λειτουργός

λειτουργός — leitourgós

λειτουργός, λειτουργου, ὁ (from ἘΡΓΩ i. e. ἐργάζομαι, and unused λεῖτοσ῟ equivalent to ληιτος equivalent to δημοσις public, belonging to the state (Hesychius), and this from λεώς Attic for λαός), the Sept. for מְשָׁרֵת (Piel participle of שָׁרַת);

1. a public minister; a servant of the state: τῆς πόλεως, Inscriptions; of the lictors, Plutarch, Rom. 26; (it has not yet been found in its primary and proper sense, of one who at Athens assumes a public office to be administered at his own expense (cf. Liddell and Scott, under the word I.); see λειτουργέω).

2. universally, a minister, servant: so of military laborers, often in Polybius; of the servants of a king, 1 Esdr. 10:5; Sir 10:2; (of Joshua, Jos 1:1 Alex.; universally, 2Sa 13:18 (cf. 2Sa 13:17)); of the servants of the priests, joined with ὑπηρέται, Dionysius Halicarnassus, Antiquities 2, 73; τῶν ἁγίων, of the temple, i. e. one busied with holy things, of a priest, Heb 8:2, cf. (Philo, alleg. leg. iii. § 46); Neh 10:39; Sir 7:30; τῶν θεῶν, of heathen priests, Dionysius Halicarnassus 2, 22 cf. 73; Plutarch, mor., p. 417 a.; Ἰησοῦ Χριστοῦ, of Paul likening himself to a priest, Rom 15:16; plural τοῦ Θεοῦ, those by whom God administers his affairs and executes his decrees: so of magistrates, Rom 13:6; of angels, Heb 1:7 from Psa 103:4 (cf. Philo de caritat. § 3); τῆς χάριτος τοῦ Θεοῦ, those whose ministry the grace of God made use of for proclaiming to men the necessity of repentance, as Noah, Jonah: Clement of Rome, 1Co 8:1-13; 1Co 1:1-31 [ET] cf. c. 7 [ET]; τόν ἀπόστολον καί λειτουργόν ὑμῶν τῆς χρείας μου, by whom ye have sent to me those things which may minister to my needs, Php 2:25.