G3011 — λειτουργός (leitourgos)¶

Core Data¶

Strong's: G3011
Original: λειτουργός
Transliteration: leitourgos
Pronunciation: li-toorg-os'
Part of Speech: Masculine noun
Root: From λεῖτος (leitos, "public") + ἔργον (ergon, "work") — a public servant
Occurrences: 5 unique verses (5 tokens) across 3 books
First Occurrence: Rom 13:6 — "For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing."
Hapax Legomenon: No

Lexicon Definition¶

From a derivative of λεῖτος (leitos, "of the people, public") and ἔργον (ergon, "work"); a public servant, i.e. a functionary in the temple or gospel, or (generally) a worshipper (of God) or benefactor (of man).

Louw-Nida Semantic Domain¶

Domain: 35 — Help, Care For
Subdomain: 35.002 — Serve
Other words in subdomain: διακονέω (G1247), διακονία (G1248), διάκονος (G1249), δουλαγωγέω (G1396), δουλεύω (G1398), θεραπεύω (G2323), θεράπων (G2324), λειτουργέω (G3008), λειτουργία (G3009), λειτουργικός (G3010)

Louw-Nida Domain Neighbors (035.002 — Serve)¶

Strong's	Lemma	Total vv	Primary KJV Translation(s)
G1247	διακονέω	13	ministered, serve
G1248	διακονία	19	ministry, ministration
G1249	διάκονος	15	minister, deacon
G1398	δουλεύω	9	serve, serving
G2323	θεραπεύω	15	healed, heal
G2324	θεράπων	1	servant
G3008	λειτουργέω	3	ministered, ministering
G3009	λειτουργία	5	ministry, service
G3010	λειτουργικός	1	ministering

Morphological Distribution¶

Case/Number	Form	Count	References
Nom Sg M	λειτουργός	1	Heb 8:2
Acc Sg M	λειτουργόν	2	Rom 15:16; Php 2:25
Nom Pl M	λειτουργοί	1	Rom 13:6
Acc Pl M	λειτουργούς	1	Heb 1:7

Three singular occurrences (applied to Christ, Paul, and Epaphroditus individually) and two plural (civic rulers and angels as groups).

Translation Distribution (KJV)¶

Translation	Count	%
ministers	2	40%
a minister	1	20%
he that ministered	1	20%
the minister	1	20%

All 5 occurrences are translated with forms of "minister" — the KJV renders this word with complete consistency.

Distribution by Book¶

Book	Count	Per 100 Verses
Hebrews	2	0.7
Romans	2	0.5
Philippians	1	1.0

Exclusively Pauline epistolary usage (including Hebrews). Absent from the Gospels, Acts, and all other epistles. The word's rarity (5 total NT occurrences) preserves its formal, official register.

Semantic Categories¶

1. Civic/Governmental Service¶

Rom 13:6 — "For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing."

Civil magistrates described as God's leitourgoi — public servants carrying out a divinely appointed governmental function. The term retains its classical Greek civic sense of one who performs a public duty.

2. Priestly/Sacerdotal Ministry¶

Rom 15:16 — "That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost."
Heb 8:2 — "A minister of the sanctuary, and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord pitched, and not man."

Cultic-priestly register. Paul casts his apostolic mission in sacerdotal terms — he is a leitourgos performing sacred service (hierourgeo) with the Gentiles as his offering. In Hebrews, Christ himself is called leitourgos of the heavenly sanctuary and true tabernacle, the definitive priestly minister.

3. Angelic Service¶

Heb 1:7 — "And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire."

Angels as God's leitourgoi — quoting Psalm 104:4 (LXX 103:4). The term designates their role as official servants carrying out divine assignments.

4. Personal Sacrificial Service¶

Php 2:25 — "Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellowsoldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants."

Epaphroditus as leitourgos to Paul's needs — personal service framed with the dignity of official public ministry. The Philippians sent him as their representative to perform this service.

Common Collocations¶

Word	Strong's	Co-occurrences	Typical Pattern
θεός (theos)	G2316	2x	"God's ministers" — leitourgos of/for God (Rom 13:6, Rom 15:16)
πνεῦμα (pneuma)	G4151	2x	"spirits... ministers" — parallel description of angelic nature and function (Heb 1:7); "sanctified by the Holy Ghost" (Rom 15:16)
ἅγιος (hagios)	G40	1x	"minister of the sanctuary" — holy place context (Heb 8:2)
ἀπόστολος (apostolos)	G652	1x	"your messenger [apostolos]... he that ministered" — apostolic service (Php 2:25)
εὐαγγέλιον (euangelion)	G2098	1x	"minister of Jesus Christ... ministering the gospel" — gospel as priestly service (Rom 15:16)
ἀληθινός (alethinos)	G228	1x	"the true tabernacle" — genuine/heavenly sanctuary (Heb 8:2)

Word Family / Cognates¶

G3008 λειτουργέω (leitourgeo) — verb: to minister publicly, perform sacred service (3v)
G3009 λειτουργία (leitourgia) — feminine noun: public service, ministry, priestly function (6v)
G3010 λειτουργικός (leitourgikos) — adjective: ministering, engaged in service (1v — Heb 1:14)

All four leitourg- cognates appear in Hebrews, forming a concentrated cluster describing the service of Christ (G3011 Heb 8:2; G3009 Heb 8:6, 9:21), angels (G3011 Heb 1:7; G3010 Heb 1:14), and the old covenant system.

Synonyms¶

G1249 διάκονος (diakonos) — servant, minister, deacon (15v); general personal service and table attendance
G3008 λειτουργέω (leitourgeo) — to minister publicly (3v); verbal cognate

Easily Confused Words¶

Word	Strong's	Shared Translation	Key Difference
διάκονος (diakonos)	G1249	"minister(s)" (4v)	diakonos = general servant/attendant, any kind of service; leitourgos = official public functionary, often with sacerdotal/civic authority
ὑπηρέτης (hyperetes)	G5257	"minister(s)" (1v)	hyperetes = subordinate assistant, under-rower; leitourgos = authorized public servant acting in official capacity
שָׁרַת (sharath)	H8334	"minister(s)" (3v OT)	sharath = personal attendance on a superior (menial/worshipful); leitourgos = public liturgical office-holder

Semantic Domain¶

[035] Help, Care For — service and assistance words
[035.002] Serve — public and religious service

Hebrew Source (via LXX)¶

Hebrew Source	Strong's	Co-occurrences	PMI Score	Notes
שָׁרַת (sharath)	H8334	9	18.02	Primary — to attend as a menial or priestly minister
רוּחַ (ruach)	H7307	3	5.99	Spirit/wind — Ps 104:4 context ("spirits... ministers")
בַּיִת (bayith)	H1004	3	2.81	House — temple/house of God where leitourgos serves
אֱלֹהִים (elohiym)	H430	3	2.23	God — leitourgos serves God
יְהוָֹה (Yehovah)	H3068	5	1.89	LORD — leitourgos of the LORD

The dominant Hebrew source is H8334 sharath (PMI 18.02), the verb for priestly/personal attendance. The LXX translators used leitourgos to render the person performing sharath — the one who ministers before God in the sanctuary.