|
présbys [old,
elder], presbýteros [older, elder],
presbýtēs [old man], sympresbýteros
[fellow elder], presbytérion [council of elders],
presbeúō [to be older, be an ambassador]
présbys, presbýteros,
sympresbýteros (→ epískopos),
presbytérion.
A. Meaning and Occurrence.
1. presbýteros, comparative
of présbys, means a. “older,” or simply “old,” with no
negative connotations but rather a sense of venerability. It
then comes into use b. for presidents, members of various
guilds, committees etc., village officials, executive committees
of priests, and senior groups of different types. c. In the
Jewish and Christian sphere it is often hard to distinguish
between the designation of age and the title of office. Age is
clearly the point in Gen. 18:11-12 and Jn. 8:9; Acts 2:17.
Elsewhere the presbýteroi are the bearers of a tradition
(Mt. 15:2), and a title is at issue when the reference is to
members of governing bodies, as in the nation, the synagogue, or
the church.
2. tó presbytérion, which
occurs in pre-Christian works only in Sus. 50 for the “dignity
of elders,” occurs in the
NT for a. “the Sanhedrin,” and b. “the council of elders” in the
church (cf. Lk.
22:66; 1 Tim. 4:14). Common in Ignatius, the term signifies
for him the council of presbyters, which parallels that of the
apostles (Philadelphians 5.1) and functions as the
bishop’s council (8.1).
3. The sympresbýteros is
the “fellow elder” (1 Pet. 5:5); it becomes a common collegial
form used by bishops in addressing presbyters.
B. Elders in Israel and Judah.
1. Elders are presupposed in all
strata of the OT. As the
heads of large families or clans they are leaders of large units
of the people. Yet they lose their original tribal relationship
and appear in the OT as representatives of the whole nation
along with and under figures like Moses and Joshua. At God’s
command Moses assembles them to declare to them the approaching
exodus and to go with them to Pharaoh (Ex. 3:16, 18). It is they
who supervise the Passover and receive God’s revelation at Sinai
(Ex. 12:21; 19:7). Some of them witness the miracle at Horeb,
and 70 see God’s glory at the making of the covenant (Ex. 17:5;
24:1). The elders lead the attack on Ai and are specially
summoned to the council at Shechem (Josh. 8:10; 24:1). A special
group is appointed by God to share the burdens of Moses (Num.
11:16-17, 24-25) and is validated by receiving a portion of
Moses’ spirit. The rabbis later lay great stress on Ex. 24 and
Num. 11. The latter passages form a model for the Sanhedrin and
offer support for rabbinic ordination.
2. In the age of the judges and
the monarchy elders are leading members of the municipalities
who make decisions in political, military, and judicial matters.
In addition, elders from the districts or tribes meet for common
decisions (1 Sam. 30:26 etc.). It is the elders who bring up the
ark in 1 Sam. 4:3, who demand a king in 8:4, whom David wins
over in 2 Sam. 5:3, who defect in 17:4, who represent the people
in 1 Kgs. 8:1. Their power declines with the rise of a royal
bureaucracy, but the king has to turn to them in critical
situations or when important decisions must be taken (1 Kgs.
20:7-8; 21:8, 11).
3. Deuteronomy accords the elders
specific powers, although only in the local sphere and in
company with judges and minor officials. For examples of their
functions, see Dt. 19:11ff.; 21:18ff.; 22:13ff. Whereas judges
and officials have to be newly appointed (16:18), the elders are
local colleges with limited administrative powers. They are much
to the fore in special assemblies (29:9), although not in this
case as an official corporation.
4. During and after the exile the
elders still play a role both at home and abroad. Local elders
plead for Jeremiah in Jer. 26:17, but representative elders in
Jerusalem engage in idolatry (Ezek. 8:1). In exile the elders
emerge once again as the main leaders in limited
self-government. Families are now more important and an
aristocracy develops. The elders owe their authority to the
special position of the families to which they belong. Thus new
terms, e.g., “heads
of families,” begin to appear. Governors like Nehemiah have
considerable difficulty with this new nobility. City elders
still play a role (Ezr. 10:7ff.) but these are not identical
with the group that Ezra selects in 10:16. As suggested by Neh.
5:17, the trend is toward the establishment of a kind of senate
made up of representatives of the leading families in Jerusalem
and acting as a centralized college.
5. The beginnings of the council
of elders, the Sanhedrin, go back to the Persian period. At
first all the members, then only lay members, are called elders;
the two other groups are the scribes and the priests, the
dominant group. After the fall of Jerusalem the Sanhedrin of
Jamnia, composed of 72 elders, takes control, but with no
political and only limited judicial power. It consists
exclusively of scribes.
6. Elder is a term that is also
used for leading older scholars, who may often be members of the
Sanhedrin. This use prepares the way for the designation of
ordained scholars as elders. It is also reflected in the
tradition that 72 elders,
i.e., those of good repute and scholarship, translated the OT
into Greek.
7. In later Judaism presbýteroi
is also a term for local authorities and for members of
synagogue councils, although it is less common in this sense
among dispersion Jews. The use for older people and for notable
citizens, e.g., heads of leading families, continues.
C. The Tradition of the Elders
in Jesus‘ Teaching. In the debate of Mk. 7:1ff. Jesus
contrasts the commandments of God with the tradition of the
elders (7:8). Jesus is not here setting the law as such against
its extension, i.e., the Sadducees against the Pharisees. At
times he can both amend the law (Mk. 10:1ff.) and use tradition
(Mt. 12:11). Nevertheless, the command of God takes precedence
over tradition, for, as Mt. 23 shows, tradition often takes the
form of a hypocritical exposition that fails to subordinate
ceremonial matters to the law of love.
D. Presbyters in the Primitive
Christian Community.
1. The First Jerusalem Church.
Acts 11:30 refers to elders in the first Jerusalem church. We
also read of these elders in Acts 15:2ff. and 21:18; in 15:2ff.
they are mentioned along with the apostles. If in 11:30 and
21:18 they obviously represent the congregation like a synagogue
council, in 15:2ff. they function (with the apostles) more after
the manner of the Sanhedrin. The formation of a body of elders
probably takes place as the apostles leave Jerusalem and James
assumes the leadership. Its functions are patterned partly after
the synagogue council and partly after the Sanhedrin.
2. The Pauline Churches.
Paul for the most part refers to leaders of the churches in
terms of function rather than office. He enjoins obedience to
them but more because of their ministry than their status. The
constitutional principle is that of a plurality of gifts. This
does not rule out, however, the existence of bishops and deacons
(Phil. 1:1).
3. Presbyteral Development.
a. James. Jms. 5:14 says that the
elders should anoint and pray for the sick. These elders are not
just charismatic older believers but officebearers, although
obviously with a gift of healing intercession. Since mutual
confession and intercession are enjoined in 5:16, the passage
does not support the view that these elders are confessors or
liturgical leaders.
b. Acts. In Acts.14:23 Paul and
Barnabas ordain elders in the Gentile churches. The address of
20:18ff. shows that they are to be overseers and pastors
administering the apostles’ legacy, following their example, and
protecting the people against error. The designation of the
elders as bishops in 20:28 (the only use in Acts) is of special
interest.
c. 1 Peter. In 1 Pet. 5:1ff. the
writer addresses the elders and younger believers as though
these were age groups, but obviously the elders are a college of
officebearers with a pastoral function. The warnings of
vv. 2-3 show that they
have charge of the funds and exercise authority. Yet their
powers are not autonomous, for they are responsible to Christ,
who alone is called epískopos (2:25). The dignity of
the office may be seen in Peter’s self-designation as
sympresbýteros, for if this modestly sets him alongside
them, it also sets them alongside him.
d. The Pastorals. In 1 Tim. 5:1
age is obviously denoted by presbýteros, but elsewhere an
office is at issue. The presbytérion is a college (1 Tim.
4:14). Titus is to ordain presbýteroi (1:5), and
presbýteroi are to be rewarded if they rule well (1 Tim.
5:17) and protected against frivolous charges (5:19). Preaching
and teaching are a special function of at least some of the
elders (5:17). The bishops and presbyters seem to be much the
same (cf. Tit. 1:5, 7ff.). Yet the bishop is always in the
singular and the presbyters are always plural (even in Tit.
1:5ff.). Already, then, there may be a tendency for a leading
presbyter to take over administrative functions within the
presbyteral college—the probable starting point for the later
development of the monarchical bishop.
4. Revelation. In Rev. 4:4;
5:6ff., etc. 24 elders surround God’s throne. The fact that they
sit on thrones (4:4) and are adorned with white robes and crowns
(4:4) suggests that they are a heavenly council, yet they have
no judicial office but simply discharge a function of worship
(4:10; 5:8ff.). Their divine service in heaven accompanies the
work of God on earth. Differentiated both from transfigured
saints (14:1ff.) and from the angels that surround the throne
(5:11), they seem to be closer to the divine throne, and one of
them speaks to the divine (5:5; 7:13) and is addressed by him as
kýrios. Parallels may be seen in 1 Kgs. 22:19; Ps. 89:7;
Dan. 7:9-10; Is. 24:23. The number (24) may be influenced by
nonbiblical sources (Babylonia and Persia), but one may also
think of the 24 classes of priests and Levites in 1 Chr. 24:5
(cf. 25:1). It is unlikely that the picture of a chorus of 24
heavenly presbyters has any bearing on the constitution of the
churches of Revelation, in which the prophetic and spiritual
aspects are still prominent.
5. 2 and 3 John. In 3 John
the author, who calls himself “the elder” (2 Jn. 1; 3 Jn. 1), is
clearly in conflict with an opponent who contests the authority
he has previously enjoyed, and who seems to be acting as a
monarchical bishop (vv. 9-10). Here the presbyter cannot simply
be an older man, nor is he a local officebearer, but he probably
describes himself as elder because of his special position as a
bearer of the apostolic tradition.
E. The Postapostolic Period and
the Early Church.
1. Clement. 1 Clement is
close to 1 Peter. It defends elders who for some unspecified
reason have been violently deposed by the church at Corinth. The
presbyters here are to be honored as older people are (1.3);
they constitute a patriarchal college. Within this college are
leaders who are called epískopoi (44.1.6). The order is
divinely instituted, deriving from God by way of Christ and the
apostles. It has a cultic ministry, i.e., to present the
church’s offerings (44.4). The whole ordering of the
congregation may thus be compared to that of Israel in the OT
(40ff.), and this guarantees the inviolability of the
presbyteral office. The deposed elders should be reinstated
(57.1).
2. Hermas. While this work
allows for general prophesying (Visions 3.8.11), it
mentions a college of presbyters (including bishops and deacons)
with pastoral functions and a high dignity based on their
apostolic associations (cf. Visions 2.4.2-3; 3.5.1;
3.9.7; Similitudes 9.31.5-6). True prophets are marked by
humility (Mandates 11.8); no conflict arises between them
and the presbyters (cf. Visions 2.4.3).
3. Ignatius. In Ignatius
there is a single bishop and the elders function as his council
(Philadelphians 8.1). The church must obey them as a
spiritual order (Ephesians 2.2) but only within a
hierarchy culminating in the bishop. The church’s unity reflects
the divine hierarchy of God, Christ, and the apostles (cf.
Smyrneans 8.1).
4. Polycarp. The pattern
for which Ignatius contends is obviously not the prevailing
norm, for in his letter to the Philippians Polycarp refers only
to deacons and presbyters (5.2-3). For Polycarp the bishops and
elders are virtually the same, as his initial greeting bears
witness (“Polycarp and the presbyters with him”). The functions
of presbyters include financial administration (11.1-2),
discipline, pastoral care, and preaching. If there is any
tendency toward the emergence of a single bishop, this is taking
place within a presbyterian order.
5. Papias, Irenaeus, Clement of
Alexandria, and Origen.
a. Papias. In Papias the term
presbyters is used for reliable and revered teachers of the
authentic tradition. In his own work he wants to collect and
present what he has learned from them. They are not the apostles
but their immediate pupils, who are itinerants rather than
officebearers in specific churches.
b. Irenaeus. Familiar with the
work of Papias, Irenaeus uses presbýteroi in a similar
sense and states clearly that they are disciples of the apostles
(Against Heresies 5.5.1). Polycarp is one of them; a
disciple of John, he taught the young Irenaeus. These elders
sponsor both the acts and sayings of Jesus and the true
exposition of Scripture. As distinct from false presbyters, they
are in a valid historical and doctrinal succession from the
apostles. An equation of these presbyters with the bishops is
thus made on apologetic grounds. This is possible because of the
clericalizing of what had at first been a freer teaching office.
c. Clement of Alexandria. In
Clement the teaching office of the presbyters retains its freer
form. The elders here are teachers of an earlier generation who
have transmitted the early records and authentic biblical
exposition either orally or in writing. They do not have to be
pupils of the apostles nor to hold congregational office, which
is of no great importance for Clement. An analogy may be seen to
the rabbinic teaching succession.
d. Origen. Like Clement, Origen
appeals to earlier teachers, but he believes that such teachers
should be ordained. He himself seeks ordination and finally
achieves it in Caesarea.
6. The Syrian Didascalia and
Hippolytan Church Order. In the first of these documents the
bishop holds a position of primacy with administrative and
sacramental functions, and the presbyters share in this ministry
but as the bishop’s delegates. In the second document, too, the
clergy are graded, the bishop having the right of ordination,
but the presbyters, participating in the Spirit, also having
authority to baptize and assist at the eucharist.
presbeúō.
1. This word means “to be older or
eldest,” “to occupy first place” (transitive “to honor”), then
“to act as emissary,” e.g., in transmitting messages or in
negotiations (cf. envoys, imperial legates, business agents). A
transferred sense is “to represent.”
2. The idea of an envoy occurs in
the religious sphere, e.g., in Philo (angels, Moses, etc.), or
in Gnostic texts (the Redeemer). In Stoic circles itinerant
teachers are seen as God’s messengers. Ignatius of Antioch later
takes up this idea of envoys carrying divinely authorized
messages to the churches (Philadelphians 10.1).
3. In 2 Cor. 5:20 Paul calls his
own ministry an embassy. God’s reconciling of the world to
himself has instituted a ministry of reconciliation (5:18-19).
This is not just a passing on of the news but part of the total
act (v. 19; cf. 6:1).
Through the mouth of the ambassador Christ or God himself
speaks. The word of reconciliation presents the completed act as
a summons or invitation to its appropriation in faith. The focus
is on the authority of the message rather than that of the one
who conveys it. The hypér Christoú of v. 20 shows that
the apostles speak in Christ’s stead or on his behalf, although
with no suggestion that Christ is absent or that the apostles
are continuing his work. In Eph. 6:20, unlike 2 Cor. 5:20, Paul
is an ambassador for the gospel rather than for Christ. He thus
speaks in its favor rather than on its behalf.
presbýtēs. Paul
calls himself presbýtēs in Phlm. 9, probably in the sense
of an older man rather than an ambassador. Pleading for Onesimus,
he appeals to Philemon’s love, his bonds, his relation to
Onesimus, and his age rather than to his authority. [G.
Bornkamm, VI, 651-83]
[1]
e.g. exempli gratia, for example
[1]Kittel, G., Friedrich,
G., & Bromiley, G. W. (1995, c1985). Theological
dictionary of the New Testament. Translation of:
Theologisches Worterbuch zum Neuen Testament. (Page 931).
Grand Rapids, Mich.: W.B. Eerdmans.
|
