Greek word · G1378

δόγμα

dogma

decree

From dokeō, "to seem good," so "what has been decided." It covers a ruler's decree or edict, a public ordinance, and also a decision of a council (Acts 16:4) or the tenets of a philosophical school.

Appears 5 times in 5 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

δόγμα, -τος, τό

(δοκέω), [in LXX chiefly for דָּת, טְעֵם ;]

1. an opinion.

2. A public decree, ordinance: of Roman rulers, Luke 2:1, Acts 17:7; of the Jewish law, Ephesians 2:15, Colossians 2:14; of the Apostles, Acts 16:4 (Cremer, 205).†

(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 2:1

Range of meaning

From dokeō, "to seem good," so "what has been decided." It covers a ruler's decree or edict, a public ordinance, and also a decision of a council (Acts 16:4) or the tenets of a philosophical school.

Against the English

Every major English version has "decree," which is accurate. The English word "dogma" (a doctrine held as authoritative) comes from the philosophical sense, not this one, but no translation uses it here.

Used elsewhere in the period

Used of royal decrees in the Greek of Daniel (2:13; 6:8–9) and Esther (3:9). Acts 17:7 speaks of acting against "the decrees of Caesar" (dogmata Kaisaros). Ephesians 2:15 and Colossians 2:14 use it of legal ordinances.

From the study of Ephesians 2:15

Range of meaning

Something decided and published as binding: a decree, edict, ordinance or official ruling. Also, in philosophy, a school's settled tenet. In the NT it means Caesar's decree (Luke 2:1; Acts 17:7), the Jerusalem council's rulings (Acts 16:4), and the regulations of the law (here and Col 2:14).

Against the English

KJV/WEB 'ordinances', BSB 'decrees', NIV 'regulations'. Modern English 'dogma' means rigid belief, and 'ordinance' suggests city by-laws or church sacraments. Neither is in view. The word means legally binding regulations.

How it drifted

The English 'dogma' moved from 'decree' toward 'doctrine' through church usage (conciliar 'dogmas'). 'Ordinances' picked up a Protestant sacramental sense (baptism and the Lord's Supper as 'the ordinances').

Used elsewhere in the period

In LXX Daniel and Esther: royal decrees. In 3 Maccabees 1:3 an apostate Jew is described as 'estranged from the ancestral decrees' (τῶν πατρίων δογμάτων), meaning the Jewish law. Josephus (Against Apion 1.42) calls the Jewish scriptures 'decrees of God' (θεοῦ δόγματα), and Philo also calls the Mosaic laws dogmata. Colossians 2:14 has the parallel 'the handwritten record… with its decrees' that God cancelled at the cross.

From the study of Colossians 2:14

Range of meaning

A formal decision or decree: an official ordinance, an edict of a ruler, a resolution of a body. In philosophy it also meant a settled teaching or tenet. It does not carry the later sense of 'church dogma'.

Against the English

KJV 'ordinances', BSB 'decrees', ESV 'legal demands', NASB 'decrees'. NIV and NLT fold the word into 'legal indebtedness' or 'charges'.

How it drifted

'Ordinances' now suggests city by-laws or, in church use, baptism and the Lord's Supper. 'Dogma' suggests doctrine. Neither is the sense here.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke 2:1 and Acts 17:7 (decrees of Caesar); Acts 16:4 (the apostles' decisions). Eph 2:15, a close parallel, speaks of 'the law of commandments in decrees (en dogmasin)' being abolished. In Jewish Greek it is used for the Mosaic laws: 3 Macc 1:3 ('ancestral decrees'), 4 Macc 10:2; Josephus, Against Apion 1.42; Philo. In Col 2:20 Paul uses the related verb: 'why do you submit to regulations (dogmatizesthe)?'

Where it appears

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 2:1 δόγμα a decree

    Now in those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus that a census should be taken of the whole empire.

    Here: A binding ruling issued by a ruler. Here it is an imperial edict, not a teaching or belief.

Acts · 2

  1. Acts 16:4 δόγματα decrees

    As they went from town to town, they delivered the decisions handed down by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey.

  2. Acts 17:7 δογμάτων decrees

    and Jason has welcomed them into his home. They are all defying Caesar’s decrees, saying that there is another king, named Jesus!”

Ephesians · 1

  1. Ephesians 2:15 δόγμασιν ordinances

    by abolishing in His flesh the law of commandments and decrees. He did this to create in Himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace

    Here: Binding rulings or decrees. The word adds an official, regulatory tone: these are enforceable regulations, not beliefs. Paul piles up three law-words (law, commandments, decrees) to mean the whole legal system.

Colossians · 1

  1. Colossians 2:14 δόγμασιν decrees

    having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!

    Here: Official decrees or legal requirements. The dative case is ambiguous: 'consisting of', 'with its', or 'on the basis of' the decrees. It most likely names the legal demands that made the bond binding.

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