Greek word · G3175

μεγιστάν

megistan

great man

Grandee, magnate, noble, courtier: the top people around a ruler. The word is mostly late Greek and is common in the LXX for nobles and officials.

Appears 3 times in 3 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated October 23, 2026

What it means

μεγιστάν, -ᾶνος, ὁ

(μέγιστος) [in LXX chiefly for שַׂר, Jeremiah 24:8, al.; רַבְרְבָן, Dan LXX TH Daniel 5:23, al.; frequently in Sir (sing., Sirach 4:7) ;]

usually pl., οἱ μ., the chief men, nobles (Manetho, FlJ, al.): Mark 6:21, Revelation 6:15 18:23.†

(AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: Grandee, magnate, noble, courtier: the top people around a ruler. The word is mostly late Greek and is common in the LXX for nobles and officials.
Against the English: 'Great men' (KJV), 'great ones' (BSB), 'princes' (WEB), 'the world's important people' (NIV). 'Princes' wrongly suggests royal birth. The point is rank and power, not bloodline.
Used elsewhere in the period: Used of Herod's courtiers at his birthday banquet (Mark 6:21) and of the 'great ones' who hide from the Lamb's wrath (Rev 6:15). The LXX uses it for royal nobles (for example Jer 24:8; Dan 5:23 and Sirach). The line echoes Isa 23:8 on Tyre: 'whose merchants were princes, whose traders were the honoured of the earth.'

Range of meaning: From megistos, 'greatest'. In the Hellenistic period it means magnates, grandees, the high nobility and top officials of a royal court, the 'great men' around a king.
Against the English: KJV/YLT 'great men', BSB 'nobles', WEB 'princes'. All are fair. 'Princes' can wrongly suggest the king's sons, whereas the word means court officials and aristocrats in general.
Used elsewhere in the period: Jonah 3:7 LXX (the king of Nineveh 'and his megistanes'); Sirach 39:4; Daniel 5 in the Greek tradition (Belshazzar's feast for his nobles); Mark 6:21, where Herod Antipas's banquet is for 'his megistanes and the chiliarchs and the leading men of Galilee', the same pairing as here; Revelation 18:23, 'your merchants were the megistanes of the earth'. Josephus uses it for leading nobles.

Range of meaning: Three overlapping titles of power: noble or court magnate, judge, and ruler or powerful man. Together they cover the top of the social pyramid in court, courtroom and government.
Against the English: Brenton's 'great men… potentates' sounds old-fashioned. WEB's 'prince… mighty man' is serviceable. 'Prince' can wrongly suggest a king's son. In the Hebrew 'sar' means an official or commander, not royalty.
Used elsewhere in the period: The Hebrew of this verse is generally read as 'sar, shofet, moshel' (official, judge, ruler). Ben Sira elsewhere describes the scribe who 'serves among great men and appears before rulers' (39:4), and warns about how to behave with the powerful (8:1–2; 13:9–13).

Mark · 1

Mark 6:21 μεγιστᾶσιν great men

On Herod’s birthday, her opportunity arose. Herod held a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee.

Revelation · 2

Revelation 6:15 μεγιστᾶνες great ones

Then the kings of the earth, the nobles, the commanders, the rich, the mighty, and every slave and free man hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains.

Here: The grandees of a court: high officials, nobles and top civil administrators who sit just below the king. Herod's birthday guests in Mark 6:21 are called this.
Revelation 18:23 μεγιστᾶνες great ones

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: Court nobles and powerful men. The traders had risen to the rank of the world's aristocracy (compare 6:15).

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