Greek word · G1990

ἐπιστήμων

epistēmōn

knowing

Knowing, skilled, expert; someone with real understanding of a field. Related to epistēmē, 'knowledge, science'.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ἐπιστήμων, -ον, genitive, -ονoς

(ἐπίσταμαι) [in LXX: Deuteronomy 1:13 4:6, Isaiah 5:21 (בִּין ni.), I Est.8:44, Sirach 10:25 21:15, etc. ;]

knowing, skilled: James 3:13.†

(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 James 3:13

Range of meaning

Knowing, skilled, expert; someone with real understanding of a field. Related to epistēmē, 'knowledge, science'.

Against the English

BSB, WEB 'understanding'; YLT 'intelligent'; KJV 'endued with knowledge'. All acceptable. 'Intelligent' sounds a little more like raw brainpower than the Greek, which suggests competence and expertise.

Used elsewhere in the period

Only here in the New Testament. In the Greek Old Testament the pair sophos kai epistēmōn appears in Deuteronomy 1:13, 15, where Moses tells the tribes to choose 'wise and understanding' men as their leaders and judges, and in Deuteronomy 4:6, where the nations will say of an Israel that keeps God's statutes, 'Surely this great nation is a wise and understanding people.' Daniel 5:11–12 (LXX/Theodotion) uses related language for Daniel.

Where it appears

James · 1

  1. James 3:13 ἐπιστήμων understanding

    Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good conduct, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

    Here: Someone with real expertise or know-how. Used only here in the New Testament; the pairing with 'wise' recalls Deuteronomy 1:13 and 4:6, where Israel's leaders and the obedient nation are called 'wise and understanding'.

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