THE word APOSTLE has been adopted into all the languages of Christendom,
from the Greek, in which the earliest records of the Christian history
are given to us. In that language, the corresponding word is derived
from a verb which means “send,” so that the simplest primary meaning
of the derivative is “_one sent_;” and in all the uses of the word this
meaning is kept in view. Of its ordinary meanings, the most frequent
was that of “a person employed at a distance to execute the commands,
or exercise the authority, of the supreme power,” in which sense it
was appropriated as the title of an embassador, a messenger, or a
naval commander; and it is used to designate all these officers in
the classic Grecian writers. In reference to its general, and probably
not to any technical meaning, it was applied by Jesus Christ to those
of his followers whom he chose as the objects of his most careful
instruction, and as the inheritors of his power; whom thus indued, he
_sent_ into all the world, to preach the gospel to every creature. The
use of the term in connection with this high and holy commission, did
not give it such a character of peculiar sanctity or dignity, as to
limit its application among Christians of the early ages, to the chosen
ministers of Christ’s own appointment; but it is applied even in the
writings of the New Testament, as well as by the Grecian and Latin
fathers of the churches, to other persons of inferior rank, that
might be included under its primary meaning. It was also extended, in
the peculiar sense in which Christ first applied it, from the twelve
to other eminent and successful preachers of the gospel who were
contemporary with them, and to some of their successors.
[It will be noticed that, throughout this book, the text is,
on many pages, broken by matters thrown in at the ends of
paragraphs, in smaller type. The design is, that these notes,
thus running through the body of the work, shall contain all
such particulars as would too much break the thread of the
story if made a part of the common text, and yet are of the
highest importance as illustrations, explanations, and proofs
of passages in the history. In many places, there will be need
of references to history, antiquities, topography, and various
collateral helps, to make the story understood. All these things
are here given in minute type, proportioned to the minuteness of
the investigations therein followed. Being separated in this way,
they need be no hindrance to those who do not wish to learn the
reasons and proofs of things, since all such can pass them by at
once, and keep the thread of the narrative, in the larger type,
unbroken.
This first note being a mere exegesis of a single word, is
the least attractive of all to a common reader; and some,
perhaps, will object to it as needlessly protracted into minute
investigations of points not directly important to the narrative;
and the writer may have been led beyond the necessity of the
case, by the circumstance of his previous occupations having
drawn his attention particularly to close etymological and
lexicographical research in the Greek language; but he is
consoled by the belief that there will be some among his readers
who can appreciate and enjoy these minutiæ.]
_Apostle._――The most distant theme, to which this word can be
traced in Greek, is the verb Στελλω, _stello_, which enters into
the composition of Αποστελλω, _apostello_, from which _apostle_
is directly derived.
As to the primary meaning of Στελλω, there appears to be some
difference of opinion among lexicographers. All the common
lexicons give to the meaning “_send_” the first place, as
the original sense from which all the others are formed, by
different applications of the term. But a little examination
into the history of the word, in its uses by the earlier Greeks,
seems to give reason for a different arrangement of the meanings.
In searching for the original force of a Greek word, the first
reference must, of course, be to the father of Grecian song and
story. In HOMER, this word, στελλω, is found in such a variety
of connections, as to give the most desirable opportunities for
reaching its primary meaning. Yet in none of these passages does
it stand in such a relation to other words, as to _require_ the
meaning of “_send_.” Only a single passage in Homer has ever
been supposed to justify the translation of the word in this
sense, and even that is translated with equal force and justice,
and far more in analogy with the usages of Homer, by the meaning
of “_equip_,” or “_prepare_,” which is the idea expressed by it
in all other passages where it is used by that author. (See Damm,
sub voc.) This is the meaning which the learned Valckenaer gives
as the true primary signification of this word, from which, in
the revolutions of later usage, the secondary meanings have been
derived. In this opinion I have been led to acquiesce, by the
historical investigation of the earlier uses of the term, and
by the consideration of the natural transition from the primary
meaning of “_fix_,” “_equip_,” or “_fit out_,” to that of
“_send_,” and other secondary meanings, all which occur only in
the later authors. Pindar limits it like Homer. Herodotus never
uses the word in the sense of “_send_,” but confines it to the
meaning of “_equip_,” “_furnish_,” “_clothe_.” Æschylus gives it
the meaning of “_go_,” but not of “_send_.” Sophocles and
Euripides also exclude this application of the term.
This brief allusion to these early authorities will be
sufficient, without a prolonged investigation, to show that
the meaning of “_send_” was not, historically, the first
signification. But a still more rational ground for this opinion
is found in the natural order of transition in sense, which
would be followed in the later applications of the word. It is
perfectly easy to see how, from this primary meaning of “_fix_,”
or “_equip_,” when applied to a person, in reference to an
expedition or any distant object, would insensibly originate the
meaning of “_send_;” since, in most cases, to equip or fix out
an expedition or a messenger, is to commission and send one. In
this way, all the secondary meanings flow naturally from this
common theme, but if the order should be inverted in respect to
any one of them, the beautiful harmony of derivation would be
lost at once. There is no other of the meanings of στελλω which
can be thus taken as the natural source of all the rest, and
shown to originate them in its various secondary applications.
The meanings of “array,” “dress,” “adorn,” “take in,” &c., are
all deducible from the original idea conveyed by στελλω, and are,
like “_send_,” equally incapable of taking the rank of the
primary meaning.
In tracing the minute and distant etymology of this word,
it is worth noticing that the first element in στελλω is the
sound _st_, which is at once recognized by oriental scholars as
identical with the Sanscrit and Persian root _st_, bearing in
those and in many combinations in the various languages of their
stock, the idea of “_fixity_.” This idea is prominent in the
primary meaning of στελλω given by Passow, who, in his Greek
lexicon, (almost the only classical one that properly classifies
and deduces the meanings of words,) gives the German word
_stellen_ as the original ground-meaning of the term before us.
This is best expressed in English by “fix,” in all its vagueness
of meaning, from which, in the progress of use, are deduced the
various secondary senses in which στελλω is used, which here
follow in order:
1. Equip, Fit out, Arrange, Prepare. In this sense it is applied
to armaments, both to hosts and to individuals, and thus in
reference to warlike preparations expresses nearly the idea of
“Arm.” This is, it seems to me, the meaning of the word in the
verse of Homer already alluded to. The passage is in the Iliad
xii. 325, where Sarpedon is addressing Glaucus, and says, “If
we could hope, my friend, after escaping this contest, to shun
forever old age and death, I would neither myself fight among
the foremost, nor _prepare_ you for the glorious strife.” (Or as
Heyne more freely renders it, _hortarer_, “urge,” or “incite.”)
The inappropriateness of the meaning “send,” given in this place
by Clark, (_mitterem_) and one of the scholiasts, (πεμποιμι)
consists in the fact, that the hero speaking was himself to
accompany or rather lead his friend into the deadly struggle,
and of course could not be properly said to _send_ him, if he
went with him or before him. It was the partial consideration
of this circumstance, no doubt, which led the same scholiast
to offer as an additional probable meaning, that of “prepare,”
“make ready,” (παρασκευαζοιμι,) as though he had some misgiving
about the propriety of his first translation. For a full account
of these renderings, see Heyne in loc. and Stephens’s Thesaurus
sub voc. In the latter also, under the second paragraph of
Στελλω, are given numerous other passages illustrating this
usage, in passive and middle as well as active forms, both from
Homer and later writers. In Passow’s Griechisch Wörterbuch,
other useful references are given sub voc.; and in Damm is found
the best account of its uses in Homer.
2. In the applications of the word in this first meaning, the
idea of equipment or preparation was always immediately followed
by that of future action, for the very notion of equipment or
preparation implies some departure or undertaking immediately
subsequent. In the transitive sense, when the subject of the
verb is the instrument of preparing _another_ person for the
distant purpose, there immediately arises the signification
of “_send_,” constituting the second branch of definition,
which has been so unfortunately mistaken for the root, by all
the common lexicographers. In the reflexive sense, when the
subject prepares _himself_ for the expected action, in the same
manner originates, at once, the meaning “_go_,” which is found,
therefore, the prominent secondary sense of the middle voice,
and also of the active, when, as is frequent in Greek verbs,
that voice assumes a reflexive force. The origin of these two
definitions, apparently so incongruous with the rest and with
each other, is thus made consistent and clear; and the identity
of origin here shown, justifies the arrangement of them both
together in this manner.
The tracing out of the other meanings of this word from the
ground-meaning, would be abundantly interesting to many; but
all that can be here allowed, is the discussion of precedence
between the first two, here given. Those who desire to pursue
the research, have most able guides in the great German
lexicographers, whose materials have been useful in illustrating
what is here given. For abundant references illustrating these
various meanings, see H. Stephens’s Thesaurus, Scapula’s, Damm’s,
Schneider’s, Passow’s, Donnegan’s, Porti’s, and Jones’s Lexicons.
The simple verb στελλω, thus superabundantly illustrated,
among its numerous combinations with other words, is compounded
with the preposition απο, (_apo_,) making the verb Αποστελλω,
(_apostello_.) This preposition having the force of “away,”
“from,” when united with a verb, generally adds to it the idea
of motion off from some object. Thus αποστελλω acquires by this
addition the sense of “away,” which however only gives precision
and force to the meaning “send,” which belongs to the simple
verb. By prefixing this preposition, the verb is always confined
to the definition “send,” and the compound never bears any other
of the definitions of στελλω but this. The simple verb without
the prefix expresses the idea of “send” only in certain peculiar
relations with other words, while the compound, limited and
aided by the preposition, always implies action directed “away
from” the agent to a distance, and thus conveys the primary idea
of “send,” so invariably, that it is used in no passage in which
this word will not express its meaning. From this compound verb
thus defined, is directly formed the substantive which is the
true object and end of this protracted research.
Αποστολος, (_Apostolos_) is derived from the preceding verb
by changing the penult vowel Ε into Ο, and displacing the
termination of the verb by that of the noun. The change of the
penult vowel is described in the grammars as caused by its being
derived from the perfect middle, which has this peculiarity in
its penult. The noun preserves in all its uses the uniform sense
of the verb from which it is derived, and in every instance
maintains the primary idea of “a person or thing _sent_.” It
was often used adjectively with a termination varying according
to the gender of the substantive to which it referred. In this
way it seems to have been used by Herodotus, who gives it the
termination corresponding to the neuter, when the substantive
to which it refers is in that gender. (See Porti Dictionarium
Ionicum Græco Latinum.) Herodotus is the earliest author in whom
I am able to discover the word, for Homer never uses the word
at all, nor does any author, as far as I know, previous to the
father of history. Though always preserving the primary idea of
the word, he varies its meaning considerably, according as he
applies it to a person or a thing. With the neuter termination
αποστολον, (_apostolo_N,) referring to the substantive πλοιον,
(_ploion_,) it means a “vessel _sent_” from place to place.
In Plato, (Epistle 7,) it occurs in this connection with the
substantive πλοιον expressed, which in Herodotus is only implied.
For an exposition of this use of the term, see H. Stephens’s
Thesaurus, (sub voc. αποστολος.) With the masculine termination,
Herodotus, applying it to persons, uses it first in the sense
of “messenger,” “embassador,” or “herald,” in Clio, 21, where
relating that Halyattes, king of Lydia, sent a herald (κηρυξ,)
to treat for a truce with the Milesians, he mentions his arrival
under this synonymous term. “So the messenger (αποστολος,
_apostolos_,) came to Miletus.” (Ὁ μεν δη αποστολος ες την
Μιλητον ἦν.) In Terpsichore, 38, he uses the same term.
“Aristagoras the Milesian went to Lacedæmon by ship, as
_embassador_ (or delegate) from the assembly of Ionic tyrants,”
(Αποστολος εγινετο.) These two passages are the earliest Greek
in which I can find this word, and it is worth noticing here,
that the word in the masculine form was distinctly applied to
persons, in the sense given as the primary one in the text of
this book. But, still maintaining in its uses the general idea
of “sent,” it was not confined, in the ever-changing usage of
the flexible Greeks, to individual persons alone. In reference
to its expression of the idea of “distant destination,” it
was applied by later writers to naval expeditions, and in the
speeches of Demosthenes, who frequently uses the word, it is
entirely confined to the meaning of a “warlike expedition,
_fitted out_ and _sent_ by sea to a distant contest.”
(References to numerous passages in Demosthenes, where this term
is used, may be found in Stephens’s Thesaurus, on the word.)
From the fleet itself, the term was finally transferred to the
naval commander _sent out_ with it, so that in this connection
it became equivalent to the modern title of “Admiral.”
Besides these political and military uses of the word, it also
acquired in the later Greek a technical meaning as a _legal_
term, and in the law-writers of the Byzantine school, it is
equivalent to “_letters of appeal_” from the decision of a lower
tribunal to a higher one. But this, as well as the two previous
meanings, must be considered as mere technical and temporary
usages, while the original sense of “messenger,” “herald,”
“embassador,” remained in constant force long after the word
had received the peculiar application which is the great object
of this long investigation. Yet various as are these meanings,
it should be noticed that all those which refer to persons,
have this one common idea, that of “one sent to a distance to
execute the commands of a higher power.” This sense is likewise
preserved in that sacred meaning, which the previous inquiry
has now somewhat prepared the reader as well as the writer to
appreciate in its true force.
The earliest passage in the sacred records of Christianity,
in which the word apostle is used, is the second verse of the
tenth chapter of Matthew, where the distinct nomination of the
twelve chief disciples is first mentioned. They are here called
apostles, and as the term is used in connection with their
being _sent out_ on their first mission, it seems plain that
the application of the name had a direct reference to this
primary signification. The word, indeed, which Jesus uses in the
sixteenth verse, (when he says ‘Behold! I SEND _you forth_ as
sheep in the midst of wolves,’) is αποστελλω, (_apostello_), and
when in the fifth verse, Matthew, after enumerating and naming
the apostles, says “These twelve Jesus _sent forth_,” the past
tense of the same verb is used, (απεστειλεν, _apesteilen_.)
Mark also, in his third chapter, relating the appointment and
commissioning of the twelve, uses this verb, in verse 14. “And
he appointed twelve, that they might be with him, and that he
might SEND _them forth_ to preach,” (αποστελλη, _apostellé_.)
Luke merely mentions the name apostle, in giving the list of the
twelve, in chapter 6, verse 13; and in chapter 9, verse 2, gives
the verb in the same way as Matthew. The term certainly is of
rare occurrence in all the gospels; those persons who are thus
designated being commonly mentioned under the general title of
_disciple_ or learner, (μαθητης,) and when it is necessary to
separate them from the rest of Christ’s followers, they are
designated from their number “the twelve.” John never uses
it in this sense, nor does Mark in giving the list, though he
does in vi. 30, and the only occasion on which it is applied to
the twelve by Matthew, is that of their being _sent forth_ on
their brief experimental mission through the land of Israel, to
announce the approach of the Messiah’s reign. The simple reason,
for this remarkable exclusion of the term from common use in the
gospel story, is that only on that one occasion just mentioned,
did they assume the character of _apostles_, or persons _sent
forth_ by a superior. This circumstance shows a beautiful
justness and accuracy in the use of words by the gospel writers,
who in this matter, at least, seem to have fully apprehended
the true etymological force of the noble language in which they
wrote. The twelve, during the whole life of Jesus, were never
_sent forth_ to proclaim their Lord’s coming, except once; but
until the Ascension, they were simple _learners_, or disciples,
(μαθηται, _mathetai_,) and not apostles or messengers, who had
so completely learned the will of God as to be qualified to
teach it to others. But immediately after the final departure
of Jesus, the sacred narrative gives them the title of apostles
with much uniformity, because they had now, by their ascending
Lord, been solemnly commissioned in his last words, and _sent
forth_ as messengers and embassadors to “all nations.” A common
reader of the New Testament must notice that, in the Acts of the
Apostles, this title is the most usual one given to the chosen
twelve, though even there, an occasional use is made of the
collective term taken from the idea of their number. It deserves
notice, however, that Luke, the author of the Acts, even in his
gospel, uses this name more frequently than any other of the
evangelists; and his individual preference for this word may,
perhaps, have had some influence in producing its very frequent
use in the second part of his narrative, though the whole number
of times when it is used in his gospel is only six, whereas in
Acts it occurs twenty-seven times. So that on the whole it would
seem clear, that the change from the common use of the term
“DISCIPLE,” in the gospels, to that of “APOSTLE,” in the history
of their acts after the ascension, was made in reference to the
corresponding change in the character and duties of the persons
thus named.
The lexicography of the word αποστολος, (_apostolos_,) I arrange
as follows, after a full comparison and investigation of all the
standard authorities.
The primary idea or ground-meaning which runs through all the
secondary significations, and is distinctly recognizable in all
their various applications, is as has already been remarked,
that of “one sent forth,” referring either to persons or things,
but more commonly to persons. These secondary meanings being all
directly derived from the ground-stock, and not by a repetition
of transformations in sense, it is hard to settle any order of
precedence among them; which might be easily done if a distinct
gradation could be traced, as in the definition of most words.
I have chosen to follow what seems to be the historical order
of application, as already traced, although several very high
authorities give a different arrangement.
I. _A messenger, herald, embassador_; a _person_ sent with a
message. This is the use made of the term by Herodotus, above
quoted, and being thus historically the earliest, as well as
flowing naturally from the ground-meaning, may therefore justly
hold the first place. And when other variable meanings had been
lost in the revolutions of usage, this retained its place, being
applied to many different persons whose offices included the
idea of being sent abroad by commission from a higher power.
Under this meaning is most justly included that peculiar
Christian use of the word, which is the object of this
investigation, and under this head therefore I rank all the New
Testament usages of αποστολος. 1. It is used in the simple sense
here given, with the first primary idea conveyed by the term.
There is no Greek sentence extant which refers so forcibly to
the ground-meaning as that in John’s gospel, xiii. 16; where the
words in the common English translation are “_he that is sent_,”
though in the original Greek the word is αποστολος, which might
be more justly translated “messenger,” in order to make a
difference in English corresponding to that in Greek, between
αποστολος and πεμψας, (_pempsas_,) without giving the same word
“_send_” for two different words in Greek. Still the common
translation gives the true meaning of each word, though not so
simply and gracefully just, as it might be if the difference of
terms in the two members of the sentence was kept up in English.
In this same general sense of “messenger,” or “any person
sent,” it is used in 2 Corinthians viii. 23, (in common English
translation “messenger,”) and in Philippians ii. 25, (common
translation “messenger.”) 2. It is used to designate persons
directly sent by God to men, and in this sense is frequently
given to us in connection with “_prophet_,” as in Luke xi. 49;
Ephesians iii. 5; Revelation xviii. 20. In this sense also it is
applied to Jesus, in Hebrews iii. 1, 3. It is used as the title
of several classes of persons, employed by Jesus in propagating
the gospel. These are [1] the twelve chief disciples, commonly
distinguished above all others but one, by this name. Matthew
x. 2; Mark vi. 30; Luke vi. 13; ix. 10; xxii. 14; Acts i. 26;
and in other places too numerous to be mentioned here, but to
which a good concordance will direct any curious investigator.
[2] Paul, as the great messenger of truth to the Gentiles,
so called in many passages; and with him Barnabas is also
distinctly included under this term, in Acts xiv. 4, 14; and
xv. 33. (Griesbach however, has changed this last passage from
the common reading. See his editions.) [3] Other persons, not
of great eminence or fame; as Andronicus and Junius, Paul’s
assistants, Romans xvi. 7; the companions of Titus in collecting
the contributions of the churches, 2 Corinthians viii. 23; and
perhaps also Epaphroditus, Philippians ii. 25. This seems to be
as clear an arrangement of the New Testament lexicography of the
term as can be given, on a comparison of high authorities. Those
who can refer to Wahl, Bretschneider, Parkhurst and Schleusner,
will find that I have not servilely followed either, but have
adopted some things from all.
The extensions and variations of the New Testament usage of the
word, among the Grecian and Latin Christian Fathers, were, 1,
the application of it to the seventy disciples whose mission is
narrated by Luke, x. 29. These are repeatedly called apostles.
2. The companions of Paul and others are frequently honored by
this title. Timothy and Mark are called apostles, and many later
ministers also, as may be seen by the authorities at the end of
Cave’s Introduction to his Lives of the Apostles.
In application to persons, it is used by Athenian writers as a
name for the commander of a naval expedition, (See Demosthenes
as quoted by Stephens,) but this seems to have come by
transferring to the man, the name of the expedition which he
commanded, so that this cannot be derived from the definition
which is here placed first. This term in the later Greek is
also applied to the “_bride-man_,” or bridegroom’s friend, who
on wedding festivals was sent to conduct the bride from her
father’s house to her husband’s. (_Phavorinus_ quoted by Witsius
in Vita Pauli.) This however is a very unusual sense, which I
can find on no other authority than that here given. None of the
lexicons contain it.
II. The definition which occupies the first place in most of
the arrangements of this word in the common Greek lexicons, is
that of a “naval expedition,” “_apparatus classium_,” “fleet.”
There appears, however, to be no good reason for this order,
but there is historical argument, at least, as well as analogy,
for putting those meanings which refer to _persons_, before
those which refer to _things_. This meaning, as far as I can
learn, seems to be confined to Demosthenes, and there is nothing
to make us suppose that it is anterior in use to the simple
permanent sense which is here given first. Hesychius gives
us only the meaning of “the commander of a fleet,” which may
indeed be derivable from this sense rather than the preceding
_personal_ uses, though it seems to me not impossible that the
name was transferred from the commander to the object of his
command, thus making the personal meanings prior to those of
inanimate things. The adjective use of the word in Herodotus
and Plato, however, makes it certain that in that way it was
early applied to a single vessel, and the transition to its
substantive use for a whole fleet is natural enough.
The legal use of it for “letters of appeal,” (_literae
dimissoriae_,) of course comes under the head of the later
usages in application to _things_, and is the last modification
of meaning which the word underwent before the extinction of the
ancient Greek language.
The corresponding Hebrew word, and that which was, no doubt,
used by Christ in his discourse to his apostles, was שלוּח or שליח
(_sheluh_, or _shelih_,) whose primary meaning, like that of the
Greek word, is “_one sent_,” and is derived from the passive Kal,
participle of the verb שלח meaning “he sent,” This word is often
used in the Old Testament, and is usually translated in the
Alexandrian Greek version, by the word αποστολος. A remarkable
instance occurs in 1 Kings xiv. 6; where the prophet Ahijah,
speaking to the wife of Jeroboam, says, אליך אנכי שלוח “to thee am I
sent;” the Alexandrian version gives the noun αποστολος, so as
to make it literally “to thee I am an _apostle_,” or “messenger,”
or truly, in the just and primary sense of this Greek word,
“to thee I am _sent_.” This passage is a valuable illustration
of the use of the same Greek word in John xiii. 16; as above
quoted.
The Hebrews had another word also, which they used in the sense
of an apostle or messenger. This was מלאך (_mal ak_,) derived
from a verb which means “_send_,” so that the primary meaning of
this also is “one sent.” It was commonly appropriated to angels,
but was sometimes a title of prophets and priests. (Haggai i. 19;
Malachi ii. 7.) It was on the whole the more dignified term
of the two, as the former was never applied to angels, but was
restricted to men. The two terms are very fairly represented by
the two Greek words αποστολος and αγγελος, in English “apostle”
and “angel,” the latter, like its corresponding Hebrew term,
being sometimes applied to the human servants of God, as in
John’s address to the seven churches.
The scope of the term, as used in the title of this book, is limited
to the twelve chosen disciples of Jesus Christ, and those few of their
most eminent associates, who are designated by the same word in the
writings of the early Christians. These persons fall under two natural
divisions, which will be followed in the arrangement of their lives in
this work. These are, first, the TWELVE, or Peter and his companions;
and second, Paul and his companions, including also some to whom the
name apostle is not given by the New Testament writers, but who were
so intimate with this great preacher of Christ, and so eminent by their
own labors, that they may be very properly ranked with him, in the
history of the first preachers of Christianity.
The persons whose lives are given in this book are,