TR: kôhên → hiereús (Priest / Priestly Office)

The Chain

Hebrew OT              LXX (Greek OT)             Greek NT
─────────────          ────────────────            ─────────
כֹּהֵן (kôhên)    →    ἱερεύς (hiereús)    →    ἱερεύς (hiereús)
H3548, 653x in OT      623x as translation         30x in NT
"one officiating"       of kôhên                    "priest"
                        PMI score: 32.55

OT Usage (Hebrew)

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
H3548	כֹּהֵן (kôhên)	653	One officiating; a priest; by courtesy a chief ruler

Lexicon: Active participle of an unused root meaning "to officiate"; literally "one officiating." Used for Aaronic/Levitical priests, for the pre-Mosaic priest Melchizedek (Gen 14:18), and occasionally for foreign/pagan priests (Gen 47:22; Exo 2:16).

Key OT passages: - Gen 14:18 — "And Melchizedek king of Salem...he was the priest of the most high God" — pre-Mosaic priesthood; the Hebrews text will anchor the NT Melchizedek argument - Lev 1:5 — "the priests, Aaron's sons, shall bring the blood" — inauguration of Aaronic order - Num 3:3 — "the sons of Aaron, the priests which were anointed, whom he consecrated" — ordination language - Deu 17:9 — "thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge" — priestly authority in civil matters

KJV translation distribution for H3548: - "the priest" — 294 vv (45%) - "the priests" — 142 vv (22%) - "priest" — 45 vv (7%) - "of the priests" — 42 vv (6%) - "and the priests" — 20 vv (3%) - (remaining ~17% in various phrase forms)

H3548-kohen.md

LXX Bridge

Hebrew	Greek Translation	Co-occ	PMI	Notes
H3548 kôhên	ἱερεύς (G2409, hiereús)	623	32.55	Dominant, near-exclusive rendering
H3548 kôhên	Λευΐτης (G3019, Leuitēs)	94	17.01	Levite; secondary rendering
H3881 Lēvîy	ἱερεύς (G2409, hiereús)	96	17.05	Levite sometimes rendered as priest

Semantic continuity: The LXX translators rendered כֹּהֵן as ἱερεύς with exceptional consistency (PMI 32.55 is very high). The Greek ἱερεύς — from ἱερός ("sacred, holy") — carries the same functional sense: one set apart to handle sacred things and mediate between God and people. The institutional and sacrificial dimensions of the Hebrew term carry through intact.

Notable secondary mapping: The occasional rendering of H3881 (Levite) as ἱερεύς, and H3548 as Λευΐτης, reflects the LXX translators' handling of the Levite/priest distinction — sometimes collapsing, sometimes differentiating.

NT Usage (Greek)

Strong's	Word	Occurrences	Primary Meaning
G2409	ἱερεύς (hiereús)	30	A priest (Levitical, Melchizedekian, royal)
G749	ἀρχιερεύς (archiereus)	102	High priest / chief priests
G2406	ἱεράτευμα (hierateuma)	2	Priestly body / royal priesthood

Key NT passages: - Matt 8:4; Mark 1:44; Luke 5:14 — healed persons directed to show themselves to the (Levitical) priest per Mosaic law — the institution still active and authoritative - Heb 5:6 (quoting Ps 110:4) — "Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec" — Christ's priesthood grounded in the same text Hebrews 7 expounds extensively - Heb 7:1 — "Melchisedec, king of Salem, priest of the most high God, who met Abraham" — reactivating Gen 14:18 for christological argument - Heb 10:11 — "every priest standeth daily ministering...which can never take away sins" — the Levitical priesthood's limitation contrasted with Christ - Rev 1:6; 5:10; 20:6 — believers described as "kings and priests unto God" — echoing Exo 19:6 language (LXX: βασίλειον ἱεράτευμα)

TODO(need G2409 study) — done: see G2409-hiereus.md

Direct OT→NT Quotations

NT Verse	Quotes OT	Shared Term	Significance
Heb 5:6	Ps 110:4	kôhên → hiereús	"Thou art a priest for ever after the order of Melchisedec" — cornerstone of Heb 7 argument
Heb 7:17, 21	Ps 110:4	kôhên → hiereús	Repeated to establish Christ's eternal priesthood
Rev 1:6; 5:10	Exo 19:6 (LXX)	kôhannîm → ἱερεύς	Believers as "kings and priests" — royal priesthood applied to the redeemed

Continuity and Shifts

What stays the same across testaments: - Core function: one set apart to mediate between God and the people, handling sacred things - Connection to sacrifice and offering (προσφέρω appears 5x with ἱερεύς in NT) - Concept of divine appointment and consecration to the office

What shifts: - In the OT, kôhên exclusively refers to human officiant; in Hebrews, Christ holds the title permanently ("for ever," Ps 110:4) - Melchizedek functions as a minor OT figure (Gen 14:18) but becomes the hermeneutical key to Christ's priesthood in Hebrews 7 - The Levitical priesthood (perpetuated in NT-era temple service) is reframed in Hebrews as anticipatory and temporary — "a shadow of good things to come" (Heb 10:1) - Revelation applies ἱερεύς to all redeemed believers (1 Pet 2:9 uses ἱεράτευμα), extending the office beyond any hereditary line

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Generated from: gather_trace_data.py, search_strongs.py (--lxx-map, --hebrew-source) Last updated: 2026-04-02