συκοφαντέω

From the study of Luke 19:8

Range of meaning

In classical Athens a sykophantēs was a professional informer who brought or threatened malicious prosecutions to extort money. By Hellenistic and Roman times the verb broadly meant to harass, intimidate or extort, especially by false accusation or abuse of an official position. BDAG gives 'harass, oppress, blackmail' and 'extort, squeeze out (money).'

Against the English

BSB/NIV 'cheated' and ESV/NASB 'defrauded' sound like sharp dealing or dishonest bookkeeping. KJV/YLT 'by false accusation' keeps the word's root picture. WEB 'wrongfully exacted' best captures the tax setting: demanding money one has no right to.

How it drifted

The English word 'sycophant' comes from this Greek word, but by the 1500s it had shifted to mean 'flatterer, toady.' That meaning has nothing to do with its sense here. 'Cheated' is not wrong, but it shrinks extortion by an official, backed by the threat of force or prosecution, into ordinary dishonesty.

Used elsewhere in the period

Luke's only other use is Luke 3:14, where John the Baptist tells soldiers: 'Do not shake anyone down, and do not extort by false charges' (mēde sykophantēsēte). There it sits right after his word to tax collectors (3:12–13). In the Greek Old Testament (LXX) it describes oppressing the poor: Prov 14:31 ('the one who oppresses the poor provokes his Maker'), 22:16, 28:3; Ps 119(118):122; Eccl 4:1; Job 35:9. In the papyri (documents from Roman Egypt) it is used of officials who extorted money from the people they administered.

From the study of Luke 3:14

Range of meaning

In classical Athens a sykophantēs was a malicious informer, someone who brought or threatened prosecutions in order to blackmail people or profit from them. The verb came to mean "accuse falsely for gain", "blackmail", "defraud" and more generally "oppress, extort". The traditional explanation that it means "fig-revealer" (someone who informed on illegal fig exports) is an ancient guess and remains uncertain.

Against the English

Most versions say "accuse falsely", which is right but can sound like plain lying or slander. ESV and BSB link it to money ("by false accusation"), which is closer, because the word normally carries the idea of profit. The English word "sycophant" now means a flatterer, a separate later development that has nothing to do with this verse.

How it drifted

English "sycophant" moved from "informer" to "servile flatterer" in the 16th and 17th centuries. No translation uses it here, so it does not mislead readers of this verse, but it should not be read back into it.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint it often translates Hebrew ʿāshaq, "oppress, exploit". Examples: Lev 19:11 (do not defraud your neighbour), Ps 72(71):4 (the king will crush the oppressor), Prov 14:31 and 22:16 (one who oppresses the poor), Eccl 4:1. In the New Testament, Zacchaeus promises fourfold repayment to anyone he has "defrauded" (esykophantēsa) (Luke 19:8).