"a potentate, sovereign; prince, Lk. 1:52; 1 Tim. 6:15; a person of rank and authority, Acts 8:27*"
Definition and meaning
a potentate, sovereign; prince, Lk. 1:52; 1 Tim. 6:15; a person of rank and authority, Acts 8:27*
In the original Greek the word is written: δυνάστης
Historical context
Luke wrote as a historian addressing a Greek audience. He carefully interviewed eyewitnesses and arranged events in order. The social and economic realities he describes — Roman taxation, Jewish religious hierarchy, the marginalization of women and the poor — are consistent with first-century Judea under Roman administration.
The people who first heard this word were not reading a book — they were living through empires, oppression, exile, and covenant. Every word carried the weight of that reality. Understanding it changes how you read Scripture.
Scripture references
These are the most notable occurrences of dynastes (G1413) across the King James Bible.
He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree.
And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
Which in his times he shall shew, who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords;
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Common questions
Strong's G1413 (dynastes) is a Greek word that means: a potentate, sovereign; prince, Lk. 1:52; 1 Tim. 6:15; a person of rank and authority, Acts 8:27* It appears 3 times in the King James Bible.
The word dynastes (G1413) appears 3 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G1413 is dynastes, a Greek word defined as: a potentate, sovereign; prince, Lk. 1:52; 1 Tim. 6:15; a person of rank and authority, Acts 8:27*. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
dynastes is a Greek word found in the New Testament.