Διάκονος, diakonos, is also sometimes erroneously translated servant, service, to serve, &c. An instance occurs, John ii. 5: “And his mother saith unto the servants,” διακόνοις, diakonois, from diakonos: as a verb, it means to minister unto, to wait upon, to manage affairs, to perform some function to another; and hence, in English, we may occasionally require some other term of cognate meaning. From this term our word “deacon” has been legitimately derived. The word is of less elevated import in Greek than therapon (see Aristophanes, Ornithes, line 1322, ὡς βλαχιχῶς διαχονεῖς,) but never consorts in the least degree with the idea slavery. “Saith unto” them who ministered, who waited upon the guests, &c. So also John ii. 9: “But the servants which drew the water knew,”—servants, διάκονοι, diakonoi, “they who ministered unto.” See also Rom. xvi. 1: “I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church,” &c., διάκονον, diakonon, one who ministers unto, &c. So also John xii. 26: “If any man serve,” διακονῇ, diakone, wait upon, minister unto me. “And where I am there shall my servant be,” διάκονος, diakonos, one who waits upon, who ministers unto; “him will my Father honour.” It is not always in English easy to select a phrase distinctly the best adapted to express the precise difference between the words diakonos and huperetes, but it may be remarked that the huperetes was of an employment more of public character: hence those who in the ships held certain banks of oars were called by that name; also those of a particular rank in the army, or in civil government; but the word diakonos was used as a term more applicable to domestic, personal, or private life. Keeping this distinction in mind, the same word may often, in English, give the sense of either; yet huperetes will often appear in Greek where diakonos would be ill used. A more correct use of this word than the preceding will be found in Matt. iv. 11: “Then the devil leaveth him, and behold, angels came and ministered unto him,” διηκόνουν, diekonoun, ministered unto, attended to.
Matt. xx. 26: “But whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister,” διάκονος, diakonos, minister, &c. And here is shown the distinction between this word and doulos, a slave; for he proceeds, “And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant,” δοῦλος, doulos, slave. Also, Luke viii. 3: “And Joanna the wife of Chuza, Herod’s steward, and Susanna, and many others which ministered unto him of their substance,” διηκόνουν, diekonoun, ministered, &c. We have deemed it proper to notice these inaccuracies in our translation, to prevent the word servant, &c., when used to mean slave, &c., being confounded with its use when given in translation as above; and it may be proper also to notice that the hired labourer, a freeman hired into the employ of another, is never described by any term implying slavery, or even having any analogy with it, as examples will show:
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man that is a householder, which went out early in the morning to hire labourers (μισθώσασθαι ἐργάτας, misthosasthai ergatas, to hire labourers) into his vineyard.” “They say unto him, Because no man hath hired us,” (ἐμισθώσατο, emisthosato, hath hired.) “So when the evening was come, the Lord of the vineyard saith unto his steward, call the labourers and give them their hire,” μισθὸν, misthon, wages, &c. “And when they had received it, they murmured against the good man of the house.” Matt. xx. 1, 7, 8, 11. “And when he came to himself, he said, How many hired servants (μίσθιοι, misthioi, hired persons) of my father’s have bread,” &c. Luke xv. 17. “But he that is a hireling, (μισθωτὸς, misthotos, a person hired,) and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf, &c. and the wolf catcheth them and scattereth the sheep. The hireling (μισθωτὸς, misthotos, a person hired) fleeth because he is a hireling (μισθωτὸς, misthotos, a person hired,) and careth not for the sheep.” John x. 12, 13. “For the labourer is worthy of his hire,” τοῦ μισθοῦ hire, wages, payment, &c. Luke x. 7. “Behold, the hire (ὁ μισθὸς, payment for being hired) of the labourers (τῶν ἐργατῶν, ton ergaton, the labourers, not slaves) who have reaped down your fields.” James v. 4.
He who is seeking to obtain a correct view of the truth will perceive the propriety of keeping in mind the distinction between the different characters thus in our version called by the same name, “servants,” and not suffer his mind to be governed, or even influenced, by any bias which has been produced by an incomplete examination of the whole gospel of God.
Study VIII.
LESSON I.
The Hebrew letters עʿ ain, בb beth, and דd daleth compose the word by which the Hebrews meant what we mean by the word slave. There is some variation among men of letters, even among the Jews themselves, as to the pronunciation of this word, some following the Asiatic, some the Portuguese, and some the Polish method.
Out of respect and in deference to King James’s translators of the Old Testament, of the learned and critical Dr. Blany, and of that indefatigable biblical scholar, Dr. Bagster, we have adopted their pronunciation of this word, and call it ebed.