συντάσσω

From the study of 1 Esdras 2:16

Range of meaning

Syntassō: to arrange together, draw up in ranks (military), to assign or appoint. In the middle voice, to be ranked with or join with. As a participle: colleagues, fellow officers, associates.

Against the English

Brenton and KJV: 'that were in commission with them', meaning fellow office-holders. WEB: 'their other associates'. Both are fair. 'In commission' keeps the official sense better.

Used elsewhere in the period

It stands for Aramaic kenawathon, 'their colleagues', in Ezra 4:7, 9, 17. Elsewhere in the Septuagint syntassō commonly means 'command/appoint' (e.g. Exodus 36:1).

From the study of Matthew 21:6

Range of meaning

Literally "to put in order together, to arrange." From that came "to give orders, to direct, to instruct." It was used of a superior setting out how something is to be done. BDAG gives "to give detailed instructions as to what must be done, order, direct, prescribe."

Against the English

"Directed" (BSB) and "instructed" (NIV, NASB) bring out the detailed, arranged nature of the orders. "Commanded" (KJV, WEB, YLT) brings out their authority. Both are fair. Neither English word carries the echo of the Greek Old Testament that a first-century Greek-speaking Jewish reader would have caught.

Used elsewhere in the period

In the Septuagint (the Greek translation of the Hebrew Scriptures used in Jesus' day) syntassō translates Hebrew צִוָּה (tsivvah, "command") again and again in the refrain "as the LORD commanded Moses" (e.g. Exodus 39–40; Numbers). It is especially common in the closing chapters of Exodus, where the tabernacle is built point by point as God directed. In the New Testament it appears only in Matthew: here, in 26:19 ("the disciples did as Jesus had directed them," preparing the Passover), and in 27:10 ("as the Lord directed me," in a prophetic quotation).

From the study of Matthew 26:19

Range of meaning

Literally "to put in order together, to arrange." From that came "to give orders, to direct, to instruct" someone about a task that needs organising. In ordinary Greek it can mean arranging troops, putting a document together, or telling someone what to do (BDAG: "to give a detailed order, direct, instruct").

Against the English

BSB, NIV, ESV and NASB have "directed." WEB has "commanded." KJV and YLT have "appointed," which is older English for "ordered, laid down, arranged." Today "appoint" usually means giving someone a post or setting a meeting time, so a modern KJV reader can miss that Jesus was giving instructions.

How it drifted

Only the KJV/YLT "appointed" has drifted. In 1611, "as he had appointed them" meant "as he had arranged and ordered for them." The Latin Vulgate's "constituit" lay behind this wording. The modern narrower sense of "appoint" came later.

Used elsewhere in the period

Matthew is the only Gospel writer to use the word. It appears three times: 21:6, where the disciples fetch the donkey "just as Jesus had directed them"; here; and 27:10, "as the Lord directed me," in a quotation shaped by the Greek Old Testament. That Greek translation, the Septuagint, uses the word often for God's commands, especially in the repeated line in Exodus and Numbers that Israel or Moses did "as the LORD commanded (synetaxen) Moses."