The meaning of Fellow in the Bible
(From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
fel'-o (chabher, rea'; hetairos): Meant originally a "partner," from fe, "property," and lag, "to lay," then "a companion," "an equal," "a person or individual," "a worthless person."
(1) As "companion" it is the translation of chabher, "associate," "companion," "friend" (also chabbar, Job 41:6 (Hebrew 40:30), where we have the original sense of partnership, translated "bands" the Revised Version (British and American), the King James Version "companions"); Psalms 45:7, "God hath anointed thee .... above thy fellows"; of habhrah (Ecclesiastes 4:10; Daniel 7:20); of rea', "companion," "friend," "another" (Exodus 2:13; Judges 7:13-14, Judges 7:22); re'ah (or ra'yah), "a female friend" (Judges 11:37, "I and my fellows," the Revised Version (British and American) "companions"; here the King James Version applies "fellow" to a female; compare Baruch 6:43, "She reproacheth her fellow," he plesion); in Judges 11:38, "companions" is the translation of 'amith, "fellowship"; 'amith (Zechariah 13:7, "the man that is my fellow," literally, "the man of my fellowship"); hetairos, "companion" (Matthew 11:16); metochos, "partner"; (compare Luke 5:7; Hebrews 1:9, quoted from Psalms 45:7, Septuagint for chabher).
(2) As an individual or person "fellow" is the translation of 'ish, "a man," "an individual": "make this fellow return" (I Samuel 29:4 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "the man"); in the same verse "fellow" is supplied instead of "he"; "fellow" in 1611 meant simply "a man," and it is difficult to say in what passages the ideas of "worthless," etc., are meant to be implied; probably, however, in Judges 18:25, where the Hebrew is simply 'enosh, "man," and the text is almost the only deviation from the rendering "man," "men," "lest angry (margin, Revised Version "bitter of soul") fellows fall upon you"; also Acts 17:5, aner, "a man," "certain lewd fellows of the baser sort," the Revised Version (British and American) "vile fellows"; compare II Samuel 6:20, "vain (req) fellows" (supplied); 1 Macc 10:61, "contain pestilent fellows" (aner); Ecclesiasticus 8:15, "a bold fellow" (tolmeros), the Revised Version (British and American) "a rash man"; in several places of the Old Testament "fellow" represents zeh, "this," and in these instances there seems to be something of worthlessness or contempt implied (I Samuel 21:15 bis; I Samuel 25:21; I Kings 22:27; II Kings 9:11, and, as before, I Samuel 29:4 the Revised Version (British and American)); in the New Testament also "fellow" often represents houtos, "this," and in most of these cases the King James Version seems to intend something depreciatory to be understood; the Revised Version (British and American) gives simply "man" (Matthew 12:24; Matthew 26:61, Matthew 26:71; Luke 22:59; Luke 23:2; John 9:29; Acts 18:13); so Ecclesiasticus 13:23, "If the poor man speaks, they say, What fellow is this?" the Revised Version (British and American) "who is this?" 1 Macc 4:5, "These fellows flee from us," the Revised Version (British and American) "these men." the Revised Version (British and American) has "fellows" for "persons" (Judges 9:4), for "men" (Judges 11:3); "base fellows" for "men the children of Belial" (Deuteronomy 13:13), margin, "sons of worthlessness"; the American Standard Revised Version "worthless fellow" for "son of Belial" (I Samuel 25:17, I Samuel 25:25), "base fellows" for "sons of Belial" (Judges 19:22; Judges 20:13, etc.); the Revised Version (British and American) has also "companions" for "fellows" (Judges 11:37, as above; Ezekiel 37:19; Daniel 2:13), "each man his fellow" for "one another" (II Kings 3:23); "fellow by" for "neighbor in" (I Kings 20:35).
Fellow-citizen, Fellow-disciple, Fellow-heirs, Yokefellow, etc. In composition, "fellow" always means partner or companion.
W. L. Walker
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