[B-Greek] Gal 4:2 steward

Carl W.Conrad cwconrad at ioa.com
Thu Nov 6 17:33:34 EST 2003


At 1:18 PM -0800 11/6/03, Byron & Linetta Knutson wrote:
 >I Gal 4:2 the word OIKONOMOUS is plural.  I was wondering if there are 
any cases in the ancient world where a household had more than one 
steward at a time?  I can conceive of having plural stewards if one 
died and another took his place, thus a child would have been under 
stewardS, but did they ever serve concurrently and if so what were the 
cercumstances?
 >
 >Also, what were the differences in job discription between 
STEWARDS/OIONOMOUS and TUTORS or GUARDIANS/EPITROPOUS?

You mustn't get hung up on the word in its primary sense; it appears in 
the plural elsewhere in the GNT in 1 Cor 4:1 and 4:2 and in 1 Pet 4:10. 
In addition to senses #1 and #2, BDAG has #3:

	3. one who is entrusted with management in connection with 
transcendent matters, administrator (Aristot., Rhet. 3, 3 p. 1406a, 27; 
Tat. 9, 3. of the administrators of divine things ( ParJer 7:2; of an 
office in the Serapeum UPZ 56, 7 [160 BC]; religious associations also 
had OIKONOMOI.Ú OGI 50, 12; 51, 26): the apostles are OIKONOMOI 
MUSTHRIWN QEOU administrators of God’s secret counsels/plans 1 Cor 4:1. 
So the overseer of a Christian community must conduct himself as a QEOU 
OIKONOMOS Tit 1:7. But Christians gener. are also QEOU OIKONOMOI (KAI 
PAREDROI KAI hUPHRETAI) IPol 6:1 or KALOI OIKONOMOI POIKILHS CARITOS 
QEOU v good administrators of God’s varied grace 1 Pt 4:10 (cp. X., 
Mem. 3, 4, 7 hOI AGAQOI OIKONOMOI).—JReumann, JBL 77, ’58, 339–49 
(pre-Christian), ‘Jesus the Steward’, TU 103, ’68, 21–29.—New Docs 4, 
160f. DELG s.v. ne÷mw. M-M. EDNT. TW. Spicq. Sv.


Carl W. Conrad
Department of Classics, Washington University (Emeritus)
1989 Grindstaff Road/Burnsville, NC 28714/(828) 675-4243
cwconrad at artsci.wustl.edu
WWW: http://www.ioa.com/~cwconrad/


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