4173. politarchés

Lexicon

politarchés: City official, ruler of a city

Original Word: πολιτάρχης
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: politarchés
Pronunciation: po-lee-TAR-khace
Phonetic Spelling: (pol-it-ar'-khace)
Definition: City official, ruler of a city
Meaning: a ruler of a city, city magistrate.

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance

ruler of the city.

From polis and archo; a town-officer, i.e. Magistrate -- ruler of the city.

see GREEK polis

see GREEK archo

NAS Exhaustive Concordance

Word Origin
from polis and archó
Definition
the ruler of a city
NASB Translation
city authorities (2).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon

STRONGS NT 4173: πολιτάρχης

πολιτάρχης, πολιταρχου, ὁ (i. e. ὁ ἄρχων τῶν πολιτῶν; see ἑκατοντάρχης), a ruler of a city or citizens: Acts 17:6, 8. (Boeckh, Corpus inscriptions Graec. ii., p. 52f no. 1967 (cf. Boeckh's note, and Tdf. Proleg., p. 86 note 2); in Greek writings πολίαρχος was more common.)

Topical Lexicon

Word Origin: Derived from the Greek words "πολίτης" (politēs), meaning "citizen," and "ἄρχω" (archō), meaning "to rule" or "to lead."

Corresponding Greek / Hebrew Entries: There is no direct Hebrew equivalent for πολιτάρχης, as it is a term specific to the Greek context of city governance. However, similar roles in the Hebrew context might be compared to local rulers or judges, though these would not be direct lexical equivalents.

Usage: The term πολιτάρχης is used in the New Testament to refer to city officials or magistrates who held authority in a city. It appears in the context of the governance structure of ancient cities.

Context: The term πολιτάρχης is found in the New Testament in the Book of Acts. Specifically, it appears in Acts 17:6 and Acts 17:8, where it describes the city officials of Thessalonica. These officials were responsible for maintaining order and overseeing the civic administration of the city. The use of the term in Acts provides insight into the political and social structure of ancient Greek cities during the Roman Empire.

In Acts 17:6 (BSB), the passage reads: "But when they did not find them, they dragged Jason and some other brothers before the city officials, shouting, 'These men who have turned the world upside down have now come here.'"

In Acts 17:8 (BSB), it continues: "On hearing this, the crowd and city officials were greatly disturbed."

The role of the πολιτάρχης was significant in maintaining the peace and order of the city, and they were often involved in legal and administrative matters. The term is historically validated by archaeological findings, such as inscriptions in Thessalonica, confirming the existence of such officials and their importance in the civic life of the city.

Forms and Transliterations

πολιταρχας πολιτάρχας politarchas politárchas

Englishman's Concordance

Acts 17:6 N-AMP
GRK: ἐπὶ τοὺς πολιτάρχας βοῶντες ὅτι
NAS: before the city authorities, shouting,
KJV: unto the rulers of the city, crying,
INT: before the city authorities crying out

Acts 17:8 N-AMP
GRK: καὶ τοὺς πολιτάρχας ἀκούοντας ταῦτα
NAS: up the crowd and the city authorities who heard
KJV: and the rulers of the city, when they heard
INT: and the city authorities hearing these things

Strong's Greek 4173
2 Occurrences

πολιτάρχας — 2 Occ.