Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

RABBI

(Gk. rhabbí), RABBONI (rhabbouní)

A title of respect (from Heb. raḇ, “great” or “big”). By the 1st century c.e. “rabbi” was a loose designation for a teacher, meaning “my master” or “my great one.” This term appears in three of the four Gospels, typically in reference to Jesus.

In Mark only the disciples call Jesus “rabbi,” and this address typically follows a miraculous event (Mark 9:5; 11:21; 14:45; “rabboni” at 10:51). In Matthew the only person to address Jesus as “rabbi” is Judas (Matt. 25:26, 49). The remainder of the disciples choose other titles, thus suggesting the polemical natures of Judas and the remaining eleven. In a speech by Jesus, the term seems to refer to one who is a teacher of the law (Matt. 23:7-8). Luke’s gentile audience would have found little meaning in a term like “rabbi” that developed in the Jewish culture. Luke prefers Gk. epistátēs, “school-master” or a supervising official (Luke 5:5; 8:24, 45; 9:33, 49; 17:13). In the Gospel of John “rabbi” is used by both the disciples and outsiders to designate Jesus (John 1:38, 49; 3:26; 4:31; 6:25; 9:2; 11:8). When Mary Magdalene encounters the risen Christ, she exclaims “rabbouni” (John 20:16). Twice the term is glossed with didáskalos, “teacher” (John 1:38; 20:16).

In 1st-century Judaism the word maintained a loose designation, meaning “teacher.” The use of rabbi as an official term for an ordained scholar actually belongs to the period following the destruction of the temple in 70 c.e. In the rabbinic literature individuals from the predestruction era (e.g., Hillel and Shammai) are not referred to as “rabbi,” while those who are associated with the period following the destruction (e.g., Akiba) are consistently given the title “rabbi.”

W. Dennis Tucker, Jr.

Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

RABBI

Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)