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Apostle

Not to be confused with apostille (international legal document) or apostil (commentary in margins).
For other uses, see Apostolos.
For the primary historical disciples of Jesus, see Apostles in the New Testament. For other uses, see Apostle (disambiguation).
Some of the Twelve Apostles. Mosaic in the Euphrasian Basilica.

An apostle (/əˈpɒsəl/), in its literal sense, is an emissary. The word is derived from Ancient Greek ἀπόστολος (apóstolos), literally "one who is sent off", itself derived from the verb ἀποστέλλειν (apostéllein), "to send off". The purpose of such sending off is usually to convey a message, and thus "messenger" is a common alternative translation; other common translations include "ambassador" and "envoy". The term in Ancient Greek also has other related meanings.[1]

The term derives from the Ancient Greek.[1] In Christianity, the term was used in the New Testament for Jesus' Twelve Apostles (including Peter, James, and John), as well as a wider group of early Christian figures, including Paul, Barnabas, and Junia.[2][3][4][5] The term is also used to designate an important missionary of Christianity to a region, e.g. the "apostle of Germany".[5] Some other religions use the term for comparable figures in their history. The word in this sense may be used metaphorically in various contexts, but is mostly found used specifically for early associates of the founder of a religion, who were important in spreading his or her teachings. The term is also used to refer to someone who is a strong supporter of something.[5][6]

  1. ^ a b "ἀπόστολος". Liddell, Scott, Jones Ancient Greek Lexicon. Archived from the original on 2022-01-30. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  2. ^ "G652 - apostolos - Strong's Greek Lexicon (kjv)". Blue Letter Bible. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  3. ^ Bart Ehrman - The History of the Bible: The Making of the New Testament Canon The Teaching Company, Lesson no. 4.
  4. ^ Ehrman, Bart (2005). "7. The Social Worlds of the Text". MISQUOTING JESUS. The Story Behind Who Changed the Bible and Why (First ed.). New York: HarperSanFrancisco. pp. 180–185. ISBN 9780060738174.
  5. ^ a b c "Definition of APOSTLE". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 2022-01-31.
  6. ^ "apostle". Cambridge dictionary.

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