The meaning of Esteem in the Bible
(From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
es-tem' (chashabh; hegeomai): "To esteem" means sometimes simply "to think" or "reckon"; in other connections it means "to regard as honorable" or "valuable." We have examples of both senses in the Bible. The word most often so translated in the Old Testament is chashabh, meaning perhaps originally, "to bind," hence, "combine," "think," "reckon" (Job 41:27 the King James Version; Isaiah 29:16-17; Isaiah 53:4; Lamentations 4:2). In Isaiah 53:3 we have the word in the higher sense, "We esteemed him not." This sense is expressed also by 'arakh, "to set in array," "in order" (Job 36:19, the King James Version "Will he esteem thy riches?" the English Revised Version "Will thy riches suffice?" margin "Will thy cry avail?" which the American Standard Revised Version adopts as the text); also by tsaphan, "to hide," "to conceal" (Job 23:12, the King James Version "I have esteemed the words of his mouth," the Revised Version (British and American) "treasured up"); qalah, "to be light," is translated "lightly esteemed" (I Samuel 18:23, "I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed"), also qalal, same meaning (I Samuel 2:30, "They that despise me shall be lightly esteemed"). In the New Testament, hegeomai, "to lead out," is used in the sense of "counting honorable," etc. (Philippians 2:3 the Revised Version (British and American) "counting"; I Thessalonians 5:13; perhaps Hebrews 11:26, but the Revised Version (British and American) has simply "accounting"); krino, "to judge," is used in the sense of "to reckon" (Romans 14:5 twice); also logizomai, "to reckon" (Romans 14:14, the Revised Version (British and American) "accounteth"); hupselos, "high," "exalted," is rendered "highly esteemed" in Luke 16:15 the King James Version, but in the Revised Version (British and American) "exalted"; exoutheneo, "to think nothing of," is translated "least esteemed" (I Corinthians 6:4 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "of no account").
The following changes in the Revised Version (British and American) are of interest: for "He that is despised and hath a servant, is better than he that honoreth himself and lacketh bread" (Proverbs 12:9), "Better is he that is lightly esteemed"; for "Better is he than both they, which hath not yet been" (Ecclesiastes 4:3), "Better than them both did I esteem him," margin "Better than they both is he"; for "Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter's clay" (Isaiah 29:16), "Ye turn things upside down!" (margin, "Oh your perversity!"), "Shall the potter be esteemed (the English Revised Version "counted") as clay," etc.—in this connection a forcible assertion of the necessary possession of knowledge by the Creator of man.
W. L. Walker
DISCLAIMER: Church of the Great God (CGG) provides these resources to aid the individual in studying the Bible. However, it is up to the individual to "prove all things, and hold fast to that which is good" (I Thessalonians 5:21). The content of these resources does not necessarily reflect the views of CGG. They are provided for information purposes only.
