Greek word · G4755

στρατηγός

stratēgos

officer/magistrate

Originally 'army leader, general.' In Hellenistic cities it came to mean a chief civic magistrate. It was also the normal Greek equivalent of the Roman 'praetor,' a senior magistrate with judicial power. Luke also uses it for the captain of the temple guard in Jerusalem (Luke 22:4; Acts 4:1).

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

στρατηγός, -οῦ, ὁ

(στραός, ἄγω), [in LXX chiefly for סָגָן (always in pl.), שַׂר ;]

1. a military commander, a general (Hdt., al.).

2. A civic commander, a governor, magistrate (Hdt., Xen., al.): Acts 16:20, 22 16:35-36, 38.

3. The commander of the Levitical guard of the Temple, ὁ σ. τ. ἱεροῦ (EV, captain of the Temple): Acts 4:1 5:24, 26; pl., Luke 22:4, 52.†

SYN.: ἄρχων (cf. EGT on Acts 16:20; Ramsay, St. Paul, 217). (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 Acts 16:22

Range of meaning

Originally 'army leader, general.' In Hellenistic cities it came to mean a chief civic magistrate. It was also the normal Greek equivalent of the Roman 'praetor,' a senior magistrate with judicial power. Luke also uses it for the captain of the temple guard in Jerusalem (Luke 22:4; Acts 4:1).

Against the English

English 'magistrates' (KJV, BSB, WEB) is accurate but sounds small: a minor local judge. NASB's 'chief magistrates' is closer. These were the two highest officials of a Roman colony, attended by lictors carrying the rod-bundles (fasces) that symbolised Roman authority.

How it drifted

In modern English 'magistrate' has narrowed to mean a low-level judge. In Philippi the stratēgoi were the town's Rome-modelled rulers.

Used elsewhere in the period

In Latin, colony officials were formally duoviri. Cicero (De lege agraria 2.93) mocks the duoviri of Capua for wanting to be called 'praetors.' The Greek stratēgoi corresponds to that inflated title, which seems to have been common in the East. Luke's matching use of rhabdouchoi ('rod-bearers,' i.e. lictors) in vv. 35 and 38 is often cited, for example by A. N. Sherwin-White, as accurate local detail.

From the study of Acts 4:1

Range of meaning

Stratēgos covers a military general, a civic magistrate (as in Philippi, Acts 16:20–38), or an officer in charge of something. With 'of the temple' it is a specific Jerusalem office: the commander of the temple.

Against the English

'Captain' (KJV, ESV) sounds like a mid-ranking soldier. 'Captain of the temple guard' (BSB, NIV, NASB) is clearer about what he did, but still hides that he was a high-ranking priest. YLT's 'magistrate' gets the civil, administrative side right.

How it drifted

In English, 'captain' is a military or police rank, so readers picture a soldier, sometimes a Roman one. The Greek title, borrowed from civic government, named a priestly official.

Used elsewhere in the period

Josephus names several holders of the office and uses this title: Ananus the stratēgos (Antiquities 20.131), Eleazar son of the high priest Ananias (Antiquities 20.208; War 2.409). Later Jewish sources call the same post the segan or sagan ha-kohanim, 'deputy of the priests' (e.g. Mishnah Yoma 3:9; 4:1; Tamid 7:3), the priest who stood at the high priest's right hand. Luke 22:4 and 22:52 mention 'officers of the temple' in the plural, probably his subordinates (Jeremias, Jerusalem in the Time of Jesus; Schürer, History of the Jewish People).

Similar words

Where it appears

Luke · 2

  1. Luke 22:4 στρατηγοῖς captains

    And Judas went to discuss with the chief priests and temple officers how he might betray Jesus to them.

  2. Luke 22:52 στρατηγοὺς captains

    Then Jesus said to the chief priests, temple officers, and elders who had come for Him, “Have you come out with swords and clubs as you would against an outlaw?

Acts · 8

  1. Acts 4:1 στρατηγὸς captain

    While Peter and John were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to them,

    Here: The commander of the temple. He was a senior priest, ranked just below the high priest, and in charge of the Levite temple police and of order in the temple courts. He was not a Roman soldier.

  2. Acts 5:24 στρατηγὸς captain

    When the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests heard this account, they were perplexed as to what was happening.

  3. Acts 5:26 στρατηγὸς captain

    At that point, the captain went with the officers and brought the apostles—but not by force, for fear the people would stone them.

  4. Acts 16:20 στρατηγοῖς magistrates

    They brought them to the magistrates and said, “These men are Jews and are throwing our city into turmoil

  5. Acts 16:22 στρατηγοὶ magistrates

    The crowd joined in the attack against Paul and Silas, and the magistrates ordered that they be stripped and beaten with rods.

    Here: The colony's chief officials, officially the two duoviri ('two men'). People in the East often gave them the grander Greek title stratēgoi, the Greek word for Roman 'praetors.' They held the power to have people beaten and jailed on the spot.

  6. Acts 16:35 στρατηγοὶ magistrates

    When daylight came, the magistrates sent their officers with the order: “Release those men.”

  7. Acts 16:36 στρατηγοὶ captains

    The jailer informed Paul: “The magistrates have sent orders to release you. Now you may go on your way in peace.”

  8. Acts 16:38 στρατηγοῖς magistrates

    So the officers relayed this message to the magistrates, who were alarmed to hear that Paul and Silas were Roman citizens.

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