τίτλ-ος G5102
a title, inscription, placard (Latin titulus)
This Latin loanword refers to an inscription or placard, particularly the type posted above a crucified person to declare the charge against them. John uses it twice to describe the notice Pilate had written and fastened to Jesus' cross: 'Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews.' The inscription was multilingual (Hebrew, Latin, Greek) so all could read it, and its placement over Jesus ironically proclaimed a truth Pilate didn't fully grasp.
Senses
1. sense 1 — Borrowed from Latin titulus, this term designates the official inscription posted above a crucifixion victim. Both occurrences (John 19:19-20) refer to the placard Pilate ordered placed on Jesus' cross. The trilingual inscription declared Jesus' identity as King of the Jews, readable by all in the cosmopolitan environment of Jerusalem—an unintended proclamation of truth by a skeptical governor. 2×
AR["عُنْوَانًا", "عُنْوَانَ"]·ben["ফলক"]·DE["Aufschrift"]·EN["a-title", "title"]·FR["inscription"]·heb["כֹּתֶרֶת"]·HI["शीर्षक"]·ID["tulisan"]·IT["titolo"]·jav["seratan"]·KO["명패-를"]·PT["título"]·RU["надпись"]·ES["título"]·SW["tangazo"]·TR["yazıt", "yazıtı"]·urd["تختی"]
Related Senses
H0559 1. say, speak, tell (5297×)G3004 1. say, tell, speak (2226×)H1696 1. speak, say, tell (Piel) (1105×)H7121 1. call, summon, name (575×)H6680 1. command, order, charge (483×)H6030b 1. answer, respond, reply (289×)G2980 1. speak, talk (277×)H5046 1. Hifil: to tell, report (237×)G0611 1. answer or respond verbally (232×)H1288 1. Piel: bless, invoke blessing (227×)H7650 1. swear, take an oath (Niphal) (154×)H3789 1. Qal passive participle: written, recorded (112×)H1984b 1. praise, laud (Piel) (111×)H7592 1. ask, inquire, question (96×)H3034 1. give thanks, praise (Hifil) (94×)G1321 1. teach, instruct actively (92×)H3789 2. Qal active: write, compose (89×)G1125 1. to write, compose (a letter or document) (84×)H5046 2. Hifil: to declare, proclaim (79×)H7892a 1. song, musical composition (78×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
τίτλ-ος, ὁ, Latin titulus, title, inscription, NT+4th c.AD+: also the stone bearing the inscription, Refs 3rd c.AD+ __2 tattoo-mark, Refs 2nd c.AD+ __II title, section, Refs 6th c.AD+