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NASB | Romans 16:1 I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea; |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Romans 16:1 Now I introduce and commend to you our sister Phoebe, a deaconess (servant) of the church at Cenchrea, |
Subject: Why "servant"? |
Bible Note: Greetings Rodent Tamer! The Greek word for 'servant' in Romans 16:1 is actually 'diakonos' (Strong's #1249) which appears in 31 different places in the Greek New Testament. However, it is rendered in three different ways in the King James Version of the Bible alone: 'minister' in 20 of the 31 passages, 'servant' in 8 passages, and as 'deacon' in 3 passages. The actual meaning of the word 'diakonos' is "1) one who executes the commands of another, esp. of a master, a servant, attendant, minister, a) the servant of a king, b) a deacon, one who, by virtue of the office assigned to him by the church, cares for the poor and has charge of and distributes the money collected for their use, c) a waiter, one who serves food and drink." (1) Just a word before we begin this study - I am choosing to use the King James Verson of the Bible for this study, since this particular translation is unique in that it can truthfully make the claim (simply because of its antiquity) of complete objectivity in regards to gender inclusive language and gender accuracy in Bible translation, easily being completely 'nonconformist' in all respects in regards to gender neutral or inclusive language throughout the Biblical text, due mostly to its longevity, as the last date of revision (1769) was not a time when gender inclusiveness was something not even imagined to be an issue in regards to Biblical translation. So, with that objectivity in mind, I will proceed with the following.. The KJV renderings for 'minister' can be found in: Matt. 20:26, Mark 10:43, Romans 13:4 (twice), 15:8; 1 Cor. 3:5; 2 Cor. 3:6, 6:4, 11:15 (twice), 11:23; Galatians 2:17; Ephesians 3:7, 6:21; Colossians 1:7,23,25, 4:7; 1 Thessalonians 3:2; 1 Timothy 4:6 (20 different verses) The KJV renderings for 'servant' can be found in: Matt. 22:13, 23:11; Mark 9:35; John 2:5,9, 12:26; Romans 16:1,27 (8 different verses) The KJV renderings for 'deacon' can be found in: Philippians 1:1; 1 Timothy 3:8,12 (3 different verses) As we examine the above 31 different passages and the different English renderings for the Greek word 'diakonos,' we see that each of the 3 different KJV renderings could possibly 'fit' in different places (even different from where the KJV translators) and make perfect sense in English within the context.. For instance, in Matt. 20:26, Jesus is saying "whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister".. The NASB, NIV, Amplified, NRSV, ESV, and NKJV all have "servant" in Matt. 20:26, and I would agree with the more recent translations that "servant" would be a better rendering, at least in this verse. However, in 2 Cor. 3:6, the KJV and NIV both have "minister" in this verse, and I favor that rendering over 'servant' in the context of 2 Cor. 3:6. In three passages, the KJV actually uses the word "deacon" for 'diakonos': Phil 1:1, 1 Tim 3:8 and 12. In Phil 1:1, 'diakonos' is used alongside the Greek word 'episkopos', which means "overseer" or bishop, and a distinction must be made, resulting in the rendering of "deacon." In 1 Tim 3:8 and 12, the context demands that the rendering of 'diakonos' be as specific as possible (as 'deacon'), since the context clearly tells us that Paul is describing a single office and its requirements in the church, himself being very specific. So, all in all, the translators have done a very good job in rendering 'diakonos' according to the context in which the word was used. Now, we come back to Romans 16:1 and 16:27, which both describe Phoebe, a Christian woman, as a 'servant' of the church. The Amplified Bible and the NRSV both use the word "deacon" to describe Phoebe, while the vast majority of other translations used "servant" instead. As I said before in my post in 2001, the translators rendered this word 'diakonos' in Rom. 16:1 based upon their "approach" to this passage in its context. It is not so much that by either 'playing up' this rendering as "deacon" or by 'playing down' this rendering as "servant" makes any specific declaration or should be considered as such, but simply should be seen in the light of the context of the passage in which the Greek word is used, and is probably best taken within that context. As for the wider, more general debate on whether or not the Bible states that women should hold a position of ministry or deaconship within the church, these verses, Romans 16:1 and 16:27, really do not objectively lend any such support to either side of that position, when considered within the context of Romans chapter 16. And there is no 'hidden agenda' that could possibly be blamed for how the translators wrote this verse, as the longevity of the venerable KJV would so dismiss such an argument. Makarios (1) Blue Letter Bible. "Dictionary and Word Search for 'diakonos (Strong's 1249)' " . Blue Letter Bible. 1996-2002. 11 Dec 2006. http://www.blueletterbible.org/ |