Greek word · G4804
συζητητής
syzētētēs
debater
A 'joint-inquirer' or 'disputant'. It is built from syn- ('with') and zēteō ('seek, investigate, argue'). Related words in the New Testament describe arguing or disputing (syzēteō, Mark 9:14; Acts 9:29; zētēsis, 'controversies', 1 Tim 6:4).
Appears once in the Greek New Testament.
What it means
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 1:20
- Range of meaning
A 'joint-inquirer' or 'disputant'. It is built from syn- ('with') and zēteō ('seek, investigate, argue'). Related words in the New Testament describe arguing or disputing (syzēteō, Mark 9:14; Acts 9:29; zētēsis, 'controversies', 1 Tim 6:4). It means a person who argues questions out, often in public and often competitively.
- Against the English
KJV 'disputer', ESV/NASB/WEB 'debater', BSB/NIV 'philosopher'. 'Debater' or 'disputer' stays closest to the word. 'Philosopher' names a likely class of person but loses the stress on arguing and winning.
- How it drifted
'Philosopher' is an interpretive rendering, not a historical drift. It does steer modern readers toward academic philosophy, which is not quite the point.
- Used elsewhere in the period
The word is extremely rare. BDAG treats this verse as essentially its earliest occurrence, and Ignatius picks it up (Ephesians 18:1, 'Where is the wise? Where is the debater?'). The related verb and nouns are common in Greek for philosophical and legal argument. Dio Chrysostom (Discourse 8.9) describes sophists, the professional orators of the day, shouting and arguing at Corinth's Isthmian games.
Similar words
Where it appears
1 Corinthians · 1
-
1 Corinthians 1:20 συζητητὴς debater
Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
Here: Someone who argues things out in public, a skilled controversialist. In Corinth this would call up the travelling orators and philosophers who competed in public argument. The word occurs only here in the New Testament.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.