Greek word · G1413

δυνάστης

dynastēs

ruler

A person with power (dynamis): a ruler, sovereign, prince, court official, or more generally a powerful and influential person. It can mean a sovereign in the full sense or a high-ranking man under a king.

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

What it means

δυνάστης, -ου, ὁ

(δύναμαι), [in LXX for גִּבּוֹר, עָרִיץ, בַּיִת, etc. ;]

a prince, ruler, potentate: Luke 1:52; of God (Sirach 46:5, 16, 2Ma.15:3), 1 Timothy 6:15; of a high official (cf. δυνάσται Φαραώ, Genesis 50:4), Acts 8:27 (Cremer, 221).†

(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 1:52

Range of meaning

A person with power (dynamis): a ruler, sovereign, prince, court official, or more generally a powerful and influential person. It can mean a sovereign in the full sense or a high-ranking man under a king.

Against the English

KJV and YLT 'the mighty', BSB/NIV/NASB 'rulers', WEB/NLT 'princes'. 'The mighty' keeps the wordplay with 'the Mighty One' in 1:49 but sounds vaguer than the Greek. 'Rulers' fits the throne imagery best. 'Princes' is narrower than the Greek.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint, or LXX) it is used for kings and great men. 1 Samuel 2:8 LXX (Hannah's song, the model for the Magnificat) says God raises the poor 'to seat him with the mighty (dynastōn) of the peoples, giving them a throne of glory'. Job 12:19 LXX says God 'overthrew the mighty (dynastas) of the earth'. In the NT: Acts 8:27 (the Ethiopian queen's minister) and 1 Timothy 6:15, where God is 'the blessed and only Sovereign (dynastēs)'.

From the study of 1 Timothy 6:15

Range of meaning

One who holds power: a prince, ruler or person of rank. It can also mean a high court official, such as the Ethiopian queen's treasurer (Acts 8:27). In Luke 1:52 it means 'the mighty', whom God brings down from their thrones.

Against the English

KJV and YLT have 'Potentate', which today sounds archaic or despotic. ESV, NASB and BSB have 'Sovereign', which can call up later doctrinal debates about God's sovereignty. NIV and WEB have 'Ruler', which is closest to the plain sense.

How it drifted

'Potentate' came to suggest an exotic autocrat. 'Sovereign' now carries modern theological debates about God's control. The Greek simply says 'the one who holds ruling power'.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the later books of the Greek Old Testament it becomes a title for God. Examples include Sirach 46:5 (calling on 'the Most High Ruler'), 2 Maccabees 3:24, 12:15 ('the great Ruler of the world') and 15:3–5 (a Ruler in heaven set against the boast of a human commander), and 3 Maccabees 2:3. These are writings of Greek-speaking Judaism, often written under pressure from foreign kings.

From the study of Acts 8:27

Range of meaning

A man of power: a ruler, prince, or high court official. In the New Testament it is used of rulers God brings down (Luke 1:52) and of God himself as 'the only Sovereign' (1 Tim 6:15).

Against the English

KJV and WEB 'of great authority' and YLT 'a man of rank' keep the sense of personal power. BSB and others say 'court official', which is accurate but more like a civil-service title and weaker than the Greek's 'grandee, potentate'.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Greek Old Testament it is used for princes and mighty men. In Hellenistic Greek generally it means rulers and court magnates.

Where it appears

Luke · 1

  1. Luke 1:52 δυνάστας rulers

    He has brought down rulers from their thrones, but has exalted the humble.

    Here: People who hold real political power: kings, princes, high officials. There is no article, so it means rulers as a class, not one named king. It comes from the same root as 'the Mighty One' (ho dynatos) in 1:49: the truly Mighty One unseats the mighty.

Acts · 1

  1. Acts 8:27 δυνάστης a potentate

    So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, a court official in charge of the entire treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. He had gone to Jerusalem to worship,

    Here: A grandee, a powerful man at court. It sits next to 'eunuch' as a separate description: physically marked, yet one of the most powerful men in his kingdom.

1 Timothy · 1

  1. 1 Timothy 6:15 δυνάστης, Sovereign,

    which the blessed and only Sovereign One—the King of kings and Lord of lords—will bring about in His own time.

    Here: A person who actually holds power: a prince, ruler or high court official. Called the 'only' one, God is the one ruler whose power is his own and not handed down from someone else.

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