Greek word · G1018
βραβεύω
brabeuō
to rule
From brabeus, the official at athletic games who judged the contest and handed out the prize (the brabeion, the 'prize' of 1 Cor 9:24 and Phil 3:14). BDAG lists Col 3:15 under the broader sense 'be in control of, rule'.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
βραβεύω
(βραβεύς, an umpire), [in LXX: Wisdom of Solomon 10:12 * ;]
(a) prop., to act as umpire; hence,
(b) generally, to arbitrate, decide (Isocr., Dem.; Lft., Col., l.with; MM, see word): Colossians 3:15;
(with) in some late writers, to direct, rule, control (so in Col., l.with, accusative to Thayer, see word, Meyer, in l.), (cf. κατα-βραβεύω).
† (AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
From the study of Colossians 3:15
- Range of meaning
From brabeus, the official at athletic games who judged the contest and handed out the prize (the brabeion, the 'prize' of 1 Cor 9:24 and Phil 3:14). Its senses: (1) to act as umpire or judge in a contest and award the prize; (2) more broadly, to decide, arbitrate or settle; (3) by extension, to direct, manage, control or rule. BDAG lists Col 3:15 under the broader sense 'be in control of, rule'.
- Against the English
'Rule' (BSB, KJV, ESV, NIV, NLT) is a fair rendering of the broader sense, but in English it suggests a sovereign on a throne or a standing regulation. It loses the picture of an umpire calling a contest, deciding between competing claims. Older paraphrases ('be the umpire', 'arbitrate', 'be the deciding factor') bring that picture back but may overplay it.
- How it drifted
The English is not wrong. It just flattens a picture-word into an abstract one. Lightfoot's well-known 19th-century commentary pressed the 'umpire' sense. Popular preaching then sometimes turned 'umpire' into a private inner signal for decisions, which goes beyond either sense.
- Used elsewhere in the period
Wisdom of Solomon 10:12 uses it of Wisdom deciding a hard contest in Jacob's favour. Hellenistic writers, including Polybius, Philo and Josephus, use it for arbitrating, deciding or directing affairs, often with no athletic image left in view. The papyri collected by Moulton–Milligan show the same weakened 'decide, direct' use. Paul's own letter has the compound καταβραβευέτω in 2:18: 'let no one disqualify you' (literally 'umpire against you').
Where it appears
Colossians · 1
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Colossians 3:15 βραβευέτω should rule
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, for to this you were called as members of one body. And be thankful.
Here: Present command in the third person ('let it…'): let Christ's peace keep acting as the deciding authority. The word grew out of the athletic umpire (brabeus) who judged contests and gave out prizes, and had broadened to 'decide, direct, control'.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.