Bible Dictionaries
Guardian

Holman Bible Dictionary

An adult responsible for the person and property of a minor (2Kings 10:1,2 Kings 10:5 ). The Greek term epitropos , translated guardian at Galatians 4:2 (KJV tutor), is a general word for a manager. Modern translations render the term as steward, foreman, or manager when it occurs elsewhere ( Matthew 20:8; Luke 8:3 ). The basic thrust of Paul's message is clear: Before experiencing of God's grace in Christ, the believers' lives were lives of slavery (Luke 4:3 ,Luke 4:3,4:8 ). The guardian appears to be an image for the “elemental things of the world,” that is, of celestial or demonic powers regarded as gods by pagan Gentiles. Paul earlier pictured the Jews as under the charge of the law (Galatians 3:22-25 ).