Malefactor

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

Malefactor. —Two Gr. words, whose shades of meaning are indistinguishable, are thus translated in Nt: (1) κακοποιός or κακὸν ποιῶν (lit. ‘evil-doer’),  John 18:30,  1 Peter 2:12;  1 Peter 2:14;  1 Peter 4:15; (2) κακοῦργος (lit. ‘evil-worker’),  Luke 23:32-33;  Luke 23:39,  2 Timothy 2:9. Authorized Version renders κακοποιός ‘malefactor’ in  John 18:30, ‘evil-doer’ elsewhere; but Revised Version Nt 1881, Ot 1885 gives ‘evil-doer’ throughout. Again Authorized Version renders κακοῦργος ‘malefactor’ in  Luke 23:32-33;  Luke 23:39, ‘evil-doer’ in  2 Timothy 2:9, while Revised Version Nt 1881, Ot 1885 makes it always ‘malefactor.’ This illustrates the Nt Revisers’ uniformity in the translation of words.

In  Luke 23:32 the best attested text is ἔτεροι κακοῦργοι δύο, not ἕτεροι δύο κακοῦργοι (Textus Receptus). Hence it is maintained by Alford and others that we ought to read ‘two other malefactors’ (without a comma after ‘other’) instead of ‘two others, malefactors’ (Authorized Version and Revised Version Nt 1881, Ot 1885). There is really no difficulty about adopting this rendering, which does not imply that St. Luke assents to the judgment that Jesus was a malefactor, but merely states the fact that He was led to execution as such.

D. A. Mackinnon.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: κακοῦργος (Strong'S #2557 — Adjective — kakourgos — kak-oor'-gos )

an adjective, lit., "evil-working" (kakos, "evil," ergon, "work"), is used as a noun, translated "malefactor(-s)" in  Luke 23:32,33,39 , and in the Rv in  2 Timothy 2:9 (Av, "evil doer"). See Evil , B, Note (1). In the Sept.,  Proverbs 21:15 .

2: κακοποιός (Strong'S #2555 — Adjective — kakopois — kak-op-oy-os' )

an adjective, lit., "doing evil," is used in  1 Peter 2:12,14;  3:16 (in some mss.); 4:15. See Evil , B, No. 5.

Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary

We meet with this word but upon one occasion in the Bible, namely, at the crucifixion of Christ, ( Luke 23:32) and, therefore, for want of a stop at the word preceding it, we make a wrong application of it, and destroy the sense of the passage. The evangelist saith, "and there were two other malefactors led with him, (that is, the Lord Jesus) to be put to death." If we put a stop at the end of the word other, we express the true sense of the passage, and are in exact correspondence to the pure word of God. And there were two other--which were malefactors. But without this detachment of the passage, we include him as a third, "who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." Jesus indeed became sin and a curse for us, but when he did it, he was in the same moment "holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens." ( Hebrews 7:26)

Webster's Dictionary

(1): ( n.) One who does wrong by injuring another, although not a criminal.

(2): ( n.) An evil doer; one who commits a crime; one subject to public prosecution and punishment; a criminal.

King James Dictionary

Malefac'Tor, n. supra. One who commits a crime one guilty of violating the laws, in such a manner as to subject him to public prosecution and punishment, particularly to capital punishment a criminal.

Holman Bible Dictionary

 Luke 23:32-33 23:39 kakourgos

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

mal - ḗ - fak´tẽr ( κακοποιός , kakopoiós , "a bad doer," i.e. "evildoer," "criminal"; κακοῦργος , kakoúrgos , "a wrongdoer"): The former occurs in   John 18:30 the King James Version, the latter, which is the stronger term, in   Luke 23:32 ,  Luke 23:39 . The former describes the subject as doing or making evil, the latter as creating or originating the bad, and hence, designates the more energetic, aggressive, initiating type of criminality.