Greek word · G1157

δανειστής

daneistēs

moneylender

Moneylender or creditor: someone who lends money, usually at interest, and has the right to collect.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

δανιστής, -οῦ, ὁ

(late form of -ειστής, Rec.; see: δανείζω), [in LXX: 4Ki.4:1, Psa.108(109):11 (נשׁה), Proverbs 29:13 (רָשׁ), Sirach 29:28 * ;]

a money-lender: Luke 7:41.†

(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 Luke 7:41

Range of meaning

Moneylender or creditor: someone who lends money, usually at interest, and has the right to collect.

Against the English

'Moneylender' (BSB, NIV, ESV) and 'creditor' (KJV, YLT) are both accurate. 'Lender' (WEB) is softer and loses the sense of a professional creditor with power over the borrower.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament the moneylender is a figure to fear. In 2 Kings 4:1 the creditor comes to take a widow's two children as slaves. Psalm 109:11 (108:11 in the Greek) curses an enemy with 'may the creditor seize all he has.' Sirach 29 discusses the burdens and dangers of lending and borrowing. The Torah forbade charging interest to fellow Israelites (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:36–37; Deuteronomy 23:19–20).

Where it appears

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 7:41 δανιστῇ to a creditor

    “Two men were debtors to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

    Here: A person who lends money at interest as a business. Jewish hearers knew him from the Greek Old Testament as a feared figure who could seize property, and even children, for a debt (2 Kings 4:1).

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.