Topical Bible: Secretary

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Topical Encyclopedia

In biblical times, the role of a secretary was significant, often involving responsibilities such as recording, writing, and managing documents. Secretaries were essential in maintaining the administrative and governmental functions of ancient societies, including those of Israel and surrounding nations.

Old Testament Context

The Hebrew term often translated as "secretary" is "sōpēr," which can also mean scribe or writer. Secretaries in the Old Testament were typically associated with royal courts and were responsible for recording decrees, managing correspondence, and maintaining official records. One of the earliest mentions of a secretary is found in the reign of King David. In 2 Samuel 8:17, we read, "Zadok son of Ahitub and Ahimelech son of Abiathar were priests; Seraiah was the scribe" . Here, the role of the scribe or secretary is listed alongside other key positions in David's administration, highlighting its importance.

During the reign of King Solomon, the position of secretary continued to hold significant influence. In 1 Kings 4:3, it is noted, "Elihoreph and Ahijah, the sons of Shisha, were secretaries; Jehoshaphat son of Ahilud was the recorder" . This passage indicates that secretaries were part of the king's inner circle, responsible for the documentation and communication of royal affairs.

Role in Governance and Religion

Secretaries were not only involved in governmental duties but also played a role in religious contexts. In the time of King Josiah, Shaphan the secretary is mentioned as a key figure in the discovery of the Book of the Law in the temple. 2 Kings 22:3-10 describes how Shaphan read the book to King Josiah, leading to significant religious reforms. This event underscores the secretary's role in preserving and transmitting religious texts, which were central to Israel's covenantal identity.

New Testament Context

While the specific term "secretary" is not frequently used in the New Testament, the function of writing and record-keeping continued to be vital. The apostle Paul, for instance, often employed scribes to pen his letters. In Romans 16:22, Tertius, who served as Paul's amanuensis, writes, "I, Tertius, who wrote down this letter, greet you in the Lord" . This indicates the ongoing necessity of skilled individuals to accurately transcribe and disseminate important communications.

Cultural and Historical Significance

The role of the secretary in biblical times was multifaceted, encompassing duties that were both administrative and religious. Secretaries were trusted individuals who had access to sensitive information and were responsible for ensuring the accuracy and integrity of official documents. Their work was crucial in the administration of justice, governance, and the preservation of religious traditions.

In summary, the position of secretary in the Bible reflects a role of considerable responsibility and influence, integral to the functioning of both the state and religious institutions. The biblical portrayal of secretaries highlights their importance in maintaining the continuity and order of society through their diligent record-keeping and communication skills.

Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary

1. (n.) One who keeps, or is entrusted with, secrets or notes.

2. (n.) A person employed to write orders, letters, dispatches, public or private papers, records, and the like; an official scribe, amanuensis, or writer; one who attends to correspondence, and transacts other business, for an association, a public body, or an individual.

3. (n.) An officer of state whose business is to superintend and manage the affairs of a particular department of government, and who is usually a member of the cabinet or advisory council of the chief executive; as, the secretary of state, who conducts the correspondence and attends to the relations of a government with foreign courts; the secretary of the treasury, who manages the department of finance; the secretary of war, etc.

4. (n.) A piece of furniture, with conveniences for writing and for the arrangement of papers; an escritoire.

5. (n.) The secretary bird.

Greek

1122. grammateus -- a writer, scribe
... of learning Definition: (a) in Jerusalem, a scribe, one learned in the Jewish Law,
a religious teacher, (b) at Ephesus, the town-clerk, the secretary of the ...
//strongsnumbers.com/greek2/1122.htm - 7k

Strong's Hebrew

5613b. sopher -- enumerator, secretary, scribe
sopher or sopher. 5613a, 5613b. sopher or sopher. 5613c . enumerator, secretary,
scribe. Transliteration: sopher or sopher Short Definition: scribe. ...
/hebrew/5613b.htm - 5k

5613a. saphar -- a secretary, scribe
... 5613, 5613a. saphar. 5613b . a secretary, scribe. Transliteration: saphar
Short Definition: scribe. Word Origin (Aramaic) corresponding ...
/hebrew/5613a.htm - 5k

7644. Shebna -- secretary and majordomo of Hezekiah
... Shebna or Shebnah. 7645 . secretary and majordomo of Hezekiah. Transliteration:
Shebna or Shebnah Phonetic Spelling: (sheb-naw') Short Definition: Shebna. ...
/hebrew/7644.htm - 6k

5613. capher -- a secretary, scribe
... 5612, 5613. capher. 5613a . a secretary, scribe. Transliteration: capher
Phonetic Spelling: (saw-fare') Short Definition: scribe. scribe ...
/hebrew/5613.htm - 5k

Library

The Hymnal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the USA
... Attest: George Francis Nelson, Secretary of the House of Bishops. Henry
Anstice, Secretary of the House of Deputies. CERTIFICATE. ...
/.../various/the hymnal of the protestant episcopal church in the usa/title page.htm

Hay
... Hay. Hay, John, the late Secretary of State under Presidents McKinley and
Roosevelt, was a poet as well as a diplomat and statesman. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/nutter/hymn writers of the church/hay.htm

Joseph Addison.
... In 1709, he was appointed secretary to the lord lieutenant of Ireland, and, in 1717,
was advanced to the high office of secretary of state. He died in 1729. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/hayward/the book of religions/joseph addison.htm

The Older Boys' Conference or Congress
... officers of the Older Boys' Conference should be President, Vice-President (who
in most cases should be Toast-Master at the Conference Banquet) and Secretary. ...
/.../alexander/the boy and the sunday school/xiii the older boys conference.htm

Introduction
... I appreciate the principles of peace inculcated in this letter [of yours] and every
where by the Society of Friends."[1] Both he and Secretary Stanton made ...
/.../pringle/the record of a quaker conscience cyrus pringles diary/introduction.htm

Interdenominational Readjustment
... 3c. Selection of county secretary. 2b. Duties of county secretary. 1c.
Survey"Follow up what interchurch county office has done. 1d. ...
/.../chapter viii interdenominational readjustment.htm

The New Crusade --Serampore and the Brotherhood
... At last, on the 29th July 1794, Fuller, the secretary; Pearce, the beloved personal
friend of Carey; Ryland in Bristol; and the congregation at Leicester ...
/.../smith/the life of william carey/chapter v the new crusadeserampore.htm

Essay vi. "The Way of Ancient Ordinance, Though it Winds, is yet ...
... Captain Ball's services in Malta were honoured with his sovereign's approbation,
transmitted in a letter from the Secretary Dundas, and with a baronetcy. ...
/.../coleridge/confessions of an inquiring spirit etc/essay vi the way of.htm

An Account of the General Conference of 1796
... choice and appointment a certificate shall issue from the said General Conference
signed by their president and countersigned by their secretary, and directed ...
/.../chapter 2 an account of.htm

Knox in the War of the Congregation: the Regent Attacked: Her ...
... seal may have arisen in the fertile brain of Lethington, who about October 25 had
at last deserted the Regent, and now took Knox's place as secretary of the ...
/.../lang/john knox and the reformation/chapter xii knox in the.htm

Thesaurus

Secretary (34 Occurrences)
... of a particular department of government, and who is usually a member of the cabinet
or advisory council of the chief executive; as, the secretary of state ...
/s/secretary.htm - 18k

Secretary's (1 Occurrence)
... Multi-Version Concordance Secretary's (1 Occurrence). Jeremiah 36:12 he
went down into the king's house, into the scribe's chamber ...
/s/secretary's.htm - 6k

Baruch (24 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Blessed. (1.) The secretary of the prophet Jeremiah
(32:12; 36:4). He was of the tribe of Judah (51:59). ...
/b/baruch.htm - 46k

Shavsha (1 Occurrence)
... Chronicles, "Seraiah" is found; the Septuagint varies greatly in all passages; it
is the general consensus that Shavsha is correct): State secretary or scribe ...
/s/shavsha.htm - 8k

Shimshai (4 Occurrences)
... The shining one, or sunny, the secretary of Rehum the chancellor, who took part
in opposing the rebuilding of the temple after the Captivity (Ezra 4:8, 9, 17-23 ...
/s/shimshai.htm - 9k

Secretaries (5 Occurrences)
... Noah Webster's Dictionary (n.) Plural of Secretary. Multi-Version Concordance
Secretaries (5 Occurrences). 1 Kings 4:3 Elihoreph ...
/s/secretaries.htm - 8k

Neriah (10 Occurrences)
... ne-ri'-a (neriyah, "whose lamp is Yah"): The father of Seraiah and of Baruch,
Jeremiah's friend and secretary (Jeremiah 32:12, 16; Jeremiah 36:4, 8, 32; 43:3 ...
/n/neriah.htm - 10k

Narcissus (2 Occurrences)
... Easton's Bible Dictionary Daffodil, a Roman whom Paul salutes (Romans 16:11). He
is supposed to have been the private secretary of the emperor Claudius. ...
/n/narcissus.htm - 9k

Officer (70 Occurrences)
... person in charge," "overseer" (Genesis 41:34); necibh, "stationed," "garrison,"
"prefect" (1 Kings 4:19); shoTer, "scribe" or "secretary" (perhaps arranger or ...
/o/officer.htm - 30k

Organ (6 Occurrences)
... 4. (n.) A medium of communication between one person or body and another; as, the
secretary of state is the organ of communication between the government and a ...
/o/organ.htm - 9k

Resources

Are there errors in the Qur'an (Koran)? | GotQuestions.org

Who was Desiderius Erasmus? | GotQuestions.org

Who was Athanasius? | GotQuestions.org

Secretary: Dictionary and Thesaurus | Clyx.com

Bible Concordance • Bible Dictionary • Bible Encyclopedia • Topical Bible • Bible Thesuarus

Concordance

Secretary (34 Occurrences)

Acts 19:35
And when the chief secretary had got the people quiet, he said, Men of Ephesus, is any man without knowledge that the town of Ephesus is the keeper of the holy place of the great Diana, who was sent down from Jupiter?
(BBE)

2 Samuel 8:17
and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Ahimelech the son of Abiathar, were priests; and Seraiah was scribe;
(See NAS RSV NIV)

2 Samuel 20:25
and Sheva was scribe; and Zadok and Abiathar were priests;
(See RSV NIV)

2 Kings 12:10
It was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king's scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags and counted the money that was found in the house of Yahweh.
(See RSV NIV)

2 Kings 18:18
When they had called to the king, there came out to them Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, and Shebnah the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder.
(See RSV NIV)

2 Kings 18:37
Then Eliakim the son of Hilkiah, who was over the household, came with Shebna the scribe, and Joah the son of Asaph the recorder, to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and told him the words of Rabshakeh.
(See RSV NIV)

2 Kings 19:2
He sent Eliakim, who was over the household, and Shebna the scribe, and the elders of the priests, covered with sackcloth, to Isaiah the prophet the son of Amoz.
(See RSV NIV)

2 Kings 22:3
It happened in the eighteenth year of king Josiah, that the king sent Shaphan, the son of Azaliah the son of Meshullam, the scribe, to the house of Yahweh, saying,
(See RSV NIV)

2 Kings 22:8
Hilkiah the high priest said to Shaphan the scribe, "I have found the book of the law in the house of Yahweh." Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan, and he read it.
(See RSV NIV)

2 Kings 22:9
Shaphan the scribe came to the king, and brought the king word again, and said, "Your servants have emptied out the money that was found in the house, and have delivered it into the hand of the workmen who have the oversight of the house of Yahweh."
(See RSV NIV)

2 Kings 22:10
Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, "Hilkiah the priest has delivered a book to me." Shaphan read it before the king.
(See RSV NIV)

2 Kings 22:12
The king commanded Hilkiah the priest, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Achbor the son of Micaiah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying,
(See RSV NIV)

2 Kings 25:19
and out of the city he took an officer who was set over the men of war; and five men of those who saw the king's face, who were found in the city; and the scribe, the captain of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the city.
(See RSV NIV)

1 Chronicles 18:16
and Zadok the son of Ahitub, and Abimelech the son of Abiathar, were priests; and Shavsha was scribe;
(See NAS RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 24:11
It was so, that whenever the chest was brought to the king's officers by the hand of the Levites, and when they saw that there was much money, the king's scribe and the chief priest's officer came and emptied the chest, and took it, and carried it to its place again. Thus they did day by day, and gathered money in abundance.
(See RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 26:11
Moreover Uzziah had an army of fighting men, who went out to war by bands, according to the number of their reckoning made by Jeiel the scribe and Maaseiah the officer, under the hand of Hananiah, one of the king's captains.
(See RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 34:15
Hilkiah answered Shaphan the scribe, I have found the book of the law in the house of Yahweh. Hilkiah delivered the book to Shaphan.
(See RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 34:18
Shaphan the scribe told the king, saying, Hilkiah the priest has delivered me a book. Shaphan read therein before the king.
(See RSV NIV)

2 Chronicles 34:20
The king commanded Hilkiah, and Ahikam the son of Shaphan, and Abdon the son of Micah, and Shaphan the scribe, and Asaiah the king's servant, saying,
(See RSV NIV)

Ezra 4:8
Rehum the chancellor and Shimshai the scribe wrote a letter against Jerusalem to Artaxerxes the king in this sort:
(See NIV)

Ezra 4:9
then wrote Rehum the chancellor, and Shimshai the scribe, and the rest of their companions, the Dinaites, and the Apharsathchites, the Tarpelites, the Apharsites, the Archevites, the Babylonians, the Shushanchites, the Dehaites, the Elamites,
(See NIV)

Ezra 4:17
Then sent the king an answer to Rehum the chancellor, and to Shimshai the scribe, and to the rest of their companions who dwell in Samaria, and in the rest of the country beyond the River: Peace, and so forth.
(See NIV)

Ezra 4:23
Then when the copy of king Artaxerxes' letter was read before Rehum, and Shimshai the scribe, and their companions, they went in haste to Jerusalem to the Jews, and made them to cease by force and power.
(See NIV)

Isaiah 36:3
And there came out to him Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder.
(See RSV NIV)

Isaiah 36:22
Then Eliakim, the son of Hilkiah, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and Joah, the son of Asaph, the recorder, came to Hezekiah with their clothing parted as a sign of grief, and gave him an account of what the Rab-shakeh had said.
(See RSV NIV)

Isaiah 37:2
And he sent Eliakim, who was over the house, and Shebna the scribe, and the chief priests, dressed in haircloth, to Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz.
(See RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:10
Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of Yahweh, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan, the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the new gate of Yahweh's house, in the ears of all the people.
(See RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:12
he went down into the king's house, into the scribe's chamber: and behold, all the princes were sitting there, to wit, Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes.
(See RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:20
They went in to the king into the court; but they had laid up the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe; and they told all the words in the ears of the king.
(See RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:21
So the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll; and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes who stood beside the king.
(See RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 36:26
The king commanded Jerahmeel the king's son, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but Yahweh hid them.
(See RSV)

Jeremiah 37:15
The princes were angry with Jeremiah, and struck him, and put him in prison in the house of Jonathan the scribe; for they had made that the prison.
(See RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 37:20
Now please hear, my lord the king: please let my supplication be presented before you, that you not cause me to return to the house of Jonathan the scribe, lest I die there.
(See RSV NIV)

Jeremiah 52:25
and out of the city he took an officer who was set over the men of war; and seven men of those who saw the king's face, who were found in the city; and the scribe of the captain of the army, who mustered the people of the land; and sixty men of the people of the land, who were found in the midst of the city.
(See RSV NIV)

Subtopics

Secretary

Secretary (Recordist): General Scriptures Concerning

Secretary (Recordist): Military

Related Terms

Secretary's (1 Occurrence)

Baruch (24 Occurrences)

Shavsha (1 Occurrence)

Shimshai (4 Occurrences)

Secretaries (5 Occurrences)

Neriah (10 Occurrences)

Narcissus (2 Occurrences)