κύριος, κυρίου, ὁ (properly, an adjective κύριος, κυρία, κύριον, also of two term.; properly equivalent to ὁ ἔχων κῦρος, having power or authority) (from Pindar down), he to whom a person or thing belongs, about which he has the power of deciding; master, lord; used
a. universally, of the possessor and disposer of a thing, the owner (the Sept. for אָדון, בַּעַל): with the genitive of the thing, as τοῦ ἀμπελῶνος, Matthew 20:8; Matthew 21:40; Mark 12:9; Luke 20:15; τοῦ θερισμοῦ, Matthew 9:38; Luke 10:2; τῆς οἰκίας, the master, Mark 13:35 (Judges 19:12); τοῦ πωλου, Luke 19:33; τοῦ σαββάτου, possessed of the power to determine what is suitable to the sabbath, and of releasing himself and others from its obligations, Matthew 12:8; Mark 2:28; Luke 6:5. with the genitive of a person, one who has control of the person, the master (A. V. lord); in the household: δούλου, παιδίσκης, οἰκονόμου, Matthew 10:24; Luke 12:46; Luke 14:21; Luke 16:3, 5; Acts 16:16, 19, etc.; absolutely, opposed to οἱ δοῦλοι, Ephesians 6:5, 9; Colossians 4:1, etc.; in the state, the sovereign, prince, chief: the Roman emperor ((on this use of κύριος see at length Woolsey in Bib. Sacr. for July 1861, pp. 595-608; Bp. Lghtft. on Ign., mart. Polyc. 8, p. 959)), Acts 25:26; once angels are called κύριοι, as those to whom, in the administration of the universe, departments are intrusted by God (see ἄγγελος, 2): 1 Corinthians 8:5.
b. κύριος is a title of honor, expressive of respect and reverence, with which servants salute their master, Matthew 13:27; Matthew 25:20, 22; Luke 13:8; Luke 14:22, etc.; the disciples salute Jesus their teacher and master, Matthew 8:25; Matthew 16:22; Luke 9:54; Luke 10:17, 40; Luke 11:1; Luke 22:33, 38; John 11:12; John 13:6, 9, 13; John 21:15-17, 20f, etc., cf. 20:18; Luke 24:34; his followers salute Jesus as the Messiah, whose authority they acknowledge (by its repetition showing their earnestness (cf. Winer's Grammar, § 65, 5 a.)), κύριε, κύριε, Matthew 7:21; and R G in Luke 13:25; employed, too, by a son in addressing his father, Matthew 21:30; by citizens toward magistrates, Matthew 27:63; by anyone who wishes to honor a man of distinction, Matthew 8:2, 6, 8; Matthew 15:27; Mark 7:28; Luke 5:12; Luke 13:25; John 4:11, 15, 19; John 5:7; John 12:21; John 20:15; Acts 9:5; Acts 16:30; Acts 22:8.
c. this title is given
α. to God, the ruler of the universe (so the Sept. for אֲדֹנָי, אֱלוהַּ, אֱלֹהִים, יְהוָה, and יָהּ; (the term κύριος is used of the gods from Pindar and Sophocles down, but "the address κύριε, used in prayer to God, though frequent in Epictetus does not occur (so far as I am aware) in any heathen writing before the apostolic times; sometimes we find κύριε ὁ Θεός, and once (2, 7, 12) he writes κύριε ἐλέησόν (Lightfoot on Philippians, p. 314 note{3}))) — both with the article, ὁ κύριος: Matthew 1:22 (R G); Matthew 5:33; Mark 5:19; Luke 1:6, 9, 28, 46; Acts 7:33; Acts 8:24; Acts 11:21; 2 Timothy 1:16, 18 (but see ἔλεος, 3); Hebrews 8:2; James 4:15; James 5:15; Jude 1:5 (R G), etc.; and without the article (cf. Winers Grammar, 124 (118); Buttmann, 88f (77f)): Matthew 21:9; Matthew 27:10; Mark 13:20; Luke 1:17, 38, 58, 66; Luke 2:9, 23, 26, 39; Acts 7:49; Hebrews 7:21; Hebrews 12:6; 1 Peter 1:25; 2 Peter 2:9; Jude (5 T Tr text WH text), 9; κύριος τοῦ οὐρανοῦ καί τῆς γῆς, Matthew 11:25; Luke 10:21; Acts 17:24; κύριος τῶν κυριευόντων, 1 Timothy 6:15; κύριος ὁ Θεός, see Θεός, 3, p. 288a (and below); κύριος ὁ Θεός ὁ παντοκράτωρ, Revelation 4:8; κύριος σαβαώθ, Romans 9:29; ἄγγελος and ὁ ἄγγελος κυρίου, Matthew 1:20; Matthew 2:13, 19; Matthew 28:2; Luke 1:11; Luke 2:9; Acts 5:19; Acts 8:26; Acts 12:7; πνευαμα κυρίου, Luke 4:18; Acts 8:39; with prepositions: ὑπό (R G add the article) κυρίου, Matthew 1:22; Matthew 2:15; παρά κυρίου, Matthew 21:42 and Mark 12:11, from Psalm 117:23 (Ps. 118:23); παρά κυρίῳ, 2 Peter 3:8.
β. to the Messiah; and that
αα. to the Messiah regarded universally: Luke 1:43; Luke 2:11; Matthew 21:3; Matthew 22:45; Mark 11:3; Mark 12:36; Luke 19:34; Luke 20:44.
ββ. to Jesus as the Messiah, since by his death he acquired a special ownership in mankind, and after his resurrection was exalted to a partnership in the divine administration (this force of the word when applied to Jesus appears especially in Acts 10:36; Romans 14:8; 1 Corinthians 7:22; 1 Corinthians 8:6; Philippians 2:9-11): Ephesians 4:5; with the article ὁ κύριος, Mark 16:19; Acts 9:1; Romans 14:8; 1 Corinthians 4:5; 1 Corinthians 6:13; 1 Corinthians 7:10, 12, 34; 1 Corinthians 9:5, 14; 1 Corinthians 10:22; 1 Corinthians 11:26; (1 Corinthians 16:22 G L T Tr WH); Philippians 4:5; (2 Timothy 4:22 T Tr WH); Hebrews 2:3 (cf. Hebrews 2:7ff); James 5:7, etc. after his resurrection Jesus is addressed by the title ὁ κύριος μου καί ὁ Θεός μου, John 20:28. ἀπό τοῦ κυρίου, 1 Corinthians 11:23; 2 Corinthians 5:6; πρός τόν κύριον 2 Corinthians 5:8; ὁ κύριος Ἰησοῦς, Acts 1:21; Acts 4:33; Acts 16:31; Acts 20:35; 1 Corinthians 11:23; (1 Corinthians 16:23 T Tr WH); 2 Corinthians 1:14; (2 Timothy 4:22 Lachmann); Revelation 22:20; ὁ κύριος Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, 1 Corinthians 16:22 (R; 23 R G L); 2 Corinthians 13:13 (14) (WH brackets Χριστός); Ephesians 1:2; 2 Timothy 4:22 (R G), etc.; κύριος ἡμῶν, 1 Timothy 1:14; 2 Timothy 1:8; Hebrews 7:14; 2 Peter 3:15; Revelation 11:15, etc.; with Ἰησοῦς added (L T Tr WH in 1 Thessalonians 3:11 and 13); Hebrews 13:20; Revelation 22:21 (L T Tr (yet without ἡμῶν)); so with Χριστός, Romans 16:18 (G L T Tr WH); and Ἰησοῦς Χριστός, 1 Thessalonians 1:3 (cf. Buttmann, 155 (136)); 1 Thessalonians 3:11 (R G), 1 Thessalonians 3:13 (Rec.); 1 Thessalonians 5:23; 2 Thessalonians 2:1, 14, 16; 2 Thessalonians 3:6 ((ἡμῶν)); 1 Corinthians 1:2; 2 Corinthians 1:3; Galatians 6:18 (WH brackets ἡμῶν); Ephesians 1:3; Ephesians 6:24; Romans 16:24 (R G); 1 Timothy 6:3, 14; Philemon 1:25 (T WH omit ἡμῶν); Philippians 4:23 (G L T Tr WH omit ἡμῶν), etc.; Ἰησοῦς Χριστός ὁ κύριος ἡμῶν, Romans 1:4; and Χριστός Ἰησης ὁ κύριος (ἡμῶν), Colossians 2:6; Ephesians 3:11; 1 Timothy 1:2; 2 Timothy 1:2; ὁ κύριος καί ὁ σωτήρ, 2 Peter 3:2 (cf. Buttmann, 155 (136)); with Ἰησοῦς Χριστός added, 2 Peter 3:18; without the article, simply κύριος: 1 Corinthians 7:22, 25; 1 Corinthians 10:21; 1 Corinthians 16:10; 2 Corinthians 3:17; 2 Corinthians 12:1; 2 Timothy 2:24; James 5:11; 2 Peter 3:10; κύριος κυρίων, i. e. Supreme Lord (cf. Winers Grammar, § 36, 2; (Buttmann, § 123, 12)): Revelation 19:16 (cf. in α. above; of God, Deuteronomy 10:17); with prepositions: ἀπό κυρίου, Colossians 3:24; κατά κύριον, 2 Corinthians 11:17; πρός κύριον, 2 Corinthians 3:16; σύν κυρίῳ, 1 Thessalonians 4:17; ὑπό κύριον, 2 Thessalonians 2:13; on the phrase ἐν κυρίῳ, frequent in Paul, and except in his writings found only in Revelation 14:13, see ἐν, I. 6 b., p. 211b. The appellation ὁ κύριος, applied to Christ, passed over in Luke and John even into historic narrative, where the words and works of Jesus prior to his resurrection are related: Luke 7:13; Luke 10:1; Luke 11:39; Luke 12:42; Luke 13:15; Luke 17:5; Luke 22:31 (R G L Tr brackets); John 4:1 (here T Tr marginal reading Ἰησοῦς); John 6:23; John 11:2. There is nothing strange in the appearance of the term in the narrative of occurrences after his resurrection: Luke 24:34; John 20:2, 18, 20, 25; John 21:7, 12.
d. There are some who hold that Paul (except in his quotations from the O. T. viz. Romans 4:8; Romans 9:28; Romans 11:34; 1 Corinthians 1:31; 1 Corinthians 2:16; 1 Corinthians 3:20; 1 Corinthians 10:26; 2 Corinthians 6:17; 2 Corinthians 10:17; 2 Timothy 2:19) uses the title κύριος everywhere not of God, but of Christ. But, to omit instances where the interpretation is doubtful, as 1 Corinthians 7:25; 2 Corinthians 8:21; 1 Thessalonians 4:6; 2 Thessalonians 3:16 (ὁ κύριος τῆς εἰρήνης, cf. ὁ Θεός τῆς εἰρήνης, 1 Thessalonians 5:23; but most of the blessings of Christianity are derived alike from God and from Christ), it is better at least in the words ἑκάστῳ ὡς ὁ κύριος ἔδωκεν, 1 Corinthians 3:5, to understand God as referred to on account of what follows, especially on account of the words κατά τήν χάριν τοῦ Θεοῦ τήν δοθεῖσαν μοι in 1 Corinthians 3:10. On the other hand, κρινόμενοι ὑπό τοῦ κυρίου in 1 Corinthians 11:32 must certainly, I think, be taken of Christ, on account of 1 Corinthians 10:22, cf. 1 Corinthians 10:21. Cf. Gabler, Kleinere theol. Schriften, Bd. i., p. 186ff; Winer, De sensu vocum κύριος et ὁ κύριος in actis et epistolis apostolorum. Erlang. 1828; Wesselus Scheffer, diss. theol. exhibens disquisitionem de vocis κύριος absolute positae in N. T. usu. Lugd. 1846 (a monograph I have not seen); (Stuart in the Bib. Repos. for Oct. 1831, pp. 733-776; cf. Weiss, Biblical Theol. d. N. T. § 76; Cremer, Biblical-theol. Lex. under the word; Abbot in the Journal of the Society for Biblical Literature and Exegesis for June and December, 1881, p. 126ff, June and December, 1883, p. 101f On the use of a capital initial, see WH. Introductory § 414). The word does not occur in the (Epistle to Titus (critical editions), the) First Epistle of John (nor in the Second or the Third; for in 2 John 1:3 κυρίου is dropped by the critical editors. Synonym: see δεσπότης, at the end).

BLB Scripture Index of Thayer's