Greek word · G1713

ἔμπορος

emporos

trader/merchant

A merchant, especially a wholesale or overseas trader who moves goods between ports and regions. Greek kept this distinct from the κάπηλος, the local retailer or huckster.

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

What it means

ἔμ-πορος, -ου, ὁ

(πόρος, a journey), [in LXX chiefly for סָחַר, רָכַל ;]

1. a passenger on shipboard, one on a journey.

2. a merchant: Matthew 13:45, Revelation 18:3, 11 18:15, 23.†

(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 Revelation 18:3

Range of meaning

A merchant, especially a wholesale or overseas trader who moves goods between ports and regions. Greek kept this distinct from the κάπηλος, the local retailer or huckster.

Against the English

'Merchants' is accurate. Modern readers may picture shopkeepers, but the word means the big trading houses and shipping magnates of the day.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezekiel 27, the lament over Tyre and the model for Revelation 18, lists Tyre's trading partners and goods. Revelation 18:11–13 copies the form with a cargo list of 28 items ending in 'bodies, that is, human souls' (slaves). Revelation 18:23: 'your merchants were the great ones of the earth'.

From the study of Revelation 18:11

Range of meaning

From ἐν + πόρος ('journey, passage'), so literally one who travels on business. In classical and Hellenistic Greek it means the long-distance trader, especially a sea merchant who carries goods between ports. Greek usage distinguishes the emporos from the κάπηλος (kapēlos), the local retailer or huckster.

Against the English

'Merchants' is accurate, but to modern ears it can suggest shopkeepers or small business owners. The emporoi of 18:3, 11, 15 and 23 are the wholesale import-export class: wealthy shippers and dealers in luxury goods whose fortunes depended on supplying the imperial capital.

How it drifted

Over time English 'merchant' widened to cover any seller, while the Greek word stayed close to large-scale, travelling trade.

Used elsewhere in the period

Ezekiel 27 in the Greek Old Testament (LXX), the lament over Tyre, which Revelation 18 closely echoes, repeatedly speaks of the traders who dealt with Tyre (e.g. 27:36 'the merchants among the peoples'). Isaiah 23:2, 8 (LXX) calls Tyre's traders 'princes'. In Matthew 13:45 an emporos deals in fine pearls, a high-end, long-distance trade. Greek papyri and inscriptions use the word for overseas traders and shipping guilds.

From the study of Revelation 18:23

Range of meaning

A merchant, especially a wholesale or long-distance trader (from en + poros, 'one on a journey'), as distinct from a local retailer.

Against the English

'Merchants' in every version. That is accurate, though modern readers may picture shopkeepers rather than shipping magnates.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the LXX it is used for Tyre's traders in Ezekiel 27 and Isaiah 23, the laments that shape Revelation 18. Elsewhere in the NT it appears only in Matt 13:45 (the pearl merchant) and in Rev 18:3, 11, 15.

Where it appears

Matthew · 1

  1. Matthew 13:45 ἐμπόρῳ a merchant

    Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls.

    Here: Not a village shopkeeper but a travelling, large-scale dealer, the kind who moved luxury goods along sea and caravan routes. He knows values and does this for a living.

Revelation · 4

  1. Revelation 18:3 ἔμποροι merchants

    All the nations have drunk the wine of the passion of her immorality. The kings of the earth were immoral with her, and the merchants of the earth have grown wealthy from the extravagance of her luxury.”

    Here: Wholesale, long-distance traders, especially sea traders. These are the big shippers and importers, not village shopkeepers. Compare 18:23: 'your merchants were the great ones of the earth'.

  2. Revelation 18:11 ἔμποροι merchants

    And the merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her, because there is no one left to buy their cargo—

    Here: Long-distance wholesale traders, usually by sea: the shippers and dealers who supplied a great city, not local shopkeepers. In 18:23 they are called 'the great ones of the earth'.

  3. Revelation 18:15 ἔμποροι merchants

    The merchants who sold these things and gained their wealth from her will stand at a distance, in fear of her torment. They will weep and mourn,

    Here: Long-distance wholesale traders who moved cargo by sea and land. These are not local shopkeepers. Verse 23 calls them "the great ones of the earth."

  4. Revelation 18:23 ἔμποροί merchants

    The light of a lamp will never shine in you again, and the voices of a bride and bridegroom will never call out in you again. For your merchants were the great ones of the earth, because all the nations were deceived by your sorcery.”

    Here: Long-distance traders by sea and land, not small shopkeepers. They grew rich supplying the city's luxury.

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