“sympresbyteros”
Quick Facts
- Pronunciation: süm-pres-bü’-te-ros
- Strong’s Concordance: #4850
- a fellow elder
- Appears 1 times in 1 verses in the New Testament
- Common translations:
- “fellow elder” (1x)
How and where sympresbyteros is used in the New Testament
-
1 Peter 5:1 – “Therefore, I exhort the elders among you, as your fellow elder and witness of the sufferings of Christ, and a partaker also of the glory that is to be revealed,”
My Perspective
Once again, I think it is imperative to consider the the cultural context in understanding the above single verse that contains the single instance of the word sympresbyteros.
The writer of 1 Peter identifies himself as a fellow elder. This appears to be the writer identifying himself as a fellow older man, perhaps also having a role of influence. As mentioned in commentary on presbyteros, the use of “elders” in this verse should be understood to be those who are older since we see the “You younger men, likewise…” wording in verses that follow. This indicates that the writer is speaking some things to the older men, some things to the younger men.
The use of sympresbyteros here may have entailed more than age, and also expressed a camaraderie of a shared role in their respective communities, however this verse, as with most others, cannot serve as the basis for a view of elders that places them in a ruling capacity.
Of Saints & Shepherds 