Lectionary Calendar
Thursday, December 12th, 2024
the Second Week of Advent
Attention!
StudyLight.org has pledged to help build churches in Uganda. Help us with that pledge and support pastors in the heart of Africa.
Click here to join the effort!

Bible Dictionaries
Captain

People's Dictionary of the Bible

Search for…
or
A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z
Prev Entry
Cappadocia
Next Entry
Captivity
Resource Toolbox
Additional Links

Captain. In the Old Testament the rendering of a Hebrew word generally signifying a military officer. There were various ranks, from the captains of 50 to the captain of the host (or commander-in-chief). 1 Samuel 17:18; 2 Samuel 19:13; 2 Kings 1:9; 2 Kings 11:15. Captains of the guard are also mentioned. Genesis 37:36; 2 Kings 25:8. These were military officers, charged, it would seem, with the defence of the royal person, and with the execution of sentences pronounced by the king: comp. 1 Kings 2:29-34; 1 Kings 2:46. The officer in the New Testament, called a captain in Acts 28:16, was probably the commander of the prætorian troops at Rome, but the R. V. omits the clause containing the word. There is another Hebrew word translated sometimes "captain," Joshua 10:24, A. V. ("chiefs" in the R.V.), sometimes "ruler," Isaiah 3:6, which denotes both a military and a civil officer. The captain of the temple, Luke 22:4; Acts 4:1; Acts 5:24, was not a military man, but the chief of the priests and Levites that watched in the temple at night. Comp. Psalms 134:1. The word "captain" applied to our Lord, Hebrews 2:10, has not a military signification.

Bibliography Information
Rice, Edwin Wilbur, DD. Entry for 'Captain'. People's Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/​dictionaries/​eng/​rpd/​c/captain.html. 1893.
 
adsfree-icon
Ads FreeProfile