Topic
Elder in the New Testament
4 passages cited, from 1 classic reference work.
These works date from 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 They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently.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.
- Luke 15:25ISBE
Now his elder son was in the field: and as he came and drew nigh to the house, he heard musick and dancing.
- Acts 14:23ISBE
And when they had ordained them elders in every church, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they believed.
- Acts 20:17ISBE
¶ And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church.
- 1 Timothy 5:2ISBE
The elder women as mothers; the younger as sisters, with all purity.
In the reference works
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 4 references
(presbuteros):
(1) The word is used adjectivally to denote seniority (Lu 15:25; 1Ti 5:2).
(2) Referring to the Jewish elders of the synagogue, usually associated with the scribes and Pharisees, and New Testament passages cited in the previous article.
(3) It denotes certain persons appointed to hold office in the Christian church, and to exercise spiritual oversight over the flock entrusted to them. From the references in Ac 14:23; 20:17 it may be inferred that the churches generally had elders appointed over them. That "elders" and "bishops" were in apostolic and sub-apostolic times the same, is now almost universally admitted; in all New Testament references their functions are identical. The most probable explanation of the difference of names is that "elder" refers mainly to the person, and "bishop" to the office; the name "elder" emphasizes what he is, while "bishop," that is "overseer," emphasizes what the elder or presbyter does.
See BISHOP; CHURCH GOVERNMENT; MINISTRY.
A. C. Grant
Texts: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), from the CrossWire SWORD modules (public domain). Verse references were parsed from the works' own markup and checked against the KJV verse list.