Topic
Saviour
15 passages cited, from 2 classic reference works.
These works date from 1897–1915 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 They reflect the Protestant scholarship of their time: their history, archaeology and dates can be out of date, and where they interpret, other traditions read the text differently.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.
- Isaiah 43:1–63:19ISBE
But now thus saith the LORD that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, Fear not: for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine. When thou passest through the waters, I will be with thee; and through the rivers,…
- Luke 1:47ISBE
And my spirit hath rejoiced in God my Saviour.
- Luke 2:11ISBE
For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord.
- Acts 5:31ISBE
Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.
- Acts 13:23ISBE
Of this man’s seed hath God according to his promise raised unto Israel a Saviour, Jesus:
- Ephesians 5:23ISBE
For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
- Philippians 3:20ISBE
For our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ:
- 1 Timothy 1:1ISBE
Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ, which is our hope;
- 1 Timothy 2:3ISBE
For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour;
- 1 Timothy 4:10ISBE
For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
- 2 Timothy 1:10ISBE
But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel:
- Titus 2:13ISBE
Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;
Show 3 more
- Titus 3:4 ISBE
- Hebrews 2:10 ISBE
- Jude 1:25 ISBE
In the reference works
Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897) · 0 references
One who saves from any form or degree of evil. In its highest sense the word indicates the relation sustained by our Lord to his redeemed ones, he is their Saviour. The great message of the gospel is about salvation and the Saviour. It is the “gospel of salvation.” Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ secures to the sinner a personal interest in the work of redemption. Salvation is redemption made effectual to the individual by the power of the Holy Spirit.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915) · 24 references
sav'-yer:
(1) While that "God is the deliverer of his people" is the concept on which, virtually, the whole Old Testament is based (see SALVATION), yet the Hebrews seem never to have felt the need of a title for God that would sum up this aspect of His relation to man. Nearest to our word "Saviour" is a participial form (moshia`) from the verb yasha` (Qal not used; "save" in Hiphil), but even this participle is not frequently applied to God (some 13 times of which 7 are in Isa 43:1-63:19).
(2) In the New Testament, however, the case is different, and Soter, is used in as technical a way as is our "Saviour." But the distribution of the 24 occurrences of the word is significant, for two-thirds of them are found in the later books of the New Testament--10 in the Pastorals, 5 in 2 Peter, and one each in John, 1 John, and Jude--while the other instances are Lu 1:47; 2:11; Ac 5:31; 13:23; Eph 5:23; Php 3:20. And there are no occurrences in Matthew, Mark, or the earlier Pauline Epistles. The data are clear enough. As might be expected, the fact that the Old Testament used no technical word for Saviour meant that neither did the earliest Christianity use any such word. Doubtless for our Lord "Messiah" was felt to convey the meaning. But in Greek-speaking Christianity, "Christ," the translation of Messiah, soon became treated as a proper name, and a new word was needed.
(3) Soter expressed the exact meaning and had already been set apart in the language of the day as a religious term, having become one of the most popular divine titles in use. Indeed, it was felt to be a most inappropriate word to apply to a human being. Cicero, for instance, arraigns Verres for using it: "Soter .... How much does this imply? So much that it cannot be expressed in one word in Latin" (Verr. ii.2, 63, 154). So the adoption of Soter by Christianity was most natural, the word seemed ready-made.
(4) That the New Testament writers derived the word from its contemporary use is shown, besides, by its occurrence in combination with such terms as "manifestation" (epiphaneia, 2Ti 1:10; Tit 2:13), "love toward man" (philanthropia, Tit 3:4), "captain" (archegos, Ac 5:31; compare Heb 2:10), etc. These terms are found in the Greek sources many times in exactly the same combinations with Sorer.
(5) In the New Testament Soter is uniformly reserved for Christ, except in Lu 1:47; Jude 1:25, and the Pastorals. In 1Ti 1:1; 2:3; 4:10 it is applied only to the Father, in 2Ti 1:10, (only) it is applied to Christ, while in Titus there seems to be a deliberate alternation: of the Father in 1:3; 2:10; 3:4; of Christ in 1:4; 2:13; 3:6.
LITERATURE.
P. Wendland, "Soter" Zeitschrift fur neutestamentliche Wissenschaft, V, 335-353, 1904; J. Weiss, "Heiland," in RGG, II, 1910; H. Lietzmann, Der Weltheiland, 1909. Much detailed information is available in various parts of Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East, 1910.
Burton Scott Easton
Texts: Easton's Bible Dictionary (1897); 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.