How Should Elders Rule?
About a year ago, a brother wrote me, “Have you studied the words translated as ‘rule’ and “obey’ in Hebrews 13:7, 17, and 24? How do you see those words interacting with the present day view and use of authority in the church?” He was concerned with what he called “overbearing elders.” His question stimulated me to devote some attention to the topic, and others might profit from what I found.
I’ll begin by commenting on “rule” and “obey,” then observe two closely linked passages that define the elders’ responsibility in more detail.
Rule and Obey
1 Peter 5:3 would seem to forbid an overbearing attitude on the part of elders:
3 Neither as being lords over God’s heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.
The writer’s selection of terms in Heb 13 is consistent with Peter’s exhortation.
“Rule” is the verb ηγεομαι (Strong’s G2233), from which we get English words like “hegemony.” The first, simplest, and perhaps sufficient observation is that this is the word used by our Lord to describe prominent people among the believers, in Luke 22:24-27, where he contrasts it with two other verbs, κυριευω (Strong’s G2961) and εξουσιαζω (G1850).
Luke 22:24-27 And there was also a strife among them, which of them should be accounted the greatest. 25 And he said unto them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship κυριευω over them; and they that exercise authority εξουσιαζω upon them are called benefactors. 26 But ye shall not be so: but he that is greatest among you, let him be as the younger; and he that is chief ηγεομαι, as he that doth serve. 27 For whether is greater, he that sitteth at meat, or he that serveth? is not he that sitteth at meat? but I am among you as he that serveth.”
Peter appears to be recalling this teaching in his epistle. His verb translated “being lords” is κατακυριευω (Strong G2634), derived from κυριευω. The Lord recognizes that there will be those who are prominent among the believers. Their attitude is to be one of humility and service, not the kind of domineering authority associated with the heathen.
This contrast is confirmed by the LXX. The LXX (the Greek translation of the OT that was common in the first century) is very important as a guide to the meaning of NT vocabulary. Just as the meaning we associate with words like “righteousness” and “redemption” is largely drawn from our English Bible, Greek-speaking Jews of the first century drew their vocabulary from the LXX. So where a given Greek word consistently translates a specific Hebrew word in the LXX, we can often learn something by considering that Hebrew term.
In the case of ηγεομαι “rule,” there is such a clear alignment, with the Hebrew word נגיד nagid (Strong’s H5057), commonly translated “captain” in the AV, which the Lord commonly uses to describe the the kings of Israel (cf. 2 Sam 7:8). נגיד nagid is a noun; ηγεομαι is a verb, but often used as a participle in a nominal sense.) The OT narrator also calls them “king” מלך melek, from a root used throughout the Semitic world. I haven’t checked in detail, but my impression is that the Lord does not usually use this term in direct speech to the kings. This contrast between what the world calls Israel’s kings and what the Lord calls them reflects his condemnation of the Gentile kingship in 1 Sam 12. The people wanted a king, but the Lord intended that they have a נגיד nagid. The contrast between the intended function of Gentile kings and Israel’s rulers would then be parallel to the Lord’s contrast in Luke 22.
Heb 13:17 tells believers to “obey” the elders. Again, there is a contrast with other words the author could have used. The usual term for “obey” in Greek is υπακουω (Strong G5219), which is what the winds and the sea do to our Lord in Matt 8:27. This term is not used in Heb 13:17. Instead, the author uses a passive form of the verb πειθω (Strong G3982). The active form of this verb means “to persuade, convince, win over.” So the exhortation in Hebrew is not to servile obedience to an authoritative human, but to attend favorably to the teaching offered by the elders.
The selection of πειθω to describe the response to those whose function is described by ηγεομαι may go back to the Hebrew. The term נגיד nagid comes from a verb that means “to propose, announce, inform” (Strongs H5046). The emphasis on the ruler as one who teaches, and to whom the appropriate response is based on that teaching, fits very nicely with Hebrews 13:17.
Servants and Examples
Let’s return to 1 Pet 5:3. Peter exhorts the elders to be “examples to the flock,” and contrasts this position with “being lords over God’s heritage.” The verb “to be lord over” is κατακυριευω (Strong G2634). This verb appears only three other times in the New Testament. Once, in Acts 19:16, it describes a man possessed by a demon, who leaped on those who challenged him and “overcame them” by physical force. The other two occurrences, in Matt 20:25 and Mark 10:42, record the same teaching that Luke records in the passage we considered above. Let’s read Matthew’s account, starting with verse 25.
25 But Jesus called them unto him, and said, “Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion κατακυριευω over them, and they that are great exercise authority κατεξοθσιαζω upon them. 26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.”
The two words for which I have given the Greek are strengthened forms of the words we considered in Luke 22. Here κατακυριευω is translated “exercise dominion,” and describes how Gentile princes rule their people. The Lord forbids believers to treat one another in this way. His wish is that those who are prominent among the believers should be characterized, not by their dominating behavior, but by an attitude of serving.
Peter’s repetition of κατακυριευω suggests that he is recalling the Lord’s teaching. Elders should remember what the Lord taught his disciples. Their place is not to exercise dominion. It is to serve (Matt 20) and be examples (1 Pet 5). The authority of the elder is to be exercised as a servant, as an example. The elder’s knowledge of Scripture should enable him to set forth arguments that will persuade the people, so that their obedience ultimately is not to the elder, but to the Word of God that he moderates.
