Greek word · G1348
δικαστής
dikastēs
magistrate
Judge, juror, arbiter: one who decides a case or dispute. The more common biblical word κριτής has a wider range, including the 'judges' who led Israel.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
δικαστής, -οῦ, ὁ
(δικάζω), [in LXX for שָׁפַט ;]
a judge: Acts 7:27, 35" (LXX) .†
SYN.: κριτής, WH. "gives prominence to the mental process" (Thayer). δ. is the forensic term. In Attic law, the δικασταί were jurors, with a κριτής as presiding officer (LS, see word; Enc. Brit. 11, xii, 504 f.) (AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
Judge, juror, arbiter: one who decides a case or dispute. The more common biblical word κριτής has a wider range, including the 'judges' who led Israel.
- Against the English
'Judge' in every version. Fine, though 'arbiter' fits the scene better.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In the NT only in Acts 7:27, 35 and Luke 12:14 (in some manuscripts), all in the same pattern of 'who made you judge?' Here it comes from Exod 2:14 LXX.
Where it appears
Acts · 2
-
Acts 7:27 δικαστὴν judge
But the man who was abusing his neighbor pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?
-
Acts 7:35 δικαστήν; judge?’ —
This Moses, whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ is the one whom God sent to be their ruler and redeemer through the angel who appeared to him in the bush.
Here: 'Judge' in the sense of one who settles disputes. Moses had tried to settle a quarrel between two Hebrews (7:26–27).
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.