"a money-changer, Mt. 21:12; Mk. 11:15; Jn. 2:15*"
Definition and meaning
a money-changer, Mt. 21:12; Mk. 11:15; Jn. 2:15*
In the original Greek the word is written: κολλυβιστής
Historical context
Rome had controlled Judea since 63 BC. Herod the Great rebuilt the Temple into one of the most magnificent structures in the ancient world — and simultaneously murdered members of his own family. The common people paid multiple layers of taxation and were politically powerless. Into that world a carpenter from Galilee began teaching that the kingdom of God had arrived.
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 kollybistes (G2855) across the King James Bible.
And Jesus went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves,
And they come to Jerusalem: and Jesus went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
And when he had made a scourge of small cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables;
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Common questions
Strong's G2855 (kollybistes) is a Greek word that means: a money-changer, Mt. 21:12; Mk. 11:15; Jn. 2:15* It appears 3 times in the King James Bible.
The word kollybistes (G2855) appears 3 times in the original Greek text.
Strong's G2855 is kollybistes, a Greek word defined as: a money-changer, Mt. 21:12; Mk. 11:15; Jn. 2:15*. James Strong catalogued this in his 1890 concordance to help English readers study the original languages of the Bible.
kollybistes is a Greek word found in the New Testament.