Greek word · G1318

διδακτός

didaktos

taught

διδακτός is an adjective formed from διδάσκω, 'teach.' It can mean 'teachable,' 'able to be taught,' or (as here) 'taught, instructed.' Used as a noun it means 'pupils.' The genitive θεοῦ names who did the teaching: 'God's pupils' / 'taught by God' (BDAG).

Appears 3 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

διδακτός, -ή, -όν

(διδάσκω), [in LXX: Isaiah 54:13 (לִמּוּד), 1Ma.4:7 * ;]

1. that can be taught.

2. taught; with genitive, of source of teaching (in cl., poët. only);

(a) of persons: δ. θεοῦ, John 6:45 (LXX);

(b) of things, λόγοις δ. πνεύματος, 1 Corinthians 2:13.†

(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 John 6:45

Range of meaning

διδακτός is an adjective formed from διδάσκω, 'teach.' It can mean 'teachable,' 'able to be taught,' or (as here) 'taught, instructed.' Used as a noun it means 'pupils.' The genitive θεοῦ names who did the teaching: 'God's pupils' / 'taught by God' (BDAG).

Against the English

"Taught by God" (BSB, WEB, modern versions) and "taught of God" (KJV, YLT) are both accurate. What English misses is that the phrase names a status, not only an event. These people are God's pupils, a group of disciples whose teacher is God himself.

Used elsewhere in the period

Isaiah 54:13 LXX: καὶ πάντας τοὺς υἱούς σου διδακτοὺς θεοῦ, 'and all your sons taught of God.' This translates the Hebrew וְכָל־בָּנַיִךְ לִמּוּדֵי יְהוָה, 'all your children will be YHWH's disciples' (limmudê, the word used for the 'disciples' in Isa 8:16 and the 'instructed tongue' in Isa 50:4; HALOT s.v. לִמּוּד). Psalms of Solomon 17:32 (1st c. BC) calls the coming messianic king διδακτὸς ὑπὸ θεοῦ, 'taught by God.' Paul coins θεοδίδακτοι, 'God-taught,' in 1 Thessalonians 4:9. Jeremiah 31:33–34 expresses the same hope: in the new covenant 'they shall all know me,' with no need for one person to teach another.

From the study of 1 Corinthians 2:13

Range of meaning

"Taught, teachable, learned". With a genitive it can mean "taught by" someone or "trained in" something.

Against the English

English versions agree on "taught". What is easy to miss is the structure: the same word is repeated in both halves, so both kinds of words are learned. The contrast is between two teachers, not between learned speech and spontaneous speech.

Used elsewhere in the period

John 6:45, quoting Isaiah 54:13 in the Septuagint: "they will all be didaktoi theou, taught by God". Psalms of Solomon 17:32: the coming righteous king is "taught by God" (didaktos hypo theou). 1 Maccabees 4:7: soldiers "trained in war".

Similar words

Where it appears

John · 1

  1. John 6:45 διδακτοὶ taught

    It is written in the Prophets: ‘And they will all be taught by God.’ Everyone who has heard the Father and learned from Him comes to Me—

    Here: An adjective made from the verb 'teach': people who have been taught, or pupils. With the next word it means God's pupils, people who have God himself as their teacher.

1 Corinthians · 2

  1. 1 Corinthians 2:13 διδακτοῖς διδακτοῖς taught

    And this is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.

    Here: A verbal adjective, "taught/learned". It describes the words: words someone learned from a teacher. The question is which teacher.

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