is 55:3 LXX (for the cognate acc. s. Aristoph., Aves 440).—δ. may also be transl. decree in the Ep. of Barnabas (4:6ff; 6:19; 9:6; 13:1, 6; 14:1ff δ. δοῦναί τινι); but the freq. occurrence of the idea of inheritance (6:19; 13:1, 6; 14:4f), makes it likely that the ‘decree’ is to be thought of as part of a will.

③ The mng. compact, contract seems firmly established for Gr-Rom. times (FNorton, A Lexicographical and Historical Study of Διαθήκη, Chicago 1908, 31ff; EBruck, D. Schenkung auf d. Todesfall im griech. u. röm. Recht I 1909, 115ff; JWackernagel, D. Kultur d. Gegenw. I 8² 1907, 309). It remains doubtful whether this mng. has influenced our lit. here and there (exc. quite prob. Lk 22:29 v.l. with its administrative tenor; the phrase διατίθεμαι δ. as Aristoph., Av. 440 of a treaty agreement), but the usage of the term δ. in such sense would again serve as a bridge to LXX usage.—The expr. ἡ κιβωτὸς τ. διαθήκης covenant chest i.e. the sacred box (Eng. ‘ark’ as loanw. from Lat. arca) that symbolized God’s pledge of presence w. Israel (Ex 31:7; 39:14 al.) Hb 9:4; Rv 11:19 or αἱ πλάκες τ. διαθ. (Ex 34:28; Dt 9:9, 11) Hb 9:4 would have required some acquaintance with Israelite tradition on the part of ancient readers.—ERiggenbach, D. Begriff d. Διαθήκη im Hb: Theol. Stud. f. TZahn 1908, 289ff, Hb² 1922, 205ff al.; ACarr, Covenant or Testament?: Exp. 7th ser., 7, 1909, 347ff; JBehm, D. Begriff D. im NT 1912; ELohmeyer, Diatheke 1913; WFerguson, Legal Terms Common to the Macedonian Inscr. and the NT, 1913, 42–46 (testamentary exhibits); HKennedy, Exp. 8th ser., 10, 1915, 385ff; GVos, Hebrews, the Epistle of the Diatheke: PTR 13, 1915, 587–632; 14, 1916, 1–61; OEger, ZNW 18, 1918, 84–108; EBurton, ICC Gal 1921, 496–505; LdaFonseca, Διαθήκη foedus an testamentum?: Biblica 8, 1927; 9, 1928; EBammel, Gottes διαθήκη (Gal 3:15–17) u. d. jüd. Rechtsdenken, NTS 6, ’60, 313–19; NDow, A Select Bibliography on the Concept of Covenant, Austin Seminary Bulletin 78, 6, ’63; CRoetzel, Biblica 51, ’70, 377–90 (Ro 9:4); DMcCarthy, Berit and Covenant (Deut.), ’72, 65–85; EChristiansen, The Covenant in Judaism and Paul ’95.—DELG s.v. θήκη. M-M. TW. Sv.