Word study
Deacon
2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: deacons, deacon. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “deacon” or one of its forms.
Compare the Greek words side by side
Greek words (New Testament)
- διάκονος diákonosa waiter, servant, administratortranslated this way 3 times of its 29 uses · Strong’s G1249Noun · Translated: servant 14, servants 8, minister 3, deacons 2Full study and all 27 verses →
Philippians 1:1 Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, To all the saints in Christ Jesus at Philippi, together with the overseers and deacons:
1 Timothy 3:8 Deacons likewise must be dignified, not double-tongued or given to much wine or greedy for money.
- διακονέω diakonéōI wait at table, servetranslated this way 1 time of its 37 uses · Strong’s G1247Verb · Translated: serve 6, serves 6, ministered 5, served 4Full study and all 32 verses →
1 Timothy 3:10 Additionally, they must first be tested. Then, if they are above reproach, let them serve as deacons.
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
What the Bible says about deacon: passages by topic →
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Short definition: Dodson Greek Lexicon (2010, public domain). Full entry: G. Abbott-Smith, A Manual Greek Lexicon of the New Testament (1922, public domain). Strong’s Greek Dictionary (1890) in the edition by Ulrik Sandborg-Petersen (CC0). These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.