γραμμᾰτ-εύς G1122
Scribe, an expert in the Mosaic Law and Jewish tradition; also a civic secretary or town clerk.
In the New Testament, the grammateus is almost always a Jewish scribe -- a professional scholar trained in copying, interpreting, and teaching the Torah. These scribes appear regularly alongside Pharisees and chief priests as the religious establishment that questions, tests, and ultimately opposes Jesus. They ask why he eats with sinners (Mark 2:16), challenge his authority (Mark 11:27-28), and participate in his trial and condemnation. In one exceptional passage, the same word designates the town clerk of Ephesus who calmed the riot sparked by Demetrius the silversmith (Acts 19:35), reflecting the word's broader Greek meaning of 'secretary' or 'registrar.'
1. scribe / expert in the Law — A Jewish scribe, an expert and teacher of the Mosaic Law. Appearing 63 times, this sense dominates the New Testament usage. Translations consistently employ specialized religious vocabulary -- Spanish escribas, French scribe, German Schriftgelehrter ('Scripture-learned one') -- rather than generic 'secretary,' confirming the technical religious meaning. Jesus declares that the scribes' righteousness is insufficient (Matt 5:20), debates them on the greatest commandment (Mark 12:28-34), and warns against their hypocrisy (Matt 23:2-7, 13-29). 63×
AR["الكَتَبَةُ","الكَتَبَةِ","الْكَتَبَةُ","الْكَتَبَةِ","كَتَبَةً","كَتَبَةٌ","كَتَبَةِ","يا-كَتَبَةُ"]·ben["শাস্ত্রবিদদের","শাস্ত্রবিদরা","শাস্ত্রবিদেরা","শাস্ত্রিরা","শাস্ত্রীদের","শাস্ত্রীরা"]·DE["Schriftgelehrter"]·EN["scribes"]·FR["scribe"]·heb["הַסּוֹפְרִים","סוֹפְרִים"]·HI["शअस्त्रिगन","शअस्त्रियोन-ने","शअस्त्रियोनोन","शास्त्रियो","शास्त्रियों","शास्त्रियों-को","शास्त्रियों-में-से","शास्त्रियों-से","शास्त्री"]·ID["ahli-Taurat","ahli-ahli-Taurat"]·IT["scriba"]·jav["ahli-Kitab","ahli-Kitab,","ahli-Toret","ahli-Torèt","ahli-kitab","para-ahli-Toret","para-ahli-Torét"]·KO["서기관들","서기관들-을","서기관들-이","서기관들과","서기관들이"]·PT["escribas","escribas,"]·RU["книжниками","книжники","книжники,","книжников"]·ES["escribas"]·SW["-","na","waandishi","wao"]·TR["yazıcılar","yazıcılardan","yazıcıları","yazıcıların"]·urd["فقیہ","فقیہو","فقیہوں","فقیہوں-سے","فقیہوں-نے","فقیہوں-کے"]
Matt 2:4, Matt 5:20, Matt 7:29, Matt 9:3, Matt 12:38, Matt 15:1, Matt 16:21, Matt 17:10, Matt 21:15, Matt 23:2, Matt 23:13, Matt 23:14 (+38 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. town clerk / civic secretary — A civic official or town clerk, specifically the municipal secretary of a Greek city. Attested only in Acts 19:35, where the grammateus of Ephesus intervenes to quiet the crowd rioting against Paul. Spanish secretario ('secretary') captures the administrative rather than religious nature of this office. French and German retain scribe/Schriftgelehrter, but the context makes the civic role unmistakable: this is a Roman-era municipal administrator, not a Torah scholar. 1×
AR["الْكَاتِبُ"]·ben["নগর-কর্মচারী"]·DE["Schriftgelehrter"]·EN["clerk"]·FR["scribe"]·heb["סוֹפֵר"]·HI["नगर-लेखक-ने"]·ID["panitera-kota"]·IT["scriba"]·jav["juru-tulis"]·KO["서기관이"]·PT["escrivão"]·RU["секретарь"]·ES["secretario"]·SW["karani"]·TR["kâtip"]·urd["شہری-مُنشی-نے"]
Related Senses
H5971a 1. people, nation (1836×)H5973a 1. accompaniment, together with (956×)H0854 1. with (accompaniment) (665×)H1471a 1. nations, peoples (plural/collective) (466×)G3326 1. with (368×)H1285 1. covenant, pact, treaty (284×)G2453 1. Jewish person, Jew (194×)H4150 1. meeting (tent of meeting) (151×)G2992 1. people/nation (an ethnic or political community) (142×)G4862 1. (129×)G1484 1. Gentiles, non-Jewish nations (128×)H1471a 2. nation, people-group (singular) (98×)H3162b 1. together (97×)H1616 1. sojourner, resident alien (92×)H0567 1. Amorite (people group) (87×)H3064 1. Jew, Jewish person (81×)H3669a 1. Canaanite (ethnic designation) (70×)H2114a 1. stranger, foreigner (person) (54×)H5608b 1. scribe, royal secretary (48×)H3162a 1. together, all together, alike (44×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
γραμμᾰτ-εύς, έως, ὁ, secretary, registrar, title of officials at Athens and elsewhere, NT+5th c.BC+; γ. τοῦ θεοῦ Refs 5th c.BC+; also of subordinate officials, clerk, sometimes a term of contempt, ὄλεθρος γ. Refs 4th c.BC+; ἡ γ., in joke, Refs 5th c.BC+ __2 metaphorically, recorder, of memory, Refs 5th c.BC+ __3 scholar, γ. σαφής Refs 4th c.BC+ __4 one who traces or marks out, of Egyptian embalmers, Refs 1st c.BC+