Greek word · G2302
θέατρον
theatron
theatre
(1) A theatre: the building, the place for watching. (2) The crowd gathered there. (3) The show itself, what is being watched (BDAG sense 2: "a spectacle"). The related verb θεατρίζω means "to expose publicly, to put to shame in front of a crowd."
Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
θέατρον, -ον, τό
(θεάομαι),
1. a theatre (used also as a place of assembly): Acts 19:29, 31.
2. Collective for οἱ θεαταί, the spectators.
3. = θέα, θέαμα, a spectacle, show: metaphorically, 1 Corinthians 4:9.†
(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 1 Corinthians 4:9
- Range of meaning
(1) A theatre: the building, the place for watching. (2) The crowd gathered there. (3) The show itself, what is being watched (BDAG sense 2: "a spectacle"). The related verb θεατρίζω means "to expose publicly, to put to shame in front of a crowd."
- Against the English
Every major English version says "spectacle." That is accurate, but in modern English "to make a spectacle of yourself" means embarrassing yourself in a mildly comic way. In Paul's world, a theatron show could mean people being killed in front of a paying crowd.
- How it drifted
"Spectacle" comes from the Vulgate's spectaculum. In Latin that was the normal word for the Roman games, including the arena. In English the word has softened toward "a striking sight" or "an embarrassing scene."
- Used elsewhere in the period
Acts 19:29, 31: the theatre at Ephesus, where an angry crowd gathered. Hebrews 10:33: believers "publicly exposed" (θεατριζόμενοι) to insults and persecution. Greek and Latin writers use the theatre and the arena as the place where criminals were humiliated and killed. Seneca (Epistle 7) describes midday shows in which condemned men were killed for the crowd.
- Range of meaning
A place for viewing (from theaomai, 'to watch'): a theatre. By extension, a spectacle (1 Cor 4:9: 'we have become a theatron to the world'). In Greek cities of the Roman East, the theatre was the largest public building and served as the usual meeting place of the citizens' assembly (ekklēsia).
- Against the English
'Theatre' is a correct translation, but a modern reader pictures an entertainment venue. NLT's 'amphitheater' is technically wrong: an amphitheatre is an oval Roman arena for gladiators, while Ephesus had a semicircular Greek-style theatre.
- How it drifted
Modern theatres are only for entertainment. Ancient Greek theatres were also the city's political hall.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The Salutaris inscription from Ephesus (AD 104) arranges for silver images of Artemis to be carried in procession and set up in the theatre at each regular assembly. Josephus and other writers describe city crowds gathering in theatres to hear speeches or to riot (e.g., Josephus, Jewish War 7.47 on Antioch). The excavated Ephesus theatre seated around 24,000.
Similar words
Where it appears
Acts · 2
-
Acts 19:29 θέατρον theatre
Soon the whole city was in disarray. They rushed together into the theatre, dragging with them Gaius and Aristarchus, Paul’s traveling companions from Macedonia.
Here: The huge open-air theatre of Ephesus, cut into the slope of Mount Pion. It held about 24,000 people. It was used for performances, and it was also where the citizens' assembly normally met.
-
Acts 19:31 θέατρον. theatre.
Even some of Paul’s friends who were officials of the province of Asia sent word to him, begging him not to venture into the theatre.
1 Corinthians · 1
-
1 Corinthians 4:9 θέατρον a spectacle
For it seems to me that God has displayed us apostles at the end of the procession, like prisoners appointed for death. We have become a spectacle to the whole world, to angels as well as to men.
Here: Literally "a theatre." Here it means the show itself, the thing people pay to watch. In Paul's world that included public executions put on as entertainment.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.