Reference: Captain
Easton
(1.) Heb. sar (1Sa 22:2; 2Sa 23:19). Rendered "chief," Ge 40:2; 41:9; rendered also "prince," Da 1:7; "ruler," Jg 9:30; "governor,' 1Ki 22:26. This same Hebrew word denotes a military captain (Ex 18:21; 2Ki 1:9; De 1:15; 1Sa 18:13, etc.), the "captain of the body-guard" (Ge 37:36; 39:1; 41:10; Jer 40:1), or, as the word may be rendered, "chief of the executioners" (marg.). The officers of the king's body-guard frequently acted as executioners. Nebuzar-adan (Jer 39:13) and Arioch (Da 2:14) held this office in Babylon.
The "captain of the guard" mentioned in Ac 28:16 was the Praetorian prefect, the commander of the Praetorian troops.
(2.) Another word (Heb. katsin) so translated denotes sometimes a military (Jos 10:24; 11/6/type/darby'>Jg 11:6,11; Isa 22:3 "rulers;" Da 11:18) and sometimes a civil command, a judge, magistrate, Arab. kady, (Isa 1:10; 3:6; Mic 3:1,9).
(3.) It is also the rendering of a Hebrew word (shalish) meaning "a third man," or "one of three." The LXX. render in plural by tristatai; i.e., "soldiers fighting from chariots," so called because each war-chariot contained three men, one of whom acted as charioteer while the other two fought (Ex 14:7; 15:4; 1Ki 9:22; comp. 2Ki 9:25). This word is used also to denote the king's body-guard (2Ki 10:25; 1Ch 12:18; 2Ch 11:11) or aides-de-camp.
(4.) The "captain of the temple" mentioned in Ac 4:1; 5:24 was not a military officer, but superintendent of the guard of priests and Levites who kept watch in the temple by night. (Comp. "the ruler of the house of God," 1Ch 9:11; 2Ch 31:13; Ne 11:11.)
(5.) The Captain of our salvation is a name given to our Lord (Heb 2:10), because he is the author and source of our salvation, the head of his people, whom he is conducting to glory. The "captain of the Lord's host" (Jos 5:14-15) is the name given to that mysterious person who manifested himself to Abraham (Ge 12:7), and to Moses in the bush (Ex 3:2,6, etc.) the Angel of the covenant. (See Angel.)
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And Jehovah appeared to Abram, and said, Unto thy seed will I give this land. And there he built an altar to Jehovah who had appeared to him.
And the Midianites sold him into Egypt, to Potiphar, a chamberlain of Pharaoh, the captain of the life-guard.
And Joseph was brought down to Egypt; and Potiphar, a chamberlain of Pharaoh, the captain of the life-guard, an Egyptian, bought him of the hand of the Ishmaelites who had brought him down thither.
And Pharaoh was wroth with his two chamberlains with the chief of the cup-bearers and with the chief of the bakers;
Then spoke the chief of the cup-bearers to Pharaoh, saying, I remember mine offences this day. Pharaoh was wroth with his bondmen, and put me in custody into the captain of the life-guard's house, me and the chief of the bakers.
And the Angel of Jehovah appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a thorn-bush: and he looked, and behold, the thorn-bush burned with fire, and the thorn-bush was not being consumed.
And he said, I am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face; for he was afraid to look at God.
And he took six hundred chosen chariots, and all the chariots of Egypt, and captains over every one of them.
Pharaoh's chariots and his army hath he cast into the sea; His chosen captains also are drowned in the Red Sea.
But do thou provide among all the people able men, such as fear God, men of truth, hating covetousness; and place them over them, chiefs of thousands, chiefs of hundreds, chiefs of fifties, and chiefs of tens,
So I took the chiefs of your tribes, wise men and known, and made them chiefs over you, captains of thousands, and captains of hundreds, and captains of fifties, and captains of tens, and officers for your tribes.
And he said, No; for as captain of the army of Jehovah am I now come. Then Joshua fell upon his face to the earth, and worshipped, and said to him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of Jehovah's army said to Joshua, Loose thy sandal from off thy foot: for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
And it came to pass when they had brought forth those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called to all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, Come forward, put your feet on the necks of these kings. And they came forward and put their feet on their necks.
When Zebul the ruler of the city heard the words of Ga'al the son of Ebed, his anger was kindled.
and they said to Jephthah, "Come and be our leader, that we may fight with the Ammonites."
So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD at Mizpah.
And every one in distress, and every one that was in debt, and every one of embittered spirit collected round him; and he became a captain over them; and there were with him about four hundred men.
And the king of Israel said, Take Micah and carry him back to Amon the governor of the city, and to Joash the king's son;
And he said to Bidkar his captain, Take him up and cast him in the plot of the field of Naboth the Jizreelite. For remember how, when I and thou rode together after Ahab his father, that Jehovah laid this burden upon him:
And it came to pass as soon as they had ended offering up the burnt-offering, that Jehu said to the couriers and to the captains, Go in, slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the couriers and the captains cast them there. And they went to the city of the house of Baal,
and Azariah the son of Hilkijah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God;
Seraiah the son of Hilkijah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God.
Hear the word of Jehovah, rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, people of Gomorrah!
When a man shall take hold of his brother, in his father's house, and shall say: Thou hast clothing; be our chief, and let this ruin be under thy hand;
All thy rulers have fled together, they are taken prisoners without the bow: all that are found of thee are made prisoners together; they were fleeing far off.
So Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard sent, and Nebushazban, chief chamberlain, and Nergal-sharezer, chief magian, and all the king of Babylon's princes,
The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, after that Nebuzar-adan the captain of the body-guard had let him go from Ramah, when he had taken him, being bound in chains, among all the captivity of Jerusalem and Judah, that were carried away captive to Babylon.
And the prince of the eunuchs gave them names: to Daniel he gave the name Belteshazzar, and to Hananiah, Shadrach, and to Mishael, Meshach, and to Azariah, Abed-nego.
Then Daniel answered with counsel and prudence to Arioch the chief of the king's bodyguard, who had gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon:
And he shall turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many; but a captain for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease: he shall turn it upon him, without reproach for himself.
And I said, Hear, I pray you, ye heads of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel: Is it not for you to know judgment?
Hear this, I pray you, ye heads of the house of Jacob, and princes of the house of Israel, that abhor judgment, and pervert all equity,
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
And when they heard these words, both the priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests were in perplexity as to them, what this would come to.
And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered up the prisoners to the praetorian prefect, but Paul was allowed to remain by himself with the soldier who kept him.
For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make perfect the leader of their salvation through sufferings.
Fausets
CAPTAIN OF THE TEMPLE (Lu 22:4; Ac 4:1; 5:24): not military, but over the guard of the temple, consisting of priests and Levites (2Ki 12:9), "the priests that kept the door" (2Ki 25:18); they visited the posts by night, and saw that the sentries were on the alert. In Heb 2:10, (Greek "Prince leader of their salvation,") the antitypical Joshua who leads us into the heavenly Canaan. The same Greek in Heb 12:2, "the Author," rather "Prince leader of our faith." Ac 3:15, "Prince of life."
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And Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of Jehovah; and the priests that kept the door put into it all the money brought into the house of Jehovah.
And Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one comes into the house of Jehovah; and the priests that kept the door put into it all the money brought into the house of Jehovah.
And the captain of the body-guard took Seraiah the high priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers.
And the captain of the body-guard took Seraiah the high priest, and Zephaniah the second priest, and the three doorkeepers.
And he went away and spoke with the chief priests and captains as to how he should deliver him up to them.
And he went away and spoke with the chief priests and captains as to how he should deliver him up to them.
but the originator of life ye slew, whom God raised from among the dead, whereof we are witnesses.
but the originator of life ye slew, whom God raised from among the dead, whereof we are witnesses.
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
And when they heard these words, both the priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests were in perplexity as to them, what this would come to.
And when they heard these words, both the priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests were in perplexity as to them, what this would come to.
For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make perfect the leader of their salvation through sufferings.
For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make perfect the leader of their salvation through sufferings.
looking stedfastly on Jesus the leader and completer of faith: who, in view of the joy lying before him, endured the cross, having despised the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
looking stedfastly on Jesus the leader and completer of faith: who, in view of the joy lying before him, endured the cross, having despised the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.
Hastings
This word occurs very frequently in the OT (AV and RV), and appears to have been favoured by the translators as a comprehensive term to denote a ruler, or a military commander of any unit, whatever its size might be. In modern military language it means especially the commander of a company of infantry, numbering about 100 to 110 men, and is quite unsuitable as a translation. It represents in OT 13 different Hebrew words. In Ezekiel it is often used for the secular head of the Messianic kingdom: 'prince' will there and often elsewhere do as a rendering; 'officer' and 'chief' will suit other passages. There are further places where none of these words will do as a translation. In the NT it translates four Greek words, and means: (1) Joh 18:12; Ac 22:28 a Roman military officer, a tribune of the soldiers, in command of about 1000 men, constituting the garrison of Jerusalem (hence Re 6:15; 19:18 in a general sense); (2) Lu 22:4,52; Ac 4:1 etc., the captain of the Temple, a Levite, who had under him a body of police, probably themselves also priests, whose duty it was to keep order in the Temple at Jerusalem and guard it by night; (3) Heb 2:10 (RV 'author') leader, initiator; (4) Ac 28:16 AV 'captain of the guard' (wanting in RV), a doubtful reading and of doubtful sense. See also Army,
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And he went away and spoke with the chief priests and captains as to how he should deliver him up to them.
And Jesus said to the chief priests and captains of the temple and elders, who were come against him, Have ye come out as against a robber with swords and sticks?
The band therefore, and the chiliarch, and the officers of the Jews, took Jesus and bound him:
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
And the chiliarch answered, I, for a great sum, bought this citizenship. And Paul said, But I was also free born.
And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered up the prisoners to the praetorian prefect, but Paul was allowed to remain by himself with the soldier who kept him.
For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make perfect the leader of their salvation through sufferings.
And the kings of the earth, and the great, and the chiliarchs, and the rich, and the strong, and every bondman and freeman, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains;
that ye may eat flesh of kings, and flesh of chiliarchs, and flesh of strong men, and flesh of horses and of those that sit upon them, and flesh of all, both free and bond, and small and great.
Morish
In the O.T. this word is used for one filling any office of rule or command: as the head of a tribe, Nu 2:3-29; commander of an army, etc. The person who appeared to Joshua as 'a man' declared himself to be 'captain of the Lord's host.' He told Joshua to remove his shoes from his feet, for the ground was holy, evincing that he was God's representative to lead their warfare. Jos 5:14-15. In the N.T. the Lord is called 'Captain' of our salvation, ???????, 'chief leader.' Heb 2:10.
There was also a 'CAPTAIN OF THE TEMPLE,' ?????????. Lu 22:4,52; Ac 4:1; 5:24,26. This word is literally 'the leader of an army;' it is also applied to magistrates, Ac 16:20, but the captain of the temple was set not over the soldiers, but over the priests and Levites: cf. Nu 3:32; 1Ch 9:11; Jer 20:1.
THE CHIEF CAPTAIN or HIGH CAPTAIN is ?????????, lit. 'Captain of a thousand,' applied to the chief of the soldiers in Jerusalem. Acts 21 - 25.
CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD, Ac 28:16, is ??????????????, properly 'commander of a camp,' but here the prefect of the Praetorian Guard, an officer to whom state prisoners were entrusted at Rome.
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And for those encamping eastward toward the sun-rising there shall be the standard of the camp of Judah according to their hosts; and the prince of the sons of Judah shall be Nahshon the son of Amminadab; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, were seventy-four thousand six hundred. read more. And those that encamp next unto him shall be the tribe of Issachar; and the prince of the sons of Issachar shall be Nethaneel the son of Zuar; and his host, even those that were numbered thereof, fifty-four thousand four hundred. With them shall be the tribe of Zebulun; and the prince of the sons of Zebulun shall be Eliab the son of Helon; and his host, even those that were numbered thereof, fifty-seven thousand four hundred. All that were numbered of the camp of Judah were a hundred and eighty-six thousand four hundred, according to their hosts. They shall set forth first. The standard of the camp of Reuben shall be southward according to their hosts; and the prince of the sons of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur; and his host, even those that were numbered thereof, forty-six thousand five hundred. And those that encamp by him shall be the tribe of Simeon; and the prince of the sons of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, fifty-nine thousand three hundred. And with them shall be the tribe of Gad; and the prince of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, forty-five thousand six hundred and fifty. All that were numbered of the camp of Reuben were a hundred and fifty-one thousand four hundred and fifty, according to their hosts. And they shall set forth second. And the tent of meeting shall set forth, the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camps; as they encamp, so shall they set forth, every man in his place, according to their standards. The standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their hosts shall be westward; and the prince of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, forty thousand five hundred. And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh; and the prince of the sons of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, thirty-two thousand two hundred. And with them shall be the tribe of Benjamin; and the prince of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, thirty-five thousand four hundred. All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were a hundred and eight thousand one hundred, according to their hosts. And they shall set forth third. The standard of the camp of Dan shall be northward according to their hosts; and the prince of the sons of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, sixty-two thousand seven hundred. And those that encamp by him shall be the tribe of Asher; and the prince of the sons of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran; and his host, even those that were numbered of them, forty-one thousand five hundred. And with them shall be the tribe of Naphtali; and the prince of the sons of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan;
And the prince of princes of the Levites was Eleazar the son of Aaron the priest: he had the oversight of them that kept the charge of the sanctuary.
And he said, No; for as captain of the army of Jehovah am I now come. Then Joshua fell upon his face to the earth, and worshipped, and said to him, What saith my lord unto his servant? And the captain of Jehovah's army said to Joshua, Loose thy sandal from off thy foot: for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so.
And Pashur the son of Immer, the priest and he was chief officer in the house of Jehovah heard Jeremiah prophesy these things.
And he went away and spoke with the chief priests and captains as to how he should deliver him up to them.
And Jesus said to the chief priests and captains of the temple and elders, who were come against him, Have ye come out as against a robber with swords and sticks?
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
And when they heard these words, both the priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests were in perplexity as to them, what this would come to.
Then the captain, having gone with the officers, brought them, not with violence, for they feared the people, lest they should be stoned.
and having brought them up to the praetors, said, These men utterly trouble our city, being Jews,
And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered up the prisoners to the praetorian prefect, but Paul was allowed to remain by himself with the soldier who kept him.
For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons to glory, to make perfect the leader of their salvation through sufferings.
Smith
Captain.
1. As a purely military title, "captain" answers to sar in the Hebrew army and tribune in the Roman. The captain of the guard in
was probably the prefectus pratorio.
2. Katsin, occasionally rendered captain, applies Sometimes to a military,
Jos 10:24; 11/6/type/darby'>Jg 11:6,11; Isa 22:3; Da 11:18
sometimes to a civil command, e.g.
3. The captain of the temple, mentioned
superintended the guard of priests and Levites who kept watch by night in the temple.
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And it came to pass when they had brought forth those kings to Joshua, that Joshua called to all the men of Israel, and said to the captains of the men of war who went with him, Come forward, put your feet on the necks of these kings. And they came forward and put their feet on their necks.
and they said to Jephthah, "Come and be our leader, that we may fight with the Ammonites."
So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and leader over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the LORD at Mizpah.
Hear the word of Jehovah, rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, people of Gomorrah!
All thy rulers have fled together, they are taken prisoners without the bow: all that are found of thee are made prisoners together; they were fleeing far off.
And he shall turn his face unto the isles, and shall take many; but a captain for his own behalf shall cause the reproach offered by him to cease: he shall turn it upon him, without reproach for himself.
And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them,
And when they heard these words, both the priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests were in perplexity as to them, what this would come to.