Barbarian
“One who speaks an unintelligible language; a foreigner”
Summary
A Greek term originally denoting anyone who did not speak Greek, used in the New Testament to distinguish non-Greeks from Greeks, with no inherent connotation of savagery.
☩Origin and Meaning
The Greek word 'barbaros' was originally an onomatopoeia, imitating the sound of unintelligible speech—'bar-bar'—applied to anyone who did not speak Greek. For the Greeks, this encompassed all other nations regardless of their cultural advancement. Even the Egyptians and Chaldeans, whom Clement of Alexandria acknowledged as inventors of philosophy and astronomy, were termed barbarians.
☩New Testament Usage
In Romans 1:14, Paul uses 'Greeks and Barbarians' as a comprehensive term for the entire human race, to whom he is debtor with the gospel. In Colossians 3:11, the phrase 'barbarian, Scythian' is a climax—barbarians of all kinds, even the Scythians considered the most uncivilized—are included in Christ's reconciling work. In 1 Corinthians 14:11, Paul uses the term in its original linguistic sense: those speaking unintelligible tongues are 'barbarians' to each other.
☩The People of Malta
Luke calls the inhabitants of Malta 'barbarians' because they were descendants of Phoenician colonists who spoke Punic rather than Greek. Yet he describes their exceptional kindness in receiving the shipwrecked Paul and his companions, showing that 'barbarian' implied no moral judgment but merely linguistic difference. These 'barbarous people' showed humanity that put many civilized Greeks to shame.
☩Gospel Universality
The significance of this term lies in its abolition within the church. Where Greeks looked down upon all non-Greeks, and Romans eventually exempted themselves while despising others, the gospel declares that in Christ 'there is neither Greek nor Jew... Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free.' Paul's self-description as debtor to all peoples demonstrates that the gospel knows no cultural boundaries.
Related Verses5 mentions
References
- 1.John McClintock and James Strong, "Barbarian," in Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. I (Harper & Brothers, 1867–1887).
- 2.James Orr (ed.), "Barbarian; Barbarous," in International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, vol. I (Howard-Severance Company, 1915).
- 3.George Morrish, "Barbarian," in Morrish's Concise Bible Dictionary (George Morrish, 1898).
- 4.James Hastings (ed.), "Barbarian," in Dictionary of the Apostolic Church, vol. I (T. & T. Clark, 1915–1918).