Topic
Elder
62 passages cited, from 4 classic reference works.
These works date from 1884–1915 and are in the public domain. They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently. The verses are shown in the King James Version, the wording these works were written against.
The verses
The passages the works cite, those cited by more of them first.
- Genesis 50:7Easton · Smith
¶ And Joseph went up to bury his father: and with him went up all the servants of Pharaoh, the elders of his house, and all the elders of the land of Egypt,
- Numbers 22:7Easton · Smith
And the elders of Moab and the elders of Midian departed with the rewards of divination in their hand; and they came unto Balaam, and spake unto him the words of Balak.
- Genesis 24:2Smith
And Abraham said unto his eldest servant of his house, that ruled over all that he had, Put, I pray thee, thy hand under my thigh:
- Exodus 3:16Easton
Go, and gather the elders of Israel together, and say unto them, The LORD God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared unto me, saying, I have surely visited you, and seen that which is done to you in Egypt:
- Exodus 24:1Easton
And he said unto Moses, Come up unto the LORD, thou, and Aaron, Nadab, and Abihu, and seventy of the elders of Israel; and worship ye afar off.
- Numbers 11:16Easton
¶ And the LORD said unto Moses, Gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom thou knowest to be the elders of the people, and officers over them; and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that they may stand there with thee.
- Numbers 11:17Easton
And I will come down and talk with thee there: and I will take of the spirit which is upon thee, and will put it upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with thee, that thou bear it not thyself alone.
- Deuteronomy 1:13Nave (Equivalent to the title senator, in present use) — Elders, with delegated powers, were authorized to act for their constituency
Take you wise men, and understanding, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers over you.
- Deuteronomy 1:15Nave (Equivalent to the title senator, in present use) — Elders, with delegated powers, were authorized to act for their constituency
So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes.
- Deuteronomy 31:28Easton
¶ Gather unto me all the elders of your tribes, and your officers, that I may speak these words in their ears, and call heaven and earth to record against them.
- Joshua 24:1Smith
And Joshua gathered all the tribes of Israel to Shechem, and called for the elders of Israel, and for their heads, and for their judges, and for their officers; and they presented themselves before God.
- Joshua 24:2Smith
And Joshua said unto all the people, Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, Your fathers dwelt on the other side of the flood in old time, even Terah, the father of Abraham, and the father of Nachor: and they served other gods.
Show 50 more
- Joshua 24:19 Smith
- Joshua 24:21 Smith
- 1 Samuel 8:4 Smith
- 1 Samuel 8:7 Smith
- 1 Samuel 8:10 Smith
- 1 Samuel 8:19 Smith
- 1 Samuel 30:26–31 Easton
- 1 Samuel 30:26 Smith
- 2 Samuel 12:17 Smith
- Ezekiel 27:9 Smith
- Matthew 16:21 Easton
- Matthew 21:23 Easton
- Matthew 26:59 Easton
- Acts 11:29 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- Acts 11:30 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- Acts 14:23 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- Acts 15:1–35 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- Acts 16:4 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- Acts 16:5 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- Acts 20:17–28 Easton
- Acts 20:17 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- Acts 20:28 Easton
- Acts 20:28–32 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- Acts 21:18 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- Ephesians 4:11 Easton
- Philippians 1:1 Easton
- 1 Thessalonians 5:12 Easton
- 1 Timothy 4:14 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- 1 Timothy 5:17–19 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- Titus 1:5–7 Easton
- Titus 1:5–9 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- Hebrews 11:2 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- Hebrews 13:7 Easton
- James 5:14 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- James 5:15 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- 1 Peter 5:1–5 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- 2 John 1:1 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- 3 John 1:1 Nave IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
- Revelation 4:4 Nave APOCALYPTIC VISION OF
- Revelation 4:10 Nave APOCALYPTIC VISION OF
- Revelation 5:5 Nave APOCALYPTIC VISION OF
- Revelation 5:6 Nave APOCALYPTIC VISION OF
- Revelation 5:8 Nave APOCALYPTIC VISION OF
- Revelation 5:11 Nave APOCALYPTIC VISION OF
- Revelation 5:14 Nave APOCALYPTIC VISION OF
- Revelation 7:11 Nave APOCALYPTIC VISION OF
- Revelation 7:13 Nave APOCALYPTIC VISION OF
- Revelation 11:16 Nave APOCALYPTIC VISION OF
- Revelation 14:3 Nave APOCALYPTIC VISION OF
- Revelation 19:4 Nave APOCALYPTIC VISION OF
In the reference works
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 20 references
A name frequently used in the Old Testament as denoting a person clothed with authority, and entitled to respect and reverence (Gen. 50:7). It also denoted a political office (Num. 22:7). The “elders of Israel” held a rank among the people indicative of authority. Moses opened his commission to them (Ex. 3:16). They attended Moses on all important occasions. Seventy of them attended on him at the giving of the law (Ex. 24:1). Seventy also were selected from the whole number to bear with Moses the burden of the people (Num. 11:16, 17). The “elder” is the keystone of the social and political fabric wherever the patriarchal system exists. At the present day this is the case among the Arabs, where the sheik (i.e., “the old man”) is the highest authority in the tribe. The body of the “elders” of Israel were the representatives of the people from the very first, and were recognized as such by Moses. All down through the history of the Jews we find mention made of the elders as exercising authority among the people. They appear as governors (Deut. 31:28), as local magistrates (16:18), administering justice (19:12). They were men of extensive influence (1 Sam. 30:26-31). In New Testament times they also appear taking an active part in public affairs (Matt. 16:21; 21:23; 26:59).
The Jewish eldership was transferred from the old dispensation to the new. “The creation of the office of elder is nowhere recorded in the New Testament, as in the case of deacons and apostles, because the latter offices were created to meet new and special emergencies, while the former was transmitted from the earlies times. In other words, the office of elder was the only permanent essential office of the church under either dispensation.”
The “elders” of the New Testament church were the “pastors” (Eph. 4:11), “bishops or overseers” (Acts 20:28), “leaders” and “rulers” (Heb. 13:7; 1 Thess. 5:12) of the flock. Everywhere in the New Testament bishop and presbyter are titles given to one and the same officer of the Christian church. He who is called presbyter or elder on account of his age or gravity is also called bishop or overseer with reference to the duty that lay upon him (Titus 1:5-7; Acts 20:17-28; Phil. 1:1).
Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884) · 15 references
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 0 references
In the topical indexes
Nave's Topical Bible (1896) · 32 references, grouped by sub-topic
- → IN THE MOSAIC SYSTEM
- → (Equivalent to the title senator, in present use)
- Elders, with delegated powers, were authorized to act for their constituency De 1:13,15
- See GOVERNMENT, MOSAIC
- → IN THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH Ac 11:29,30; 14:23; 15:1-35; 16:4,5; 20:17,28-32; 21:18; 1Ti 4:14; 5:17-19; Tit 1:5-9; Heb 11:2; Jas 5:14,15; 1Pe 5:1-5; 2Jo 1:1; 3Jo 1:1
- → APOCALYPTIC VISION OF Re 4:4,10; 5:5,6,8,11,14; 7:11,13; 11:16; 14:3; 19:4
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); Smith's Bible Dictionary (1884); International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915); Nave's Topical Bible (1896), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.