Greek word · G2922

κριτήριον

kritērion

court/lawsuit

(1) A standard or means of judging; (2) a court or tribunal, the place or body that hears cases (so James 2:6, "drag you into court"); (3) possibly the lawsuit or case itself.

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

What it means

κριτήριον, -ου, τό

(κριτής), [in LXX: 1 Kings 7:7 (מִשְׁפָּט), Dan LXX TH Daniel 7:10, 26, (דִּין), Su 1:49, Exodus 21:6, Judges 5:10 * ;]

1. a means of judging, test, criterion.

2. a tribunal: 1 Corinthians 6:2 6:4, James 2:6.†

(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 6:2

Range of meaning

(1) A standard or means of judging; (2) a court or tribunal, the place or body that hears cases (so James 2:6, "drag you into court"); (3) possibly the lawsuit or case itself.

Against the English

BSB/KJV/WEB/ESV/NIV take it as "cases" or "matters". YLT has "judgments". The NASB tradition reads it as "law courts", which gives "are you not competent to constitute the smallest law courts?"

Used elsewhere in the period

In papyri and other Greek texts it is commonly used for a tribunal or court. In the Septuagint it appears for a court or judgment seat (e.g., Judg 5:10 in one Greek text; Dan 7:10 Theodotion "the court sat"). BDAG lists both "court" and "lawsuit" and notes the debate over this verse.

From the study of James 2:6

Range of meaning

Originally a means or standard of judging. In the NT period it means a law court or tribunal, and also a lawsuit or case. NT: 1 Cor 6:2, 4 ('trivial cases', 'courts').

Against the English

'Court' (BSB, ESV, NIV, NASB, NLT) and 'courts' (WEB) are accurate. KJV's 'judgment seats' evokes the raised platform where a magistrate sat. Modern readers may picture an impartial justice system, which these courts were not for the poor.

Used elsewhere in the period

Common in Greek papyri and literature for courts and tribunals. Paul uses it for civil cases among Corinthian believers (1 Cor 6). Roman law openly gave more weight to the testimony of higher-status people, and Jewish wisdom repeatedly warns that judges favour the rich (e.g. Sirach 13:3–4, 21–23).

Where it appears

1 Corinthians · 2

  1. 1 Corinthians 6:2 κριτηρίων of cases

    Do you not know that the saints will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases?

    Here: Either "courts" (the place or body that hears a case) or "cases" (lawsuits). Either way the setting is a law court. The genitive goes with "unfit": "unfit for the least courts/cases".

  2. 1 Corinthians 6:4 κριτήρια judgment [as to]

    So if you need to settle everyday matters, do you appoint as judges those of no standing in the church?

James · 1

  1. James 2:6 κριτήρια; court?

    But you have dishonored the poor. Is it not the rich who oppress you and drag you into court?

    Here: Law courts or tribunals (the plural suggests 'courts' in general, or repeated lawsuits). These were places where the wealthy held the advantage, so being sued by a rich man was a threat to a poor person's livelihood.

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