G5257 – huperetes – ὑπηρέτης – a servant, assistant, officer

Strong’s ID:
G5257
Greek Word:
ὑπηρέτης
Transliteration:
huperetes
Pronunciation:
hoop-ay-ret’-ace
Part of Speech:
noun masculine
Etymology:
from and a derivative of ἐρέσσω eresso (to row)
Comparables:

Equivalents:
, a servant
Usage Count:
20
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Find “huperetes” in the Bible (New Testament)

Equip God’s People Greek Lexicon

1) a servant, assistant
2) an officer

Word Picture:

In Classical Greek, “huperetes” denoted a rower or an under-rower on a ship and was used broadly to describe servants or attendants, often in a subordinate role. However, in the New Testament, its usage shifted to depict various forms of servitude, ranging from a literal servant or officer (like a court attendant or a temple guard) to a metaphorical sense of being a servant or minister of God, particularly in the context of spreading the Gospel.

Being a word that typically denoted a lower status, “huperetes” underscored the revolutionary nature of Christian service. It was a call to serve not as the world serves, with a focus on power and hierarchy, but with humility and selflessness, mirroring Christ’s own ministry.

Equip God’s People Greek Lexicon © 2013–2024. All rights reserved.

Strong’s Greek Lexicon

from and a derivative of ἐρέσσω eresso (to row); an under-oarsman, i.e. (generally) subordinate (assistant, sexton, constable):—minister, officer, servant.

Owing to changes in the enumeration while in progress, there were no words left for numbers 2717 and 3203–3302, which were therefore silently dropped out of the vocabulary and references as redundant.

Thayer’s Greek Definitions

1) servant
1a) an underrower, subordinate rower
1b) any one who serves with hands: a servant
1b1) in the NT of the officers and attendants of magistrates as-of the officer who executes penalties
1b2) of the attendants of a king, servants, retinue, the soldiers of a king, of the attendant of a synagogue
1b3) of any one ministering or rendering service
1c) any one who aids another in any work
1c1) an assistant
1c2) of the preacher of the gospel

Thayer’s Definitions are as edited by the Online Bible of Winterbourne, Ontario. They removed the etymology, cross-references, and Greek phrases and changed some of Thayer’s Unitarian doctrinal positions concerning the work and person of Christ.