Greek word · G4242
πρεσβεία
presbeia
delegation
An embassy or delegation of envoys. Originally linked to πρέσβυς, 'elder', because senior men were sent as ambassadors. It can also mean seniority or rank.
Appears 2 times in 2 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
πρεσβεία, -ας, ἡ
(πρεσβεύω), [in LXX: 2Ma.4:11 * ;]
1. age, seniority.
2. rank, dignity.
3. an embassy; by meton., of the ambassadors, embassy: Luke 14:32 19:14.†
(AS)
From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).
In depth
- Range of meaning
An embassy or delegation of envoys. Originally linked to πρέσβυς, 'elder', because senior men were sent as ambassadors. It can also mean seniority or rank.
- Against the English
BSB, ESV and NASB have 'delegation', YLT 'embassy', WEB 'an envoy' (singular). KJV has 'a message', which in 1611 could mean a mission or a body of messengers. Today it suggests a written note.
- How it drifted
English 'message' narrowed over time from 'an official errand, an embassy' to 'a communication'. So KJV readers may picture a letter where the Greek means a group of people travelling to plead a case.
- Used elsewhere in the period
In the New Testament it appears only in Luke 14:32 (a weaker king sends a delegation to ask for terms) and here. It is standard diplomatic vocabulary in Greek historians and in Josephus. The related verb πρεσβεύω, 'to be an ambassador', occurs in 2 Cor 5:20 and Eph 6:20.
Similar words
Where it appears
Luke · 2
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Luke 14:32 πρεσβείαν an embassy
And if he is unable, he will send a delegation while the other king is still far off, to ask for terms of peace.
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Luke 19:14 πρεσβείαν a delegation
But his subjects hated him and sent a delegation after him to say, ‘We do not want this man to rule over us.’
Here: A formal diplomatic delegation of envoys. This is not a note or a letter. It is a body of representatives sent to argue a case before a higher power.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.