The meaning of Master in the Bible
(From International Standard Bible Encyclopedia)
mas'-ter ('adhon, ba'al, rabbi; despotes, didaskalos, kurios, rhabbi): "Master," when the translation of 'adhon, "ruler," "lord" (Sir), often translated "lord," denotes generally the owner or master of a servant or slave (Genesis 24:9, etc.; Genesis 39:2, etc.; Exodus 21:4, etc.; Deuteronomy 23:15 bis; II Samuel 9:9-10 twice; Proverbs 30:10); elsewhere it is rather "lord" or "ruler" (often king, e.g. I Samuel 24:6, I Samuel 24:8; I Samuel 26:16); in the plural 'adhonim, it is, as the rule, used only of God (but see Genesis 19:2, Genesis 19:18; Deuteronomy 10:17; Psalms 136:3, "Lord of lords"; Isaiah 26:13, "other lords"; Isaiah 19:4 (Hebrew "lords"); Isaiah 24:2). Ba'al, "lord," "owner," is translated "master": "the master of the house" (Exodus 22:8; Judges 19:22-23); "the ass his master's crib" (Isaiah 1:3). We have it also translated "masters of assemblies" (Ecclesiastes 12:11). See ASSEMBLIES, MASTERS OF. Compare Ecclesiasticus 32:1, "master (of a feast)," the Revised Version (British and American) "ruler"; John 2:9, "ruler of the feast"; [rabh] (Daniel 1:3; Jonah 1:6, "shipmaster"); rabh, Aramaic, "great," "mighty," "elder" (Daniel 4:9; Daniel 5:11," master of the magicians"); also [sar], "head" or "chief" (Exodus 1:11, "taskmasters"; I Chronicles 15:27, "master of the song," the Revised Version margin "the carrying of the ark, Hebrew the lifting up"); 'ur, "to call," "to awake," is also rendered "master" in the King James Version, "The Lord will cut off the man that doeth this, the master and the scholar," margin "him that waketh and him that answereth," the Revised Version (British and American) as the King James Version margin (Malachi 2:12).
The verb "to master" does not occur in the Old Testament, but we have in Apocrypha (The Wisdom of Solomon 12:18) "mastering thy power" (despozon ischuos), the Revised Version (British and American) "being sovereign over (thy) strengh."
In the New Testament despotes answers to 'adhon as "master" (I Timothy 6:1-2; II Timothy 2:21), rendered also "Lord" (Luke 2:29,etc.); kurios, is "Master," "Lord," "Sir," used very frequently of God or of Christ (Matthew 1:20, Matthew 1:22, Matthew 1:24), translated "Master" (Matthew 6:24; Matthew 15:27; the King James Version Mark 13:35; Romans 14:4, etc.); kathegetes, a "leader," is translated "Master" (Matthew 23:8 (the King James Version), Matthew 23:10); didaskalos, a title very often applied to our Lord in the Gospels, is "Teacher," translated "Master" in the King James Version Matthew 8:19; Matthew 9:11; Mark 4:38; Luke 3:12, etc.; the Revised Version (British and American) "Teacher"; also John 3:2, John 3:10; James 3:1, "be not many masters," the Revised Version (British and American) "teachers"; rhabbi, rhabbei ("Rabbi") (a transliterated Hebrew term signifying "my Teacher") is also in several instances applied to Jesus, the King James Version "Master" (Matthew 26:25, Matthew 26:49; Mark 9:5; Mark 11:21; John 9:2 (the Revised Version (British and American) leaves untranslated) Mark 10:51, "Rabboni," the King James Version "Lord"; John 20:16 ("Rabbouni"), the Revised Version (British and American) "Rabboni," which see).
For "master" the Revised Version (British and American) has "lord" (I Samuel 26:16; I Samuel 29:4, I Samuel 29:10; Amos 4:1; Mark 13:35; Romans 14:4); "master" for "lord" (Genesis 39:16; II Peter 2:1; Revelation 6:10); for "good man of the house" (Matthew 24:43; Luke 12:39), "master of the house"; in Ephesians 6:5, the Revised Version margin gives "Gr lords" (in Ephesians 6:9, "their Master and yours" is also Greek kurios); instead of "the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ" (Judges 1:4), the Revised Version (British and American) reads "our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ," margin "the only Master, and our Lord Jesus Christ"; for "overcame them" (Acts 19:16), "mastered both of them."
W. L. Walker
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