Captain

Narrator: Chris Genthree
Duration: 2min
 •  1 min. read  •  grade level: 9
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In the Old Testament this word is used for one filling any office of rule or command: as the head of a tribe (Num. 2:3-293And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be captain of the children of Judah. 4And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred. 5And those that do pitch next unto him shall be the tribe of Issachar: and Nethaneel the son of Zuar shall be captain of the children of Issachar. 6And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred. 7Then the tribe of Zebulun: and Eliab the son of Helon shall be captain of the children of Zebulun. 8And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred. 9All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were an hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, throughout their armies. These shall first set forth. 10On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies: and the captain of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur. 11And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were forty and six thousand and five hundred. 12And those which pitch by him shall be the tribe of Simeon: and the captain of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai. 13And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred. 14Then the tribe of Gad: and the captain of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel. 15And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and five thousand and six hundred and fifty. 16All that were numbered in the camp of Reuben were an hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies. And they shall set forth in the second rank. 17Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards. 18On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies: and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud. 19And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty thousand and five hundred. 20And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh: and the captain of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur. 21And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred. 22Then the tribe of Benjamin: and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni. 23And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred. 24All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were an hundred thousand and eight thousand and an hundred, throughout their armies. And they shall go forward in the third rank. 25The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies: and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai. 26And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred. 27And those that encamp by him shall be the tribe of Asher: and the captain of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran. 28And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and one thousand and five hundred. 29Then the tribe of Naphtali: and the captain of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan. (Numbers 2:3‑29)); commander of an army, and so forth. The person who appeared to Joshua as “a man” declared himself to be “captain of the Lord’s host.” He told Joshua to remove his shoes from his feet, for the ground was holy, evincing that he was God’s representative to lead their warfare (Josh. 5:14-1514And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant? 15And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:14‑15)). In the New Testament the Lord is called “Captain” of our salvation, ἀρχηγός, “chief leader” (Heb. 2:1010For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (Hebrews 2:10)).
There was also a “CAPTAIN OF THE TEMPLE,” στρατηγός (Luke 22:4, 524And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. (Luke 22:4)
52Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves? (Luke 22:52); Acts 4:11And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, (Acts 4:1); Acts 5:24, 2624Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. (Acts 5:24)
26Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. (Acts 5:26)). This word is literally “the leader of an army”; it is also applied to magistrates (Acts 16:2020And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, (Acts 16:20)), but the captain of the temple was set not over the soldiers, but over the priests and Levites: (Compare Num. 32; 1 Chron. 9:1111And Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God; (1 Chronicles 9:11); Jer. 20:11Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. (Jeremiah 20:1)).
THE CHIEF CAPTAIN or HIGH CAPTAIN is χιλίαρχος, lit. “Captain of a thousand,” applied to the chief of the soldiers in Jerusalem (Acts 21-25).
CAPTAIN OF THE GUARD (Acts 28:1616And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him. (Acts 28:16)), is στρατοπεδάρχης, properly “commander of a camp,” but here the prefect of the Prætorian Guard, an officer to whom state prisoners were entrusted at Rome.