v. Official
Isa 56:3 neither say the e: Behold, I am a dry tree
Dan 1:3 the king said to Ashpenaz, chief of his e, that
Mat 19:12 there is e that they made themselves e by
Act 8:27 Ethiopian, e, queen Candace official
Eunuch (Heb. sârîs; Gr. eunoújos). castrated person. Eunuchs were formerly employed in Eastern countries, not only as valets, but also as court officials, both in high and low positions. As most court officials in confidential positions in close proximity to the king’s household were castrated, the term became synonymous with ‘official’ or ‘official’, and would occasionally have been used for men who were in their prime. his manhood. On the other hand, there is no evidence that a married member of the court like Potiphar (Gen 39:1) was not a eunuch. If he was, it could easily explain his wife’s attempt to seduce Joseph. The captain of Pharaoh’s guard and his chief baker and cupbearer were eunuchs (37:36; 40:2,7). Sârîs is translated in various ways, but in the OT it is in each of the passages quoted below. The sârîsîm are also mentioned in the Bible, intimate servants not only of the kings of Assyria (2Ki 18:17, NBE), Babylon (2Ki 20:18; Isa 39:7; Jer 39:3,13, NBE; Dan 1 :3, 7; etc.) and Persia (Est 1:10, 12, 15; etc.), but also of the kings and queens of Israel and Judah (2Ki 23:11, Nathan-melech). They are mentioned in the service of King David (1Ch 28:1, BJ), Ahab, Jezebel and his son Joram (1Ki 22:9, BJ; 2Ki 8:6, BJ; 9:32), Joaquín (2Ki 24:15, BJ; Jer 29:2, BJ) and Zedekiah (2Ki 25:19, BJ). The Mosaic law excluded them from “the congregation of the Lord” (Deu 23:1), so many of the eunuchs may have been foreigners (Jer 38:7). However, Isaiah told them that they could have a place and a name in Jehovah’s house if they were faithful in carrying out their religious duties (Is. 56:3-5). Some commentators think that perhaps Daniel and surely Nehemiah were eunuchs. The only eunuch mentioned in the 416 NT was the treasurer of the queen of Ethiopia, accepted into the Christian church by baptism (Acts 8:27-39). Christ used the word in a context (Mat 9:12) that illustrates that the state of celibacy is desirable under certain conditions. See Waiter.
Source: Evangelical Bible Dictionary
Greek eunè, bed, ekhein, to keep. the e. he was the castrated man in charge of the care of the harem, a pagan custom, since among the Israelites the Law prohibited it and whoever suffered this mutilation was not admitted to Yahweh’s assembly, Dt 23, 2; Lev 21, 20; however, in the book of Wisdom and in that of the prophet Isaiah, it is read that the e. by his fidelity to the Lord, he will receive the heavenly inheritance, Wis 3, 14; Is 56, 3-5. In some cases, this term is used in the versions of the Bible to mean someone close to a sovereign, as in the case of Potiphar, with respect to the pharaoh, Gn 37, 36; 39, 1. The same happens with some military position, as in 2 R 25, 19. In the book of Esther, the eunuchs at the service of the king’s harem are mentioned, Est 1, 10; 2, 3/14/15.
In the NT it will be e. does not exclude from the promise of the Kingdom of Heaven, according to the promise in Isaiah, mentioned above, the e. of the Ethiopian queen Candace was baptized by the apostle Philip, Acts 8, 26-39. Jesus says that there are three kinds of eunuchs: those who are by nature, those who are mutilated, and those who become such for the Kingdom of Heaven, that is, those who remain celibate and chaste, Mt 19, 12.
Digital Bible Dictionary, Grupo C Service & Design Ltda., Colombia, 2003
Source: Digital Bible Dictionary
Castrated male. Beginning with the employment of such men as guardians of royal harems, the term came to designate an official, whether physically eunuch or not (eg, Gen 37:36; 2Ki 23:1; Isa 56:3; Jer 29:2). Mosaic law forbade those tainted by castration from entering the congregation (Deu 23:1), but Isaiah prophesied of a day when that disability would be removed and that loss compensated (Isa 56:3-5). The Ethiopian (Acts 8:27-39) was treasurer to the queen. Our Lord uses the term and its related verb four times in Mat 19:12; those born eunuchs and those made eunuchs by men are physically incapable of fathering children, while others remain chaste to focus on Christ’s kingdom (compare Rev 14:4).
Source: Hispanic World Bible Dictionary
(castrated person).
– They were custodians of the royal harem, and court officials, Dan 1:3, Acts 8:27.
– Some make themselves “eunuchs” for love of the Kingdom of Heaven: (Mat 19:12). And whoever can understand, let him understand! Finish that quote.
Christian Bible Dictionary
Dr. J. Dominguez
http://bible.com/dictionary/
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
Character who performed various functions in the courts. The name was generally used for a highly trusted servant of the king. The use of the word e. in ancient texts it does not necessarily mean that the person had been castrated. But that was the practice if his duties included the care of the royal harem. The same was true if the ruler was a queen. The word e. It comes from the Greek euné (bed) and echo (to keep), that is “the guardian of the bed”. Thus, the three e. Jezebel’s servants who killed her at Jehu’s command (2Ki 9:32-33) were possibly castrated. Jezebel was from Tire and her servants were foreigners, since Jews were not allowed to castrate themselves (Deu 23: 1). Another foreigner, an Ethiopian, was †œe. of the royal house† at the time of Jeremiah (Jer 38:7).
Many e.s. are mentioned in the book of Esther, which must be taken with the aforementioned precautions (Est 1:10, Est 1:12, Est 1:15; Est 2:3, Est 2:14-15, Est 2 :21; Esther 4:4; etc.). Likewise in the book of Daniel. God says that those e. †œthat they keep my sabbaths and choose what I want, and embrace my covenant, I will give them a place in my house and within my walls and a better name than that of sons and daughters† (Isa 56:4-5). Note the emphasis on position (place in my house). The NT tells the story of an “Ethiopian, ie, official of Candace queen of the Ethiopians” who was converted by the preaching of Philip (Acts 8:26-39). The Lord Jesus spoke of there being “e. that they made themselves e. for the sake of the kingdom of heaven” (Matt 19:12). Some people took this literally and castrated themselves, as was the case with Origen, but the Church did not approve of this practice.
Source: Christian Bible Dictionary
tip, LAW COST FUNC
vet, (gr.: “guardian of the beds”). The proper meaning is chamberlain. In the East, the men who exercised this function had been castrated, and this is the reason that the term denotes a castrated (Is. 56:3; Mt. 19:12). According to Josephus, castration was not practiced by the Jews, neither on men nor on animals (Ant. 5:8, 40), and the law was opposed, from its spirit, to such a practice in Israel (Dt. 23: 1; Lev 22:24). In fact, it was a barbaric custom that was had in the East in the treatment of captives (Herodotus 3:49; 6:32), not only on the still young, but also, it seems, at the time of the death. puberty. Sometimes the term eunuch in Hebrew is translated as “official” (Gen. 37:36; 40:2, 7, etc.), which is a euphemism. It may also be that the designation eunuch was used to denote a position usually held by a mutilated man. On the other hand, the fact remains that there were married eunuchs, such as Potiphar (Gen. 39:1, 7). The eunuchs frequently acquired high positions and great authority. As an example we have the chief of Pharaoh’s guard, and the butler and the baker. The eunuchs exercised certain functions in the court of Babylon (Dan. 1:3); they served in the presence of the king of Persia, they were guardians of the palace gates (Esther 1:10; 2:21); a eunuch was the overseer of the royal harem (Esther 2:3, 14); another was in the queen’s service (Esther 4:5). In the court of Ahab and in that of Joram his son there were also eunuchs; Jezebel had eunuchs in his service (1 Kings 22:9; 2 Kings 8:6; 9:32). Although eunuchs were legally excluded from Jehovah’s congregation (Deut. 23:1), they also existed in Judah, as well as in David’s court (1 Chron. 28:1). In the last days of the monarchy, there were also eunuchs in the debased court of Josiah’s successors (2 Kings 24:15; 25:19, and Jer. 29:2). All or most of the eunuchs in Judah were foreigners (Jer. 38:7). Herod the Great’s cupbearer was a eunuch, as was the official who served him meals and his chamberlain. There was a eunuch in the service of Mariamne, the favorite wife of Herod the Great (Ant. 15:7, 4; 16:8, 1). Candace, the queen of Ethiopia, had a eunuch as treasurer. After his conversion, he was admitted to baptism (Acts 8:27, 37; cf. Isa. 56:3).
Source: New Illustrated Bible Dictionary
Male person born with deficiencies in the genital organs or castrated from early years. It was common practice in the ancient East to have this type of impotent and sterile slaves in the care of the harem of the women of a lord, although such mutilation caused the consequent deformations.
In the Bible these types of characters appear frequently, even occupying important positions in the courts and armies of the kings (Esth. 1.10; 1 King. 22.9; 2 King. 25.19; Dan. 1. 3-7; Acts. 8.27) In non-biblical literature, these figures are also frequently alluded to and, as a rule, are not done with contempt, but as a normal reference to a social situation.
The term was also used figuratively, alluding to those who remained continent for ascetic or pious reasons. This is how the Lord remembered him when praising those who “become eunuchs for the Kingdom”. (Mt. 19. 12)
In the biblical interpretation, the texts must be understood in the midst of the cultural facts of the moment, without being able to accept physiological mutilation as a laudable fact before Christian Ethics.
Origen who, according to tradition, castrated himself for a rigorous and material interpretation of the evangelical text (Mt. 19.12), was condemned by his Christian community and rejected as misguided.
Pedro Chico González, Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy, Editorial Bruño, Lima, Peru 2006
Source: Dictionary of Catechesis and Religious Pedagogy
In ancient times he was a castrated man, who was a guardian and at the same time a servant of the king’s women (Est 1, 10; 2, 3. 14; Dan 1, 3-7), or simply a friend of the king, even if he wasn’t castrated; such is the case of Potiphar, who was called a eunuch and was married (Gen 37, 36; 39, 1). There are eunuchs by birth (Mt 19, 12), powerless for sexual life; there are because they were castrated (Mt 19, 12), and there are, finally, eunuchs in a spiritual sense, men who, being perfectly normal, renounce marriage and sexual life for the kingdom of heaven (Mt 19, 12). -> .
MNE
FERNANDEZ RAMOS, Felipe (Dir.), Dictionary of Jesus of Nazareth, Editorial…