StrongerBible

didaskalia

διδασκαλία

GreekG1319doctrine, teaching, ...

Appears 21 times · tap a cell to see the verses

Mat 15:9Mrk 7:7Rom 12:7Rom 15:4Eph 4:14Col 2:221Ti 1:101Ti 4:11Ti 4:61Ti 4:131Ti 4:161Ti 5:171Ti 6:11Ti 6:32Ti 3:102Ti 3:162Ti 4:3Tit 1:9Tit 2:1Tit 2:7Tit 2:10
Root family
Word studydee-das-kah-LEE-ahnoun

What didaskalia means

teaching: both the act of instructing and the body of instruction that results

TranslatabilityApproximateCertaintyStrong

The word names teaching in two connected ways: the living act of instructing someone, and the settled body of what is taught. English usually keeps these apart, calling the first "teaching" or "instruction" and the second "doctrine," but one Greek word covers the whole arc, from the teacher's work to the content that lasts.

The word itself is neutral. Scripture uses it for God's own teaching and for "sound teaching," but also, with the very same word, for "the teachings of men" (Matthew 15:9; Mark 7:7) and even "teachings of demons" (1 Timothy 4:1). Whether the teaching is true or false is carried by the words around it, not by this word.

Most occurrences fall in the letters to Timothy and Titus, where "sound teaching" (healthy, wholesome teaching) marks reliable Christian instruction off from novelty and error. There the line between the act and the content blurs on purpose: a faithful teacher and a faithful message stand or fall together.

It is the noun paired with the verb διδάσκω "to teach" and the διδάσκαλος who does the teaching. Its near-twin διδαχή overlaps heavily, but these letters prefer this word for the trustworthy body of instruction the church is to guard.

Nuances

1athe act of teaching: instruction as an activity
TranslatabilityDirect
Rom 12:7Rom 15:41Ti 4:131Ti 5:172Ti 3:16Tit 2:7
1bwhat is taught: a body of teaching or doctrine
Mat 15:9Mrk 7:7Eph 4:14Col 2:221Ti 1:101Ti 4:11Ti 4:61Ti 4:161Ti 6:11Ti 6:32Ti 3:102Ti 4:3

What scholars say about didaskalia

διδασκαλία is a verbal noun from διδάσκω, denoting both the activity of teaching and, by extension, its resulting content. Standard lexica (BDAG; Louw-Nida, domain 33) recognize both senses, with the active sense clear in the undisputed Pauline letters (Romans 12:7; 15:4) and the resultative "body of teaching" sense concentrated in the Pastoral Epistles, where fifteen of the twenty-one New Testament occurrences fall. The recurring phrase "sound teaching" (hē hygiainousa didaskalia: 1 Timothy 1:10; 2 Timothy 4:3; Titus 1:9; 2:1) is much discussed: Dibelius and Conzelmann, followed by von Campenhausen, read it as evidence of an emerging institutionalized deposit of doctrine, while Marshall and Towner argue it remains the dynamic apostolic message, gauged by its wholesomeness rather than crystallized into a creed. Rengstorf (TDNT) treats the word alongside its near-synonym didachē (G1322).

Sources

  • BDAG (Bauer-Danker-Arndt-Gingrich), s.v. διδασκαλίαlexicon
  • Louw & Nida, Greek-English Lexicon Based on Semantic Domains, domain 33lexicon
  • K. H. Rengstorf, "διδάσκω κτλ.", TDNT 2:135-165dictionary
  • I. H. Marshall, The Pastoral Epistles (ICC, 1999)commentary
  • P. H. Towner, The Letters to Timothy and Titus (NICNT, 2006)commentary

All attested forms of διδασκαλία

dative f s

διδασκαλίᾳ

Rom 12:7, 1Ti 1:10, 1Ti 4:13, 1Ti 4:16, 1Ti 5:17, 1Ti 6:3, 2Ti 3:10, Tit 1:9

accusative f p

διδασκαλίας

Mat 15:9, Mrk 7:7, Col 2:22

accusative f s

διδασκαλίαν

Rom 15:4, 2Ti 3:16, Tit 2:10

genitive f s

διδασκαλίας

Eph 4:14, 1Ti 4:6, 2Ti 4:3

dative f p

διδασκαλίαις

1Ti 4:1

nominative f s

διδασκαλία

1Ti 6:1