ἱερᾱτ-εία G2405
priesthood, the office or function of serving as a priest before God
The word denotes the office, function, or service of priesthood—the sacred duty of standing between God and the people. It appears twice in the New Testament, once in Luke's Gospel describing Zechariah's priestly service in the temple when the angel Gabriel appeared to him, and once in Hebrews explaining the Levitical priesthood's basis in ancestral lineage from Abraham. The term emphasizes the functional and official dimension of priestly service rather than the abstract concept or the collective body of priests. Across languages—Spanish sacerdocio, French sacerdoce, German Priesteramt—the translations consistently capture the institutional office or function of priestly ministry. The Greek noun derives from the verb 'to serve as priest,' underlining its active, performative character.
Sentidos
1. sense 1 — The office, function, or service of being a priest, appearing in Luke 1:9 where Zechariah 'according to the custom of the priesthood' was chosen by lot to enter the temple and burn incense—the defining moment when he learned of John the Baptist's coming birth. In Hebrews 7:5, the term describes the institutional basis for Levitical priestly authority, rooted in divine law and ancestral descent from Abraham through Levi. The multilingual evidence (sacerdocio, sacerdoce, Priesteramt) uniformly points to the functional office rather than the collective body, emphasizing the enacted service rather than mere status. 2×
AR["الكَهَنوتَ", "الْكَهَنُوتِ"]·ben["যাজকত্ব", "যাজকত্বের"]·DE["Priesteramt", "ἱερατείας"]·EN["priesthood"]·FR["sacerdoce"]·heb["כְּהֻנָּה"]·HI["याजकपद", "याजकपन"]·ID["dari", "keimaman"]·IT["ierateian", "ierateias"]·jav["kaimaman", "kaimaman,"]·KO["제사직-의", "제사직을"]·PT["sacerdócio"]·RU["священства", "священство"]·ES["sacerdocio"]·SW["ukuhani"]·TR["kahinliği", "kâhinliğin"]·urd["کہانت-کو", "کہانت-کے"]
Sentidos Relacionados
H3548 1. priest, cultic officiant (750×)G5547 1. Christ, Messiah, Anointed One (540×)H5030 1. Prophet, divine spokesperson (317×)H5930a 1. burnt offering (sacrifice) (286×)H3881 1. Levites (priestly class) (283×)G4396 1. prophet, spokesperson of God (146×)H6944 1. sanctuary, holy place (129×)G0749 1. high priest, chief priest (123×)H6944 2. holiness, sacredness (abstract quality) (123×)G5330 1. Pharisee (99×)G4336 1. pray to God (86×)H6944 3. holy things, sacred offerings (plural) (86×)H3722a 1. make ritual atonement (Piel) (85×)H6912 1. bury (Qal active) (82×)H6419 1. pray (Hitpael) (80×)H6944 4. holiness (with possessive pronoun) (77×)H6942 1. sanctify, consecrate (Piel factitive) (76×)H2930a 1. Qal: be/become unclean (75×)H7819a 1. slaughter an animal (Qal active) (72×)H1486 1. lot (object cast for decisions) (71×)
Referencia BDB / Léxico
ἱερᾱτ-εία, ἡ, priesthood, NT+4th c.BC+, etc.: Ionic dialect ἱρητήη Refs 5th c.BC+; later ἱερητείη and ἱέρᾱτ-α Refs 4th c.BC+