Nobleman

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

Nobleman —This word is derived from the Lat. nobilis (= gnô-bilis) , ‘well-known,’ ‘notable.’ In usage the ennobling which makes a man notable may come ( a ) from rank inherited or conferred, ( b ) from office, or ( c ) from character. With the meaning ( c ) ‘nobleman’ does not occur in the NT, nor has it often this significance in English authors. ‘A noble man’ should be used, when it is desired to convey the thought expressed in Dryden’s lines;

‘A nobleman is he whose noble mind

Is filled with inborn worth.’

In the Authorized and Revised Versions ‘a certain nobleman’ is the translation of two different Gr. phrases, viz. (1) ἄνθρωπός τις εὐγενής,  Luke 19:12; (2) τις βασιλικός,  John 4:46;  John 4:49.

1. In the parable of the Pounds ( Luke 19:11 ff.) the literal rendering of the Gr. phrase is ‘a certain well-born man,’ or, more idiomatically expressed, ‘a man of noble family’ (Weymouth). The nobility comes from inherited rank. Inadequate translations are those of Wyclif ‘a worthi man,’ and of most early English versions ‘a noble man.’ The ‘nobleman’ of this parable is probably Archelaus, who, on the death of his father, Herod the Great, went to Rome in order to urge his claims to the kingdom. An ‘ambassage’ of fifty Jews followed Archelaus from Jerusalem to the ‘far country’ in order to protest against his being made king; in other words, they went to Rome to say, ‘We will not that this man reign over us’ ( Luke 19:14).

2. The Gr. word used in  John 4:46;  John 4:49 means ‘belonging to a king’ (cf.  James 2:8 ‘royal’). Wyclif ‘a litil kyng,’ like the Vulgate regulus , follows the false reading βασιλίσκος. More adequate renderings are AVm [Note: Vm Authorized Version margin.] ‘courtier,’ or ‘ruler’; (Revised Version margin) ‘king’s officer.’ The nobility comes from office. Weymouth expresses the meaning well: ‘a certain officer of the king’s court.’ Josephus ( BJ vii. v. 2, Ant. xv. viii. 4) uses the word to distinguish the courtiers and other officers of the king from those, of Rome. The ‘king’ in whose court this officer served was Herod Antipas, tetrarch of Galilee. The title ‘king’ was not his by right, but was given to him in courtesy ( Matthew 14:9). It is not known who this king’s officer was, nor whether his duties were civil or military. He has wrongly been identified with the ‘centurion’ (ἑκατόνταρχος) referred to in  Matthew 8:5 and  Luke 7:2,—a Gentile officer in the army of Antipas. To identify the healing of the nobleman’s son with the healing of the centurion’s servant is not only to manufacture discrepancies, but also to lose the light which the earlier miracle casts upon the later one. This is well brought out by Chadwick ( Expositor , 4th series, v. 443 ff.); the strong faith of the centurion ( Matthew 8:10) ‘becomes intelligible, without ceasing to be admirable, when we reflect that he was evidently aware of the miracle formerly wrought for another inhabitant of the same city, an eminent person, one of the court which his own sword protected.’

J. G. Tasker.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of NT Words

1: Βασιλικός (Strong'S #937 — Adjective — basilikos — bas-il-ee-kos' )

an adjective, "royal, belonging to a king" (basileus), is used of the command, "thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself," "the royal law,"  James 2:8; this may mean a law which covers or governs other laws and therefore has a specially regal character (as Hort suggests), or because it is made by a King (a meaning which Deissmann assigns) with whom there is no respect of persons; it is used with the pronoun tis, "a certain one," in  John 4:46,49 , of a courtier, one in the service of a king, "a nobleman" (some mss. have the noun basilikos, "a petty king," in these two verses). It is used of a country in  Acts 12:20 , "the king's (country)," and of royal apparel in  Acts 12:21 . See King , Royal.

 Luke 19:12Noble

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

Basilikos ( John 4:46-53). Rather "royal courtier"; perhaps at Herod Antipas' court. Conjectured to be Chuza's husband ( Luke 8:3).

Webster's Dictionary

(n.) One of the nobility; a noble; a peer; one who enjoys rank above a commoner, either by virtue of birth, by office, or by patent.

Easton's Bible Dictionary

 John 4:49 Luke 8:3

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

is the rendering of the A. V. at  John 4:46, of Βασιλικός , which is somewhat various in signification: 1, descended from a king; 2, one belonging to the court; 3, a soldier of the king, in which sense it often occurs in Josephus. The second signification seems, however, to be the prevalent one; and the Greek interpreters also favor it. See Robinson, N.T. Lex. s.v. Munter found it likewise in inscriptions. The Syriac has here "a royal servant;" the Ethiopic, "a royal house-servant." This person was, therefore, probably of the court of Herod Antipas, who reigned over Galilee and Persea (Tholuck, Conmmentar zum Johan. 4:46). Some writers have conjectured that this "nobleman" was Chuza, Herod's steward, whose wife afterwards became an attendant on Jesus ( Luke 8:3), and is thought to have been converted on this occasion; but of this there is no evidence.

Kitto's Popular Cyclopedia of Biblial Literature

The word so rendered in , probably signifies one belonging to the court. This person was, therefore, probably of the court of Herod Antipas, who reigned over Galilee and Peræa.