Prayer Tents Bible References - Prayer Tents

SECRETARY

A person skilled in the art of writing (Heb. sōpēr; Gk. grammateús). Such a person could serve in various capacities in the ancient world, including a royal court record keeper who drafted official correspondence and decrees (2 Kgs. 12:10), military secretary (25:19), or the personal scribe of a prophet (Jer. 36:4). As one who was literate and familiar with royal communications, a secretary naturally might provide wise counsel (1 Chr. 27:32).

In the NT the term appears only in the related sense of an important civic official (Acts 19:35). However, Paul regularly employed a secretary (amanuensis) in writing letters, a practice common in antiquity (cf. Cicero Ep. ad Fam. 5.20.1; Plutarch Vit. Caes. 17.3; Pliny Ep. 9.36). The only secretary known by name is Tertius, secretary of Paul’s letter to Rome (Rom. 16:22). Elsewhere Paul tells the reader specifically at what point he is adding his conclusion in his own hand (Gal. 6:11; Phlm. 19; ; cf. Col. 4:18; 2 Thess. 3:17; 1 Pet. 5:12).

Gerald L. Stevens






Eerdmans Dictionary of the Bible (2000)

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