Greek word · G5079

τεχνίτης

technitēs

craftsman

Craftsman, artisan, skilled worker, designer: someone with technē (craft, expertise). It is used for silversmiths, builders and other trades.

Appears 4 times in 4 verses of the Greek New Testament. · Updated November 01, 2026

What it means

τεχνίτης, -ου, ὁ

(τέχνη), [in LXX for חָרָשׁ, etc. ;]

a craftsman, artificer: Acts 19:24, 38, Revelation 18:22; of God (Wisdom of Solomon 13:1), Hebrews 11:10.†

SYN.: δημιουργός, which see, and cf. Tr., Syn., § cv (AS)

From G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

Range of meaning: Craftsman, artisan, skilled worker, designer: someone with technē (craft, expertise). It is used for silversmiths, builders and other trades.
Against the English: KJV 'builder' and WEB 'builder' put it first in English, while BSB/NIV/NASB 'architect' and ESV 'designer' bring out the planning side. YLT's 'artificer' is the most literal. 'Architect' is a reasonable sense, though the Greek word for architect proper is architektōn.
Used elsewhere in the period: Acts 19:24, 38 (Demetrius and the silversmith craftsmen) and Rev 18:22. In the Greek Old Testament, Wisdom 13:1 rebukes those who studied creation but 'did not recognize the craftsman (technitēn)'. Wisdom 7:21 and 8:6 call divine Wisdom the craftswoman (technitis) of all things. Philo often calls God the technitēs of the world.

Range of meaning: "Craftsman, artisan, skilled worker"; also used of a builder or designer (God as "architect" of the city, Heb 11:10).
Against the English: "Craftsmen" (BSB, KJV, WEB), "artificers" (YLT). Accurate.
Used elsewhere in the period: Inscriptions from Ephesus and other cities of Asia record trade associations of silversmiths and other workers. Luke distinguishes the τεχνῖται (master craftsmen) from the broader "workers in similar trades" in 19:25.

Range of meaning: Technē is skill, art or trade (the root of English 'technique'). A technitēs is someone who has a skill: an artisan, craftsman, master-builder or designer.
Against the English: 'Craftsman' (KJV, BSB, WEB, ESV, NASB) keeps the skilled sense and, with 'of any craft', the Greek wordplay. NIV's 'worker of any trade' and NLT's 'craftsmen and no trades' are fine but blur the play on words.
Used elsewhere in the period: Acts 19:24, 38 uses the word for the silversmiths of Ephesus whose shrines of Artemis fed a whole industry. Hebrews 11:10 calls God the technitēs of the city with foundations. The Greek Old Testament often uses it for those who make idols (Deut 27:15; Jer 10:9; Wisdom 13:1). Inscriptions from Asia Minor, including Thyatira, record trade guilds of dyers, wool-workers, potters, bronze-smiths and others (Hemer).

Acts · 2

Acts 19:24 τεχνίταις craftsmen

It began with a silversmith named Demetrius who made silver shrines of Artemis, bringing much business to the craftsmen.
Acts 19:38 τεχνῖται craftsmen

So if Demetrius and his fellow craftsmen have a complaint against anyone, the courts are open and proconsuls are available. Let them bring charges against one another there.

Here: The skilled workers of the silver trade (19:24–25), probably organized as a trade guild. The clerk names the people with the economic motive, quietly showing where the trouble really started.

Hebrews · 1

Hebrews 11:10 τεχνίτης [the] architect

For he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God.

Here: A skilled craftsman, someone who has the expertise (technē) to design and shape a work. Here it presents God as the one whose skill planned the city.

Revelation · 1

Revelation 18:22 τεχνίτης craftsmen

And the sound of harpists and musicians, of flute players and trumpeters, will never ring out in you again. Nor will any craftsmen of any trade be found in you again, nor the sound of a millstone be heard in you again.

Here: A skilled maker: smith, potter, weaver, builder. These are the people whose guilds ran a Roman city's economy.

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