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Brother
BROTHER. 1. A male person related to another person or other persons by having the same parents (
2. A man of the same country (
3. A member of the same tribe (
4. An ally (
5. One of a kindred people (
6. A coreligionist (
7. A fellow office-bearer (
8. Someone of equal rank or office (
9. Any member of the human race (
In the NT the common Gr. word for “brother” is used exclusively, ἀδελφός, G81, which appears over 100 times, the most frequent being in Matthew’s gospel. Although a broader definition of the word is apparent in the NT, possibly due to the broader definition of the Gr. word, yet the responsibilities of brotherhood are much the same as those of the OT. The often sought notion of the innate brotherhood of all mankind is not supported by the usage of the term in the NT. The teaching of
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915)
Used extensively in both Old Testament and New Testament of other relations and relationships, and expanding under Christ’s teaching to include the universal brotherhood of man. Chiefly employed in the natural sense, as of Cain and Abel (
(1) Abram’s nephew, Lot, is termed "brother" (
(2) Moses’ fellow-countrymen are "brethren" (
(3) a member of the same tribe (
(4) an ally (
(5) used of common discipleship or the kinship of humanity (
(6) of moral likeness or kinship (
(7) of friends (
(8) an equal in rank or office (
(9) one of the same faith (
(10) a favorite oriental metaphor used to express likeness or similarity (
(11) a fellow-priest or office-bearer (
(12) a brother-man, any member of the human family (
(13) signifies spiritual kinship (
(14) a term adopted by the early disciples and Christians to express their fraternal love for each other in Christ, and universally adopted as the language of love and brotherhood in His kingdom in all subsequent time (
The growing conception of mankind as a brotherhood is the outcome of this Christian view of believers as a household, a family (
See also FAMILY RELATIONSHIPS.
Dwight M. Pratt