What does δεσπότης (despótēs) mean in the Bible?
δεσπότης (despótēs): Absolute owner with uncontrolled power, contrasting with κύριος which implies more limited authority
Greek · G1203
δεσπότης
An absolute ruler ("despot")
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δεσπότης G1203
Pronunciation despótēs
What does δεσπότης (despótēs) mean in the Bible?
δεσπότης (despótēs): Absolute owner with uncontrolled power, contrasting with κύριος which implies more limited authority
Full entry for δεσπότης (G1203) · Open the biblical lexicon
Questions this entry answers
How does the BSB render G1203?
The BSB source-word alignment has 10 aligned rows for this entry. Common renderings include masters (4), Master (3), Sovereign Lord (2), Lord (1).
Where does δεσπότης (despótēs) appear in Scripture?
The source-word alignment first shows this entry at Luke 2:29. Its strongest book concentrations include 1 Timothy (2), 1 Peter (1), 2 Peter (1), 2 Timothy (1).
Source Word Evidence
BSB source-word alignment connects this entry to exact verse rows, English rendering, source form, transliteration, and parsing.
How English Renders It masters 4× 1 Timothy 6:1, 1 Timothy 6:2, Titus 2:9, 1 Peter 2:18
Master 3× 2 Timothy 2:21, 2 Peter 2:1, Jude 1:4
Sovereign Lord 2× Luke 2:29, Acts 4:24
Lord 1× Revelation 6:10
Show sample aligned rows
Luke 2:29 Δέσποτα to Sovereign Lord Noun - Vocative Masculine Singular Acts 4:24 Δέσποτα to Sovereign Lord Noun - Vocative Masculine Singular 1 Timothy 6:1 δεσπότας to masters Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural 1 Timothy 6:2 δεσπότας to masters Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural 2 Timothy 2:21 δεσπότῃ to Master Noun - Dative Masculine Singular Titus 2:9 δεσπόταις to masters Noun - Dative Masculine Plural 1 Peter 2:18 δεσπόταις to masters Noun - Dative Masculine Plural 2 Peter 2:1 δεσπότην to Master Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular Jude 1:4 Δεσπότην to Master Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular Revelation 6:10 Δεσπότης to Lord Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular
Usage map
A compact distribution from source-word alignment before the full evidence tables.
First aligned row Luke 2:29
Aligned rows 10
Books represented 9
Luke 1 Acts 1 1 Timothy 2 2 Timothy 1 Titus 1 1 Peter 1 2 Peter 1 Jude 1 Revelation 1
Source forms
Δέσποτα 2x Despota Luke 2:29, Acts 4:24
δεσπόταις 2x despotais Titus 2:9, 1 Peter 2:18
δεσπότας 2x despotas 1 Timothy 6:1, 1 Timothy 6:2
δεσπότῃ 1x despotē 2 Timothy 2:21
δεσπότην 1x despotēn 2 Peter 2:1
Δεσπότην 1x Despotēn Jude 1:4
Δεσπότης 1x Despotēs Revelation 6:10
Parsing patterns
Noun - Accusative Masculine Plural 2x 1 Timothy 6:1, 1 Timothy 6:2
Noun - Accusative Masculine Singular 2x 2 Peter 2:1, Jude 1:4
Noun - Dative Masculine Plural 2x Titus 2:9, 1 Peter 2:18
Noun - Vocative Masculine Singular 2x Luke 2:29, Acts 4:24
Noun - Dative Masculine Singular 1x 2 Timothy 2:21
Noun - Nominative Masculine Singular 1x Revelation 6:10
Evidence Summary
Creation
Greek word. Absolute owner with uncontrolled power, contrasting with κύριος which implies more limited authority
Strong's G1203
Lexical occurrences 10 verses Greek text appearances 10 times Word forms 6 forms 10 references Verse guides 0 guides
Study link Acts 4:23-31 Source Gloss
an absolute ruler ("despot")
Greek Text Appearances
Textus Receptus witness, full corpus Greek token appearances from Scrivener 1894 Textus Receptus in the full New Testament corpus.
10 Greek text appearances shown. Linked morphology labels have verse guides.
Luke 2:29 Noun Singular Masculine
δέσποτα, despota
a lord, master, or prince
Read verse Acts 4:24 Noun Singular Masculine
Δέσποτα, despota
a lord, master, or prince
Read verse 1 Timothy 6:1 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
δεσπότας despotav
a lord, master, or prince
Read verse 1 Timothy 6:2 Noun Accusative Plural Masculine
δεσπότας despotav
a lord, master, or prince
Read verse 2 Timothy 2:21 Noun Dative Singular Masculine
δεσπότῃ, despoth
a lord, master, or prince
Read verse Titus 2:9 Noun Dative Plural Masculine
δεσπόταις despotaiv
a lord, master, or prince
Read verse 1 Peter 2:18 Noun Dative Plural Masculine
δεσπόταις, despotaiv
a lord, master, or prince
Read verse 2 Peter 2:1 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
δεσπότην despothn
a lord, master, or prince
Read verse Jude 1:4 Noun Accusative Singular Masculine
δεσπότην despothn
a lord, master, or prince
Read verse Revelation 6:10 Noun Nominative Singular Masculine
δεσπότης, despothv
a lord, master, or prince
Read verseFull New Testament corpus: 260 chapters, 7,957 verses, 140,628 tokens. Data source: honza/textus-receptus (data only), with authority check against byztxt/greektext-textus-receptus.
Grammatical Forms
How this word appears across different grammatical cases and numbers.
This word appears as a noun across 6 case and number patterns. The form changes show how the word functions in a sentence; they do not change the basic lexical meaning by themselves.
Form patterns 6 Aligned forms 10 Case pattern Accusative (4) Number pattern Singular (6)
Verse guides are not available for this word yet, so verse references remain plain evidence markers.
Nominative · Singular · Masculine Rev 6:10 1×
Dative · Plural · Masculine Titus 2:9 · 1 Pet 2:18 2×
Dative · Singular · Masculine 2 Tim 2:21 1×
Accusative · Plural · Masculine 1 Tim 6:1 · 1 Tim 6:2 2×
Accusative · Singular · Masculine 2 Pet 2:1 · Jude 1:4 2×
Vocative · Singular · Masculine Luke 2:29 · Acts 4:24 2×
Selected Scripture Witness
Selected passage-level study witnesses for this word. This section is not the full occurrence list.
New Testament Witnesses
Master or absolute ruler.
Showing 1 selected witness from 10 lexical occurrence verses.
Word Origins
δεσπότης is built from this root:
Why This Word Matters
The prayer begins by affirming God’s absolute authority over creation and history. Acts 4:23-31
Canonical Themes
Creation
Sources
MorphGNT Strong's Dictionary XML — CC0 1.0 Public Domain
Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible (morphhb/OSHB) — CC BY 4.0
Open Scriptures Hebrew Lexicon — CC BY 4.0
Berean Standard Bible (BSB) source-word alignment - CC0 Public Domain