Greek word · G5554
χρυσοδακτύλιος
chrysodaktylios
gold-ringed
'Gold-fingered': wearing a gold ring or gold rings. It is a compound of chrysos (gold) and daktylios (ring), which comes from daktylos (finger).
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
'Gold-fingered': wearing a gold ring or gold rings. It is a compound of chrysos (gold) and daktylios (ring), which comes from daktylos (finger).
- Against the English
Almost every version says 'with a gold ring' or 'wearing a gold ring.' NLT generalizes to 'expensive jewelry.' The singular 'a ring' is fair, but the Greek could just as well picture a hand covered in rings.
- Used elsewhere in the period
This is the earliest known use of the word. It is not found in earlier Greek literature, and James may have coined it, which would make it a vivid, slightly mocking label. In Rome the gold ring (anulus aureus) was the badge of the equestrian order, the wealthy class just below senators. Pliny the Elder discusses at length who had the right to wear one (Natural History 33.4–8). Satirists mocked people who showed off rings: Martial jokes about a man who wore six rings on each finger (Epigrams 11.59).
Similar words
Where it appears
James · 1
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James 2:2 χρυσοδακτύλιος with a gold ring
Suppose a man comes into your meeting wearing a gold ring and fine clothes, and a poor man in shabby clothes also comes in.
Here: A compound word, literally 'gold-fingered.' It may mean one gold ring or a hand covered in rings. Either way it marks wealth and, in the Roman world, possibly official rank.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.