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DOCTOR.—The English versions have been very inconsistent in the translation of äéäÜóêáëïò , íïìïäéäÜóêáëïò , ῥáââåß , íïìéêüò . They have generally followed Wyclif, who used maister for äéäÜóêáëïò , and doctour only once (Luk_2:46). In the American Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 ‘master’ and ‘doctor’ disappear as translation of äéäÜóêáëïò , and ‘teacher’ is uniformly used. The Authorized Version has ‘teacher’ only once in the Gospels (Joh_3:2) out of a very large number of instances of äéäÜóêáëïò . The English Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 advances to only four uses of ‘teacher’ (Mat_23:6, Luk_2:46, Joh_3:2; Joh_3:10). íïìïäéäÜóêáëïò occurs only three times in the NT (Luk_5:17, Act_5:34, 1Ti_1:7). In the last example Authorized Version has ‘teacher’ and in the other two ‘doctor of the law.’ Of course, ‘doctor’ is simply Latin for ‘teacher,’ but the American Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 would have done better to adopt ‘teacher of the law’ for íïìïäéäÜóêáëïò also (Luk_6:17, Act_5:34).
The chief English Versions translate the word äéäÜóêáëïò in Luk_2:46 as follows: Wyclif, doctours; Tindale, doctours; Cranmer, doctours; Geneva, doctours; Rheims, doctors; Authorized Version , doctors; Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 , doctors; Noyes, teachers; Bible Union Revision, teachers; American Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 , teachers; Twentieth Century NT, Teachers. íïìïäéäÜóêáëïò in Luk_5:17 and Act_5:34 is translated doctour of the lawe by Wyclif, who is followed with variations in spelling by Tindale. Geneva, Rheims, Authorized Version and Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 , American Revised Version NT 1881, OT 1885 . The American Bible Union Revision has teacher of the law in Luk_5:17 and Act_5:34 also. Twentieth Century NT has Teacher of the Law.
It would seem that íïìïäéäÜóêáëïò should he translated ‘teacher of the law,’ and äéäÜóêáëïò ‘teacher’ always. The Old English word ‘doctor’ now often signifies a title. Pope’s phrase, ‘when doctors disagree,’ referred to teachers, íïìéêüò used once in Mt. (Mat_22:35) and eight times in Lk., and is practically equivalent to íïìïäéäÜóêáëïò . See Rabbi, Master, Teacher, Lawyer.
A. T. Robertson.