Greek word · G831
αὐθεντέω
authenteō
to domineer
A rare verb, used only here in the New Testament and absent from the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint). The related noun authentēs had a wider range in classical Greek: 'murderer' (especially of kin), 'perpetrator', and later 'master, one with full authority'. Lexicons differ.
Appears once in the Greek New Testament. ·
What it means
αὐθεντέω, -ῶ
(αὐθέντης, i.e. αὐτο- ἕντης, one who acts on his own authority, in π., an autocrat; cf. Wisdom of Solomon 12:6; cf. -ία, 3Ma.2:29; -ικος is frequently in vernacular, MM, see word)
to govern, exercise authority over: 1 Timothy 2:12.†
(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 1 Timothy 2:12
- Range of meaning
A rare verb, used only here in the New Testament and absent from the Greek Old Testament (the Septuagint). Few uses survive from before or near Paul's time, and their meaning is disputed:
- 'To have one's way / exercise authority / take a firm stand': a papyrus letter (BGU 1208, 27/26 BC)
- 'Dominate, have power over': astrology (Ptolemy, Tetrabiblos 3.13, 2nd century AD), where one planet 'dominates' others
- A damaged passage in Philodemus (1st century BC) whose reading and sense are uncertain
After Paul, church writers often use it for exercising authority, sometimes rightful authority. The related noun authentēs had a wider range in classical Greek: 'murderer' (especially of kin), 'perpetrator', and later 'master, one with full authority'.
Lexicons differ. BDAG gives 'to assume a stance of independent authority, give orders to, dictate to'. Louw–Nida (37.21) gives 'to control in a domineering manner'. LSJ includes 'to have full power over'.
- Against the English
BSB/ESV/WEB 'exercise authority over' and CSB/NRSV 'have authority over' choose a neutral sense. KJV 'usurp authority' and NIV 2011 'assume authority' lean toward authority taken on one's own initiative. The Vulgate's dominari in virum ('to lord it over a man') and YLT's 'to rule a husband' lean toward ruling or dominating.
- How it drifted
No single English word captures it, because the Greek sense is itself uncertain. Every translation decides the question for the reader, and each English option either softens or sharpens the word. 'Usurp' in 1611 could mean 'take upon oneself', but today it sounds like seizing power illegitimately.
- Used elsewhere in the period
BGU 1208 (Tryphon's letter, 27/26 BC): kamou authentēkotos pros auton. It has been rendered 'I exercised authority over him', 'I had my way with him' and 'I took a firm stand with him' (about settling a fare with a boatman). Wisdom 12:6 (Septuagint) uses the noun authentas of parents who kill their helpless children, the 'murderer' sense of the noun. Major studies include G. W. Knight III (NTS 1984), L. Wilshire (NTS 1988, 1993), H. S. Baldwin (in Women in the Church), L. Belleville (Discovering Biblical Equality), A. Wolters (JGRChJ 2000), P. B. Payne (Man and Woman, One in Christ, 2009) and C. L. Westfall (Paul and Gender, 2016).
The 'murder' sense belongs to the noun in older literature and is not a credible meaning for the verb here. C. and R. Kroeger's proposal ('to proclaim oneself author of man') has found little support among lexicographers.
Where it appears
1 Timothy · 1
-
1 Timothy 2:12 αὐθεντεῖν to use authority over
I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; she is to remain quiet.
Here: This word appears nowhere else in the New Testament or the Greek Old Testament, and it is rare in Greek before Paul. Proposed senses run from neutral ('exercise authority over') to negative ('domineer', 'assume authority on one's own'). This is the most debated word in the verse.
Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.