διασπορά

From the study of James 1:1

Range of meaning

A scattering or dispersion. As a technical term, it means the Jewish communities living outside the land of Israel, or the state of living in exile from it.

Against the English

BSB, ESV, WEB: 'the Dispersion'; KJV: 'scattered abroad'; NIV: 'scattered among the nations'; NASB: 'dispersed abroad'. The verbal renderings capture the picture of scattering but hide the fact that this was a recognised name with history behind it.

How it drifted

Today 'diaspora' is a neutral sociological word for any emigrant community. In Jewish Greek it carried covenant theology: scattering as the curse for unfaithfulness and the hope that God would gather his people again.

Used elsewhere in the period

Septuagint Deut 28:25 ('you will be a diaspora in all the kingdoms of the earth'); Deut 30:4; Ps 146[147]:2 ('he will gather the dispersions of Israel'); Isa 49:6; Jer 41[34]:17; 2 Macc 1:27; Judith 5:19. In the New Testament: John 7:35; 1 Pet 1:1. Compare Acts 8:1, 4; 11:19, where Jerusalem believers were 'scattered' (the related verb diaspeirō) as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch.

From the study of 1 Peter 1:1

Range of meaning

Literally "a sowing-through, scattering" (from diaspeirō, "scatter", like seed). It can mean the act of being scattered, the condition of living scattered, or the scattered people themselves. By the first century it was the standard name for Jews living outside the land of Israel.

Against the English

BSB, ESV, WEB and YLT keep the technical term "Dispersion". KJV and NIV turn it into an action, "scattered", which suggests an event (as if a persecution had just driven them from Jerusalem) more than a standing identity. Lowercase "dispersion" can hide the fact that this was a recognisable Jewish title.

How it drifted

In modern English "diaspora" can mean any émigré community. "Scattered" in KJV/NIV invites the reading that these were Jerusalem refugees, as in Acts 8:1.

Used elsewhere in the period

LXX Deut 28:25 ("you will be a dispersion among all the kingdoms") and 30:4 (God gathering the dispersed); Isa 49:6 ("to bring back the dispersion of Israel"); Ps 146:2 LXX (147:2); 2 Macc 1:27; John 7:35 ("the Dispersion among the Greeks"); James 1:1 ("the twelve tribes in the Dispersion"). Philo (Embassy to Gaius 281) mentions Jewish communities in Bithynia and Pontus.

From the study of John 7:35

Range of meaning

'Scattering' or 'dispersion.' The word comes from the verb diaspeirō, 'to scatter (like seed).' In Jewish Greek it became a set term for the Jewish people living outside the land of Israel, and for the communities themselves. It carries covenant overtones: scattering among the nations was the curse warned of in Deuteronomy, and gathering the scattered back was a central hope.

Against the English

KJV has 'the dispersed'; ESV, NASB and WEB have 'the Dispersion' (capitalised as a proper name); BSB and NIV turn it into a clause ('where the Jews are dispersed' / 'where our people live scattered'). The clause versions are clearer for modern readers but lose the fact that 'the Dispersion' was a fixed, recognised name.

How it drifted

Today 'diaspora' is used for any migrant community (the Irish diaspora, the African diaspora). In the 1st century it was a specifically Jewish term with biblical weight: a people scattered under God's judgment who hoped to be regathered.

Used elsewhere in the period

Septuagint (the ancient Greek Old Testament): Deut 28:25 ('you shall be in dispersion in all the kingdoms of the earth'); Deut 30:4; Isa 49:6 (the Servant will 'turn back the dispersion of Israel'); Ps 147:2 (146:2 in the Greek numbering), 'he will gather the dispersions of Israel'; 2 Macc 1:27; Psalms of Solomon 8:28. In the New Testament: Jas 1:1 and 1 Pet 1:1. The word is very rare in non-Jewish Greek.