Dictionaries :: Office

International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia

Office:

of'-is: In the Old Testament the word is often used in periphrastic renderings, e.g. "minister.... in the priest's office," literally, act as priest (Ex 28:1, etc.); "do the office of a midwife," literally, cause or help to give birth (Ex 1:16). But the word is also used as a rendering of different Hebrew words, e.g. ken, "pedestal," "place" (Ge 40:13, the King James Version "place"; Ge 41:13); ‘abhodhah, "labor," "work" (1Ch 6:32); pequddah, "oversight," "charge" (Ps 109:8); ma‘amadh, literally, "standing," e.g. waiting at table (1Ch 23:28); mishmar, "charge," observance or service of the temple (Ne 13:14 the King James Version).

Similarly in the New Testament the word is used in periphrastic renderings, e.g. priest's office (Lu 1:8,9); office of a deacon (diakonia, 1Ti 3:10); office of a bishop (episkope, 1Ti 3:1). the Revised Version (British and American) uses other renderings, e.g. "ministry" (Ro 11:13); "serve as deacons" (1Ti 3:10). In Ac 1:20, the Revised Version (British and American) has "office" (margin "overseership") for the King James Version "bishoprick."

Written by Thomas Lewis

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

Office:

"a doing, deed" (akin to prasso, "to do or practice"), also denotes "an acting" or "function," translated "office" in Rom 12:4.
See DEED.

Office:

or hieratia, denotes "a priest's office," Luk 1:9; Hbr 7:5, RV, "priest's office" (AV "office of the priesthood").

Office:

"to officiate as a priest" (akin to A, No. 2), is translated "he executed the priest's office" in Luk 1:8. The word is frequent in inscriptions.

Notes:

(1) In Rom 11:13, AV, diakonia, "a ministry," is translated "office" (RV, "ministry").

(2) In Act 1:20, RV, episkope, "an overseership," is translated "office" (marg., "overseership;" AV, "bishopric").

(3) In 1Ti 3:1, the word "office," in the phrase "the office of a bishop," has nothing to represent it in the original; the RV marg. gives "overseer" for "bishop," and the phrase lit. is "overseership;" so in 1Ti 3:10, 13, where the AV has "use (and 'used') the office of a deacon," the RV rightly omits "office," and translates the verb diakoneo, "to serve," "let them serve as deacons" and "(they that) have served (well) as deacons."