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Doctor

Original Hebrew / Aramaic / Greek connected to this term

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 · G1059

Γαμαλιήλ

Gamaliēl — Gamaliel

Γαμαλιήλ, ὁ (Heb. גַּמְלִיאֵל), Gamaliel the elder, a Pharisee and Doctor of the Law: Act.5:34 22:3.† (AS)

2 tagged verse occurrences · see every occurrence →

Historical dictionary entry

(Luke 2:46; 5:17; Acts 5:34), a teacher. The Jewish doctors taught and disputed in synagogues, or wherever they could find an audience. Their disciples were allowed to propose to them questions. They assumed the office without any appointment to it. The doctors of the law were principally of the sect of the Pharisees. Schools were established after the destruction of Jerusalem at Babylon and Tiberias, in which academical degrees were conferred on those who passed a certain examination. Those of the school of Tiberias were called by the title “rabbi,” and those of Babylon by that of “master.”

Scripture references

Source: Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897). Historical dictionary wording reflects the scholarship and language of its era.

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Look up Doctor in Smith’s Bible Dictionary and ISBE →