Greek word · G4948
Σύρος
syros
Syrian
In Greek usage, a person from Syria. In the Greek Old Testament it is the standard translation of Hebrew 'Arammi', 'Aramean'. That meant a person from the Aramaic-speaking kingdoms north-east of Israel, above all Aram-Damascus.
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
- Range of meaning
In Greek usage, a person from Syria. In the Greek Old Testament it is the standard translation of Hebrew 'Arammi', 'Aramean'. That meant a person from the Aramaic-speaking kingdoms north-east of Israel, above all Aram-Damascus.
- Against the English
Every major English version says 'Syrian'. That is accurate as a Greek word, but modern readers hear the present-day Arab nation of Syria.
- How it drifted
The Greek translators rendered 'Aram' as 'Syria', and the English versions followed. In the 9th century BC the people meant were Arameans, not Arabs, and not the Roman province of Jesus' day.
- Used elsewhere in the period
2 Kings 5:1: Naaman, 'commander of the army of the king of Aram... by him the LORD had given victory to Aram'. The story opens with Aramean raiders who had carried off an Israelite girl as a slave (5:2). Aram-Damascus fought Israel repeatedly under the Omride and Jehu kings (1 Kings 20–22; 2 Kings 6–10), and the Tel Dan inscription is a boast by an Aramean king over Israel.
Where it appears
Luke · 1
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Luke 4:27 Σύρος.¶ Syrian.
And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet. Yet not one of them was cleansed—only Naaman the Syrian.”
Here: The Greek Old Testament's word for an Aramean, a man of Aram-Damascus, Israel's frequent enemy. It is the last word of the sentence, and it is the one that stings.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.