Greek word · G5570

ψευδαπόστολος

pseudapostolos

false apostle

"False apostle": someone who claims to be a commissioned envoy of Christ but is not. The "false" (pseud-) prefix can mean a pretender to the title, or someone whose message and conduct betray the title. Here both are in view: they claim the role, and Paul says their whole operation is deception.

Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·

What it means

ψευδ-απόστολος, -ου, ὁ

a false apostle: 2 Corinthians 11:13.†

(AS)

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

In depth

From the study of 2 Corinthians 11:13

Range of meaning

"False apostle": someone who claims to be a commissioned envoy of Christ but is not. The "false" (pseud-) prefix can mean a pretender to the title, or someone whose message and conduct betray the title. Here both are in view: they claim the role, and Paul says their whole operation is deception.

Against the English

All major English versions say "false apostles." That is accurate. The only risk is hearing "apostle" as a narrow office (see the study on apostolos), which makes the charge sound like "they claimed to be one of the Twelve."

Used elsewhere in the period

No earlier use survives. It is formed like ψευδοπροφήτης, "false prophet" (LXX Jer 6:13; Zech 13:2; Matt 7:15), and Paul's own ψευδάδελφος, "false brother" (2 Cor 11:26; Gal 2:4). Similar concerns show up later: Rev 2:2 praises Ephesus for testing "those who call themselves apostles and are not"; Didache 11 says a travelling apostle who stays three days or asks for money is a "false prophet," which is close to the money issue in Corinth.

Where it appears

2 Corinthians · 1

  1. 2 Corinthians 11:13 ψευδαπόστολοι, false apostles,

    For such men are false apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ.

    Here: The verb "are" is understood, so this is the verdict: they are counterfeit envoys. The word appears here for the first time in surviving Greek and may be Paul's own coinage, built like "false prophet" and "false brother."

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