DEAETH
DEBT, DEBTOR
285
is in Cenchrese' (Ro 16^), is doubtful. She may be a female deacon ; but this is very unlikely, for there is no trace of deacons or other officials in the church of Corinth at this time. Phoebe was prob- ably a \sidy, living at the port of Corinth, who rendered much service to St. Paul and other Christians. Milligan (on 1 Th 3^) quotes inscrip- tions which show that didKovos (masc. and fem.) was a religious title in pre-Christian times. The Seven (Ac 6) are probably not to be identified with the later deacons. The special function of deacons, whether men or women, was to distribute the alms of the congregation and to minister to the needs of the poor ; they were the church's relieving officers. They also probably helped to order the men and the women in public worship. The qualities required in them (1 Ti 3^"'^) agiee with this : ' not greedy of sordid gain,' and ' faithful in all things,' point to the care of money. See artt. Church Government and Minister, Ministry.
Literature.— F. J. A. Hort, The Christian Ecelesia, London, 1897, pp. 196-217 ; M. R. Vincent, Philippians {ICC, Edin- burgh, 1897), pp. 36-51 ; art. ' Deacon ' in UDB.
Alfred Plummer, DEARTH.— See FAMINE.
DEATH.— See Life and Death.
DEBT, DEBTOR.— The Acts and the Epistles give few glimpses of the trade of the time (cf. Ja 4i3ff.^ 1 Th 2* 4", 2 Til S^ff-, Ac 19--*"'-, 1 Co 7'", Ko IZ''^-, Rev 18*--»). This may seem all the more remarkable since Christianity touched the com- merce of the Roman world at so many points and used the fine Roman roads (see art. Trade and Commerce). The allusions to debt are quite incidental, and come in generally in the meta- phorical use of words.
1. Literal use. — The word 'debt' signifying a business transaction is found in Philem ^* {dcpeiXei), where St. Paul delicately refers to money or valuables stolen from Philemon by Onesimus. St. Paul here uses the technical language of business — tovto ifiol iWbya. We meet iWoyeu) in pagan inscriptions and in an Imperial papyrus letter of the time of Hadrian (Deissmann, Light from the Ancient East-, 79 f.). Dibelius ('KoL' in Handbuch zum NT, 1912, p. 129) quotes various examples, as virkp dppa^Quos [ttj T](./j.ri €\\oyovfX€i'[o']v (Grenfell and Hunt, ii. 67, 16 ff.). 'in the rest of St. Paul's half-humorous sally with Philemon {?ypa\pa ttj i/j-rj x^'pO he probably has in mind r6 xeip&ypa^ov (Col 2''*). The debtor could have an- other to write for him if unable to write himself (cf. specimen of such a note by an dypd/ifxaroi from the Fayyflm papj'ri [Deissmann, op. cit. p. 335]). The common word for ' repay ' is dirodldu/M (cf. Ro 13''), but St. Paul here uses dirorla-u, ' which is much stronger than diroddjo-o' (Deissmann, p. 335 n. ; cf. also Moulton and Milligan, in Expositor, 7th ser., vi. [1908] 191 f.). St. Paul thus gives Philemon his note of hand to pay the debt of Onesimus. In Ph 4^8 St. Paul uses, perhaps in playful vein again, the technical word for a receipt, dir^x'^t in express- ing his appreciation of the liberal contribution sent to him by the Philippians (cf. dirixf^ for a tax-receipt on an ostracon from Thebes [Deissmann, p. 111]). The term d% \6yoi> vfiQv (Ph 4") has the atmosphere of book-keeping (cf. also els \6yov 86(Tews Kal X-qiA^^eus in v.'^). In Ro 4^ we find the figure of credit for actual work as a debt — /card 6<p€i\T]/xa. This is simply pay for work done (wages). The word 6 fj.icr66s, hire for pay, is the common expression (cf. the proverb in 1 Ti 5'" and fiLffdo}fj.a (hired house) in Ac 28^").
In Ja 5* the curtain is raised upon the social wrong done to labour by grinding employers who kept back (d^vo-Tep^w) the wages of the men who
tilled the fields. James rather implies that there Avas little recourse to law in such cases, but con- soles the wronged workers in that God has heard their cries. There was imprisonment for debt, as was the case in England and America till some 50 years ago, but it was only with difficulty that the workman could bring such a law to bear on his employer. In Ro 13^"^ St. Paul expressly urges the Roman Christians to pay taxes, a form of debt paid with poor grace in all the ages. Christi- anity is on the side of law and order, and recog- nizes the debt of the citizens to government for the maintenance of order. ' For this cause ye pay tribute also' (v.^), (p6povs TeXelre. In v.'' he urges the duty of paying (dwoSoTe) back in full (perfective use of diro as in drrexw above) one's taxes. <p6pos is tiie tribute paid by the subject nation (Lk 20"^, 1 Mac 10^^), while riXos represents the customs and dues which would in any case be paid for the support of the civil government (Mt 17"^ 1 Mac 10^^). So Sanday-Headlam, Romans, in loco.
In Ro 13^ St. Paul covers the whole field by /iTjdevl fjL-rid^v 6(peiXeT€. We are not to imagine that he ia opposed to debt as the basis of business. The early Jewish prohibitions against debt and interest (usury) contemplated a world where only the poor and unfortunate had to borrow. But already, long before St. Paul's time, borrowing and lending was a regular business custom at the basis of trade. Extortionate rates of interest were often charged (cf. Horace [Sat. I. ii. 14], who expressly states that interest at the rate of 5 per cent a month or 60 per cent a year was sometimes exacted). Jesus draws a picture of imprisonment, and even slavery, for debt in the Parable of the Two Creditors (Mt lg-23-3b . (;f_ g^i^Q 535f.)_ gut iiyQ point of view of