BIBLE DICTIONARY + WORD STUDY
How to read this: there is rarely one magic “true meaning” hidden behind an English word. A lexicon records a word’s semantic range. The intended meaning is narrowed by grammar, sentence, author, historical usage and context.
GREEK · G1543
hekatontarchos — centurion
ἑκατοντάρχης (-άρχος, Mat.8:5, 8 27:54, Luk.7:2, Act.22:25 28:16; cf. M, Pr., 48); -ου (ἑκατόν, ἄρχω,), [in LXX for מֵאָה שַׂר ;] a centurion: Mat.8:13, Luk.7:6 23:47, Act.10:1, 22 21:32 22:26 23:17, 23 24:23 27:1, 6 27:11, 31 27:43 (cf. κεντυρίως).† (AS)
20 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →GREEK · G2760
kenturiōn — centurion
κεντυρίων, -ωνος, ὁ (Lat. centurio); a centurion: Mrk.15:39, 44-45 (Mt, Lk, use ἑκιτόνταρχος (-ης), q.v).† (AS)
3 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →A Roman officer in command of a hundred men (Mark 15:39, 44, 45). Cornelius, the first Gentile convert, was a centurion (Acts 10:1, 22). Other centurions are mentioned in Matt. 8:5, 8, 13; Luke 7:2, 6; Acts 21:32; 22:25, 26; 23:17, 23; 24:23; 27:1, 6, 11, 31, 43; 28:16. A centurion watched the crucifixion of our Lord (Matt. 27:54; Luke 23:47), and when he saw the wonders attending it, exclaimed, “Truly this man was the Son of God.” “The centurions mentioned in the New Testament are uniformly spoken of in terms of praise, whether in the Gospels or in the Acts. It is interesting to compare this with the statement of Polybius (vi. 24), that the centurions were chosen by merit, and so were men remarkable not so much for their daring courage as for their deliberation, constancy, and strength of mind.”, Dr. Maclear’s N. T. Hist.
Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.
