ὑπηρέτης
hupēretēs
servant
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
ExploredThe Greek word ὑπηρέτης (hupēretēs) translates to "servant." As a noun, it suggests a person who provides service, often in a subordinate or assistant capacity. The 20 occurrences of hupēretēs in the Bible reveal its relatively common use across various contexts. This word appears in passages where individuals are entrusted with tasks, obligations, or responsibilities, such as in administrative, financial, or ceremonial settings. In some instances, it may imply a sense of servitude or subordination. The range of usage highlights that being a servant in ancient Greek and biblical contexts did not necessarily equate to a lowly social status but rather a designated role in serving others, authorities, or a community. The significance of hupēretēs in the Bible lies not in its inherent meaning but in how it's used in the narrative to convey relationships, responsibilities, and social dynamics. The multiple instances where the word appears help to portray the complex, multifaceted nature of human interactions, obligations, and power structures in ancient societies.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
20 total occurrences across the text
Agree with your adversary quickly, while you are with him on the way; lest perhaps the prosecutor deliver you to the judge, and the judge deliver you to the officer, and you be cast into prison.
Matthew 26:58But Peter followed him from a distance, to the court of the high priest, and entered in and sat with the officers, to see the end.
Mark 14:54Peter had followed him from a distance, until he came into the court of the high priest. He was sitting with the officers, and warming himself in the light of the fire.
Mark 14:65Some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to beat him with fists, and to tell him, “Prophesy!” The officers struck him with the palms of their hands.
Luke 1:2even as those who from the beginning were eyewitnesses and servants of the word delivered them to us,
Luke 4:20He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. The eyes of all in the synagogue were fastened on him.
John 7:32The Pharisees heard the multitude murmuring these things concerning him, and the chief priests and the Pharisees sent officers to arrest him.
John 7:45The officers therefore came to the chief priests and Pharisees, and they said to them, “Why didn’t you bring him?”
John 7:46The officers answered, “No man ever spoke like this man!”
John 18:3Judas then, having taken a detachment of soldiers and officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, came there with lanterns, torches, and weapons.
John 18:18Now the servants and the officers were standing there, having made a fire of coals, for it was cold. They were warming themselves. Peter was with them, standing and warming himself.
John 18:22When he had said this, one of the officers standing by slapped Jesus with his hand, saying, “Do you answer the high priest like that?”
John 18:36Jesus answered, “My Kingdom is not of this world. If my Kingdom were of this world, then my servants would fight, that I wouldn’t be delivered to the Jews. But now my Kingdom is not from here.”
John 19:6When therefore the chief priests and the officers saw him, they shouted, saying, “Crucify! Crucify!” Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves, and crucify him, for I find no basis for a charge against him.”
Acts 5:22But the officers who came didn’t find them in the prison. They returned and reported,
Acts 5:26Then the captain went with the officers, and brought them without violence, for they were afraid that the people might stone them.
Acts 13:5When they were at Salamis, they proclaimed God’s word in the Jewish synagogues. They also had John as their attendant.
Acts 26:16But arise, and stand on your feet, for I have appeared to you for this purpose: to appoint you a servant and a witness both of the things which you have seen, and of the things which I will reveal to you;
John 18:12So the detachment, the commanding officer, and the officers of the Jews seized Jesus and bound him,
1 Corinthians 4:1So let a man think of us as Christ’s servants, and stewards of God’s mysteries.