Director of the synagogue services
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The Greek noun archisynagogos names a leader or administrative officer of a synagogue, someone associated with overseeing its gathered worship and communal proceedings. The New Testament does not present every holder of this office in the same moral light.
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Full entry for ἀρχισυνάγωγος (G752) · Open the biblical lexicon
The Greek noun archisynagogos names a leader or administrative officer of a synagogue, someone associated with overseeing its gathered worship and communal proceedings. The New Testament does not present every holder of this office in the same moral light.
The BSB source-word alignment has 9 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include synagogue leader (4), the synagogue leader (2), [Jairus] (1), [the house of Jairus] (1), synagogue leaders (1).
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Mark 5:22. Its strongest book concentrations include Mark (4), Acts (3), Luke (2).
The Greek noun archisynagogos names a leader or administrative officer of a synagogue, someone associated with overseeing its gathered worship and communal proceedings. The New Testament does not present every holder of this office in the same moral light. Synagogue leaders in Pisidian Antioch coordinate the public reading and invite an encouraging word. Jairus approaches Jesus in desperate humility for his daughter.
Crispus believes in the Lord with his household. Another leader objects when Jesus heals on the Sabbath, and Sosthenes is beaten by a crowd before the judgment seat. The title therefore identifies responsibility and social location, not automatic righteousness, spiritual superiority, or divine protection from suffering. Readers should attend to each person's words and actions.
The office can facilitate worship and testimony, yet its holder can believe, resist, seek help, or become vulnerable to violence. Organizational responsibility remains accountable to truth, mercy, and the people served.
Archisynagogos appears in Gospel and Acts narratives where synagogue leaders coordinate public worship, seek Jesus, believe, object to healing, and suffer public violence.
After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue leaders sent word to them: “Brothers, if you have a word of encouragement for the people, please speak.”
The synagogue leaders oversee the reading and invite a word of encouragement, showing a recognizable responsibility within gathered worship.
A synagogue leader named Jairus arrived, and seeing Jesus, he fell at His feet
Jairus's office is named, yet he falls at Jesus's feet and pleads for his gravely ill daughter.
But the synagogue leader was indignant that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath. “There are six days for work,” he told the crowd. “So come and be healed on those days and not on the Sabbath.”
A synagogue leader objects to Sabbath healing, and Jesus answers by exposing the inconsistency of withholding release from a suffering woman.
Crispus, the synagogue leader, and his whole household believed in the Lord. And many of the Corinthians who heard the message believed and were baptized.
Crispus is identified by his synagogue office while he and his household believe in the Lord after hearing the message.
At this, the crowd seized Sosthenes the synagogue leader and beat him in front of the judgment seat. But none of this was of concern to Gallio.
Sosthenes retains the office title when a crowd beats him publicly, revealing an officeholder's vulnerability rather than invulnerability.
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders ItA compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
Greek word. Administrative leader responsible for organizing synagogue worship and maintaining synagogue order and discipline
Administrative leader responsible for organizing synagogue worship and maintaining synagogue order and discipline
(συναγωγή), ruler of a synagogue, an administrative officer, supervising the worship (הַכְּנֵםֶת רֹאשׁ): Mrk.5:22, 35-36 5:38 Luk.8:49 13:14, Act.13:15 18:8, 17 (Inscr., see MM, see word; cf. also DB, ext., 101).
Textus Receptus witness, full corpusGreek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
9 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
a leader of the synagogue
Read versea leader of the synagogue
Read versea leader of the synagogue
Read versea leader of the synagogue
Read versea leader of the synagogue
Read versea leader of the synagogue
Read versea leader of the synagogue
Read versea leader of the synagogue
Read versea leader of the synagogue
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 6 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
Showing 4 selected witnesses from 9 lexical occurrence verses.
ἀρχισυνάγωγος is built from these roots:
Compound and idiomatic phrases that include this word. Follow a link to study the phrase and how its parts work together.
Archisynagogos names a real office, but the New Testament refuses to let the title determine a person's spiritual condition. In Acts 13, synagogue leaders facilitate the reading and invitation through which Paul speaks. Jairus comes to Jesus not as a self-sufficient authority but as a frightened father pleading for his child. In Luke 13, an officeholder uses Sabbath procedure to object to healing, and Jesus redirects attention to liberation from suffering.
Crispus believes, while Sosthenes is exposed to crowd violence. These portraits keep organization and moral evaluation distinct. Communities need people who coordinate gatherings and carry defined responsibilities, yet a title cannot replace faith, mercy, humility, or protection from harm. The officeholder remains a person who may need help, receive correction, change allegiance, or suffer injustice.
Christian application should preserve responsible administration while rejecting personality cults, immunity from accountability, and the use of religious procedure against vulnerable people.
Luke.13.14
Archisynagogos is a masculine Greek noun formed from language of leading and synagogue. Its singular and plural forms identify synagogue leaders or administrators in narrative settings. The title denotes an office, while the surrounding verbs and dialogue reveal the holder's conduct.
Israel's Scriptures distinguish entrusted religious service from moral faithfulness, and prophets challenge leaders who burden people or neglect justice. The New Testament continues that accountability while describing ordered worship and qualified church oversight. These parallels guide ethics without equating synagogue leadership with later church offices.