Luke 8:3

8:3 and Joanna the wife of Cuza ¹  (Herod’s ²  household manager), ³  Susanna, and many others who provided for them ⁴  out of their own resources.

Luke 12:42

12:42 The Lord replied, ⁵  “Who then is the faithful and wise manager, ⁶  whom the master puts in charge of his household servants, ⁷  to give them their allowance of food at the proper time?

Genesis 15:2

15:2 But Abram said, “O sovereign Lord, ⁸  what will you give me since ⁹  I continue to be ¹⁰  childless, and my heir ¹¹  is ¹²  Eliezer of Damascus?” ¹³ 

Genesis 43:19

43:19 So they approached the man who was in charge of Joseph’s household and spoke to him at the entrance to the house.

Genesis 43:1

The Second Journey to Egypt

43:1 Now the famine was severe in the land. ¹⁴ 

Genesis 28:1

28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! ¹⁵ 

Genesis 28:1

28:1 So Isaac called for Jacob and blessed him. Then he commanded him, “You must not marry a Canaanite woman! ¹⁶ 

Colossians 4:1-2

4:1 Masters, treat your slaves with justice and fairness, because you know that you also have a master in heaven.

Exhortation to Pray for the Success of Paul’s Mission

4:2 Be devoted to prayer, keeping alert in it with thanksgiving.

Titus 1:7

1:7 For the overseer ¹⁷  must be blameless as one entrusted with God’s work, ¹⁸  not arrogant, not prone to anger, not a drunkard, not violent, not greedy for gain.

Titus 1:1

Salutation

1:1 From Paul, ¹⁹  a slave ²⁰  of God and apostle of Jesus Christ, to further the faith ²¹  of God’s chosen ones and the knowledge of the truth that is in keeping with godliness,

Titus 1:10

1:10 For there are many ²²  rebellious people, idle talkers, and deceivers, especially those with Jewish connections, ²³ 

¹ sn Cuza is also spelled “Chuza” in many English translations.

² sn Herod’s refers here to Herod Antipas. See the note on Herod Antipas in 3:1.

³ tn Here ἐπίτροπος (epitropo") is understood as referring to the majordomo or manager of Herod’s household (BDAG 385 s.v. ἐπίτροπος 1). However, as BDAG notes, the office may be political in nature and would then be translated something like “governor” or “procurator.” Note that in either case the gospel was reaching into the highest levels of society.

⁴ tc Many mss (א A L Ψ Ë¹ 33 565 579 1241 2542 pm it co) read “for him,” but “for them” also has good ms support (B D K W Γ Δ Θ Ë¹³ 700 892 1424 pm lat). From an internal standpoint the singular pronoun looks like an assimilation to texts like Matt 27:55 and Mark 15:41.

⁵ tn Grk “And the Lord said.” Here καί (kai) has not been translated because of differences between Greek and English style.

⁶ tn Or “administrator,” “steward” (L&N 37.39).

⁷ tn This term, θεραπεία (qerapeia), describes the group of servants working in a particular household (L&N 46.6).

⁸ tn The Hebrew text has אֲדֹנָי יֱהוִה (’adonay yehvih, “Master, Lord”). Since the tetragrammaton (YHWH) usually is pointed with the vowels for the Hebrew word אֲדֹנָי (’adonay, “master”) to avoid pronouncing the divine name, that would lead in this place to a repetition of אֲדֹנָי. So the tetragrammaton is here pointed with the vowels for the word אֱלֹהִים (’elohim, “God”) instead. That would produce the reading of the Hebrew as “Master, God” in the Jewish textual tradition. But the presence of “Master” before the holy name is rather compelling evidence that the original would have been “Master, Lord,” which is rendered here “sovereign Lord.”

⁹ tn The vav (ו) disjunctive at the beginning of the clause is circumstantial, expressing the cause or reason.

¹⁰ tn Heb “I am going.”

¹¹ tn Heb “the son of the acquisition of my house.”

¹² tn The pronoun is anaphoric here, equivalent to the verb “to be” (R. J. Williams, Hebrew Syntax, 23, §115).

¹³ sn The sentence in the Hebrew text employs a very effective wordplay on the name Damascus: “The son of the acquisition (בֶּן־מֶשֶׁק, ben-mesheq) of my house is Eliezer of Damascus (דַּמֶּשֶׁק, dammesheq).” The words are not the same; they have different sibilants. But the sound play gives the impression that “in the nomen is the omen.” Eliezer the Damascene will be Abram’s heir if Abram dies childless because “Damascus” seems to mean that. See M. F. Unger, “Some Comments on the Text of Genesis 15:2-3,” JBL 72 (1953): 49-50; H. L. Ginsberg, “Abram’s ‘Damascene’ Steward,” BASOR 200 (1970): 31-32.

¹⁴ tn The disjunctive clause gives supplemental information that is important to the storyline.

¹⁵ tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

¹⁶ tn Heb “you must not take a wife from the daughters of Canaan.”

¹⁷ sn The overseer is another term for the same official position of leadership as the “elder.” This is seen in the interchange of the two terms in this passage and in Acts 20:17, 28, as well as in the parallels between these verses and 1 Tim 3:1-7.

¹⁸ tn Grk “as God’s steward.”

¹⁹ tn Grk “Paul.” The word “from” is not in the Greek text, but has been supplied to indicate the sender of the letter.

²⁰ tn Traditionally, “servant” or “bondservant.” Though δοῦλος (doulos) is normally translated “servant,” the word does not bear the connotation of a free individual serving another. BDAG notes that “‘servant’ for ‘slave’ is largely confined to Biblical transl. and early American times…in normal usage at the present time the two words are carefully distinguished” (BDAG 260 s.v.). The most accurate translation is “bondservant” (sometimes found in the ASV for δοῦλος), in that it often indicates one who sells himself into slavery to another. But as this is archaic, few today understand its force.

²¹ tn Grk “for the faith,” possibly, “in accordance with the faith.”

²² tc ‡ The earliest and best mss lack καί (kai) after πολλοί (polloi; so א A C P 088 81 104 365 614 629 630 al sy co), though the conjunction is found in several significant witnesses, chiefly of the Western and Byzantine texts (D F G I Ψ 33 1739 1881 Ï lat). Although it is possible that some scribes omitted the word, thinking it was superfluous, it is also possible that others added the conjunction for clarification. Judging by the pedigree of the witnesses and the inconclusiveness of the internal evidence, the shorter reading is considered to be most likely original. NA²⁷ puts the conjunction in brackets, indicating some doubts as to its authenticity.

²³ tn Grk “those of the circumcision.” Some translations take this to refer to Jewish converts to Christianity (cf. NAB “Jewish Christians”; TEV “converts from Judaism”; CEV “Jewish followers”) while others are less clear (cf. NLT “those who insist on circumcision for salvation”).