διάκονος G1249
servant, minister, attendant; deacon (ecclesiastical office)
1. servant, minister, attendant — The general sense of diakonos as a servant, minister, or attendant -- one who serves another or serves in a capacity of ministry. This is the dominant NT usage covering the vast majority of occurrences. In the Gospels it refers to table servants (John 2:5,9 at the wedding at Cana; Matt 22:13 servants at the royal banquet) and to general servanthood (Matt 20:26, 23:11, Mark 9:35, 10:43 'whoever would be great among you must be your servant'; John 12:26 'if anyone serves me he must follow me'). In Paul's letters it designates ministers of God, Christ, or the gospel: Rom 13:4 (God's servant for good, twice), Rom 15:8 (Christ as servant of the circumcision), Eph 3:7, 6:21, Col 1:7, 1:23, 1:25, 4:7 (Paul and others as servants of the gospel/church), Gal 2:17 (is Christ a servant of sin?). In 2 Corinthians it appears regarding Paul's ministry and opponents (2 Cor 3:6, 6:4, 11:15, 11:23). Rom 16:1 uses the feminine form of Phoebe as servant of the church at Cenchreae (Heb m'sharetet, Hindi sevika, Spa servidora). Phil 1:1 addresses saints with overseers and diakonois. Glosses converge: Arabic khadim (servant), German Diener, French serviteur, Hebrew m'sharet (minister/attendant), Hindi sevak (servant), Korean jong/ilkkun/saryeokja (servant/worker/minister), Spanish servidor/ministro/siervo. 27×
AR["الخادِمُ","خادِماً","خادِمونَ","خادِمًا","خادِمٌ","خادِمُ","خَادِمًا","خَادِمٌ","خَادِمَ","خَادِمُ","خُدّامًا","خُدّامٍ","خُدّامُهُ"]·ben["পরিচারক","পরিচারক,","সেবক","সেবক?","সেবকরা"]·DE["Diener"]·EN["a-servant","servant","servants"]·FR["serviteur"]·heb["כֻלָּם","מְשָׁרְתִים","מְשָׁרְתֵי","מְשָׁרֵת"]·HI["सेवक","सेवक?"]·ID["-","pelayan","pelayan-pelayan"]·IT["diacono","servitore"]·jav["abdi","abdi,","abdi-abdi","juru-laden","para-abdi","pelayan","pelayan?","réncang"]·KO["사역자","사역자가","섬기는-자","섬기는-자도","일꾼","일꾼-이다","일꾼들","일꾼들로","일꾼들이","일꾼이라","일꾼인가?","종","종-이","종이","집사가"]·PT["ministro","ministros","servo","servo;","servos"]·RU["для-","слугой","слугой;","служителем","служители","служитель","служителями"]·ES["Servidores","ministro","ministros","servidor","siervo"]·SW["Watumishi","mtumishi","na","wahudumu","watumishi","watumishi,","yeyote"]·TR["bizi","hizmetkar","hizmetkari","hizmetkarlar","hizmetkarları","hizmetkarı","hizmetkâr","hizmetkârları","hizmetkârı","hizmetkârınız","hizmetçisi-mi","oldum"]·urd["خادم"]
Matt 20:26, Matt 22:13, Matt 23:11, Mark 9:35, Mark 10:43, John 2:5, John 2:9, John 12:26, Rom 13:4, Rom 13:4, Rom 15:8, Rom 16:1 (+15 more)
▼ 1 more sense below
Senses
2. deacon (ecclesiastical office) — A specialized, technical ecclesiastical sense of diakonos designating the formal church office of deacon, distinct from general servanthood. This usage appears exclusively in the Pastoral Epistles: 1 Tim 3:8 (Diakonous, 'deacons' -- beginning the qualifications list for the office) and 1 Tim 3:12 (diakonoi, 'deacons must be husbands of one wife'). The multilingual glosses sharply distinguish this from the general servant sense: Arabic ash-shamamisa (deacons -- a specific ecclesiastical loanword from Syriac shamasha), Hebrew shamashim (a technical term for synagogue/church officials, distinct from m'sharet used for general servants throughout the rest of the NT), Korean jibsadeul (deacons -- the standard Korean church office title, versus ilkkun/jong for general servants), Spanish Diaconos (a direct transliteration marking it as a technical term, versus servidor/siervo/ministro for general servants). The convergence of multiple languages using distinct technical ecclesiastical vocabulary for these two verses confirms this as a genuinely separate sense. 2×
AR["الشَّمامِسَةُ"]·ben["সেবকদের","সেবকরা"]·DE["Diener"]·EN["deacons"]·FR["serviteur"]·heb["שַׁמָּשִׁים"]·HI["सेवक"]·ID["Diaken-diaken","diaken-diaken"]·IT["diacono"]·jav["Para-juru-laden","para-juru-laden"]·KO["집사들을","집사들이"]·PT["Diáconos","diáconos"]·RU["Диаконам","диаконы"]·ES["Diáconos","diáconos"]·SW["Mashemasi","mashemasi"]·TR["Hizmetkârlar","hizmetkârlar"]·urd["خادم","خادموں"]
BDB / Lexicon Reference
διάκονος [ᾱ], Ionic dialect διήκονος, ὁ, later διάκων (which see):— servant, Refs 5th c.BC+; messenger, Refs 5th c.BC+ __2 attendant or official in a temple or religious guild, Refs 3rd c.BC+:—especially in the Christian church, deacon, NT+4th c.AD+: feminine, deaconess, NT __II as adjective, servile, menial, ἐπιστήμη Refs 5th c.BC+: irregular comparative διᾱκονέστερος Refs 5th c.BC+