In the Old Testament the Hebrew word
tsir , meaning "one who goes on an errand," is rendered thus (
Joshua 9:4 ;
Proverbs 13:17 ;
Isaiah 18:2 ;
Jeremiah 49:14 ;
Obadiah 1:1 ). This is also the rendering of
melits , meaning "an interpreter," in
2 Chronicles 32:31 ; and of
malak , a "messenger," in
2 Chronicles 35:21 ;
Isaiah 30:4 ;
33:7 ; Ezek.
17:15 . This is the name used by the apostle as designating those who are appointed by God to declare his will (
2 Corinthians 5:20 ;
Ephesians 6:20 ).
The Hebrews on various occasions and for various purposes had recourse to the services of ambassadors, e.g., to contract alliances ( Joshua 9:4 ), to solicit favours ( Numbers 20:14 ), to remonstrate when wrong was done ( Judges 11:12 ), to condole with a young king on the death of his father ( 2 Samuel 10:2 ), and to congratulate a king on his accession to the throne ( 1 Kings 5:1 ).
To do injury to an ambassador was to insult the king who sent him ( 2 Samuel 10:5 ).
These dictionary topics are from
M.G. Easton M.A., D.D., Illustrated Bible Dictionary, Third Edition,
published by Thomas Nelson, 1897. Public Domain, copy freely.