dokimazo, S 1381; TDNT 2.255–260; EDNT 1.341–343; NIDNTT 3.808– 810; MM 167; L&N 27.45, 30.98,
30.114; BDF §§392(3), 405(2), 416(2); BAGD 202 | dokimasia, TDNT 2.255–260; EDNT 1.343; NIDNTT 3.808;
MM 167; L&N 27.45; BAGD 202 | dokime, S 1382; TDNT 2.255–260; EDNT
1.341–343; NIDNTT 3.808–809; MM 167;
L&N 27.45, 65.12, 72.7; BDF §110(2); BAGD 202 | dokimion, S 1383; TDNT 2.255–260; EDNT 1.343; NIDNTT
3.808–809; MM 167–168; L&N 27.45, 73.3; BDF §§23,
263(2); BAGD 203 | dokimos, S 1384; TDNT 2.255–260; EDNT 1.341– 343; NIDNTT
3.808; MM 168; L&N 30.115, 73.4, 87.7; BDF §§23, 263(2); BAGD 203 | adokimos,
S 96; TDNT 2.255–260; EDNT 1.33; NIDNTT 3.808–810; L&N 65.13, 88.111; BAGD 18
The exact
meaning of these terms is subject to dispute because they are used in so many
ways in literary, epigraphic, and papyrological texts. Even their etymology is
unsure, although derivation from dokeo
(dokao is not attested) is the best
option and accounts for the intellectual value of the verb dokimazo: “put to the proof, test, discern, verify, examine before
giving approval.”1
In the
inscriptions and the papyri, beginning with the third century BC, the verb’s
first meaning is “examine, verify.” In a Samian law concerning the distribution
of grain: “Let the chiliasteis
examine mortgage guarantees and the personalities of the guarantors”;2
a nomarchos is to examine a petition
(P.Fam.Tebt. 43, 52; P.Ryl. 114, 35; P.Gen. 32, 8); an architect “shall visit the site, make an estimate
(dokimasanta ), and set the amount of
the rent” (P.Bour. 20, 9). Similarly,
private individuals estimate prices (P.Hib.
207, 8), verify the value of staters (P.Yale
79, 10), or evaluate an opportunity (P.Oxy.
2760, 17; Philo, Moses 1.263, 306;
2.177). Someone makes an examination in order to be able to judge and decide.
This is why the formula “if your majesty approves him” (ean to megaleion sou dokimase touton ) comes up so often in
petitions to the prefect of Egypt;3 thus this mother from Theadelphia writes: “I
take refuge at your feet, beseeching you on behalf of my minor children to
order . . . either the strategos or
whomever your majesty shall decide to force Annous to pay regular rent on the
land” (P.Thead. 18, 17). When someone
submits a case to an authority for examination, it is in order that the
authority may evaluate it, decide, and finally approve (ean dokimazes ).4 In a Macedonian law concerning the use
of public land, “the councillors approved (edokimasan
) that those who did the planting . . . should have a share in the harvest.”5
The verb has a religious meaning when a divinity tests, sanctions, and
guarantees the virtue of a king and thus qualifies him in his functioning.6
In the LXX,
the nuance of approbation is attested only once,7 as is the nuance “discern”
(Job 34:3); but “put to the proof, examine” is quite common, especially with
respect to metals,8 and is used for God’s examining, sounding,
scrutinizing, and testing human hearts, which are purified by “testing”9—as
silver is purified (Ps 66:10)—and emerge perfect (Sir 31:10). The meaning
“verify” (Wis 2:19; 2Macc 1:34) is also a component of the meaning “test God”
(Ps 95:9; Wis 1:3). Philo retains for this verb the meaning “put to the test,”10
an examining whose goal is to judge and verify;11 but he especially
emphasizes “evaluate”12 and “discern values.”13 Josephus was apparently
the first to give the word a moral meaning: the character of an Essene novice
is put to the test (to ethos dokimazetai
) for two years, and only then is he received into the community.14
God put Abraham’s attitude to the test (Ant.
1.233) and approved just laws (4.295; cf. 8.380; 14.195); virtue is tested
(3.15); the correctness of the lawmaker’s conceptions is verified (1.15;
11.94); tribal chiefs are approved by the people as honest and just (3.71; cf.
13.183); Alexander “put to the test the virtue and faithfulness of all the
peoples” (Ag. Apion 2.42). The
meaning “judge, esteem” is also well attested.15
The first NT
use of dokimazo is meteorological.
With respect to the impending crisis, Jesus says to his contemporaries,
“Hypocrites, you know how to evaluate (oidate
dokimazein ) the appearance of the earth and of the sky; how is it that you
do not evaluate this present time?” (Luke 12:56). Kairos is the time when a decision is to be made, ought to be made.
The Israelites do not “discern” the times and the person of the Messiah; the
Master invites them to “verify” his coming and draw out its meaning.16
When 1Pet 1:7 specifies that faith is more precious “than perishable gold,
which is nevertheless tried by fire” (dia
pyros de dikomazomenou ), not only does this mean that the fire selects,
purifies, refines the material and gives the metal greater value; the text also
uses the verb dokimazo in the sense
that dokimasia is constantly given in
the papyri (cf. below, dokimos ),
where gold, silver, or pewter is tested by fire to prove its authenticity and
to remove impurities.17 This meaning—“verify, test”—also appears in 1Cor
3:13, where each apostle’s work “will be made manifest by fire” (at the Last
Judgment) and “the fire will prove its value (quality).” Fire is the means of
verification and control, as with precious metals: that which is worthless is destroyed,
but that which is solid and eternal remains.18 It is through their
generosity—and thus by concrete acts, by their behavior—that the Corinthians
will verify, test, and prove their love to be genuine, of good alloy (2Cor
8:8).
Dokimazo means “discern” what it is important to do,
the best course to follow, the decision to make,19 and especially to discern
what is pleasing to the Lord (Eph 5:10), which presupposes spiritual renewal
and the possession of love, which consequently gives a religious sense, a kind
of spiritual instinct that allows a person to recognize true values (Rom 12:2).
The Pauline innovation is to apply this verb, with a
moral and religious meaning, to Christians themselves: “Examine yourselves.”20
The authenticity of charismatic manifestations must be tested, put to the
proof, verified: “Prove all things, hold fast that which is good” (panta de dokimazete, to kalon katechete
),21
and thus reject whatever is suspect. St. Paul valued the zeal of the brother
(St. Luke?) who accompanied the bearers of the collection; he has had many
proofs of his zeal (2Cor 8:22, hon
edokimasamen ), just as the Corinthians have judged these bearers qualified
(hous ean dokimasete, 1Cor 16:3). God
himself had examined the apostle, tested his heart, and pronounced him
qualified to preach the gospel (1Thess 2:4). Finally, candidates for the
diaconate are to be examined before being installed in their function: “Let
them be tested first (houtoi
dikomazesthosan proton ); then, if they are without reproach, let them
carry out their office” (1Tim 3:10). If this dokimasia is not explicitly demanded for episkopoi, the criteria of discernment are enumerated at length
(1Tim 3:1-7). The “proving” mentioned in these texts is in absolute conformity
to Greek custom, whereby before entering upon the duties of public service (a
magistrate, a strategos, a senator),
a person was subjected to an examination (inquest, proof, trial period?) to
determine if he met the conditions required for the office in question.22
Dokimasia. — This word occurs only once in
the NT (Heb 3:9), and there it is a quotation from Ps 95:7-11, where the
Israelites are so bold as to put Yahweh to the test, and it is also a hapax in
the LXX.23 In Philo, the word means verification, control (Spec. Laws 4.106, 157), a testing (Flight 155), experience (149; Flacc. 130), criterion (Philo, Virtues 68: logia tes dokimasias, ritual formulas for testing); “the test of
the soul is that of trouble and bitterness” (Prelim. Stud. 164). In the papyri, “six guaranteed gold solidi ” (P.Ness. 18, 14), testing of gold to see if it is pure (P.Leid. X, 42–43) testing of bullion for
fraud (ibid. X, 62), testing and approval for an office (P.Mert. 26, 11; cf. Dittenberger, Syl. 972, 29), judged and examined by a common arbiter (P.Mil. 659, 55; PSI 1105, 20; SB 7201,
11).
Dokimos. — This adjective, “proved,
acceptable, tried,” is abundant in the papyri, but is used almost exclusively
for silver, gold, or coins;24 often there occurs the phrase “three gold solidi of imperial coinage, checked for
good minting” (P.Rein. 105, 1; SB 7996, 12, 22, 26; 9193, 18; 11239, 7)
or “of imperial minting, authentic and legal.”25 Similarly, in the LXX, it
is almost always a question of refined or purified gold or silver (1Kgs 10:18 =
2Chr 9:17; 1Chr 28:18; 29:4; cf. Zech 11:13); but also “four hundred silver
shekels of merchants’ currency” (Gen 23:16).
Philo was
familiar with the use of the word for coinage of good alloy,26
pure and tested metal (Sacr. Abel and
Cain 137), but he uses this adjective so frequently that it is often
impossible to specify its meaning. Often it is a case of something that after
examination has been proven, recognized as authentic, and thus acceptable;27
sometimes it is objects that are of good quality (Heir 180), well-reputed islands (To Gaius ), a wellbred flock (Dreams
1.255), but especially souls that live according to the laws of nature and are
accepted into God’s circle of friends.28 With regard to people, dokimos means qualified or competent: en pasi dokimon (Joseph
114), physicians (Unchang. God 65; Spec. Laws 3.117), scholars (Creation 128), artisans (Heir 158), priests who are particularly
expert at examining animals (Spec. Laws
1.166), hence the best (Plant. 81)
and the noteworthy (Spec. Laws 1.78).
We could translate “distinguished,” with the additional connotation “deserving
the respect and esteem of all,”29 with a nuance of honorableness and
celebrity.30 So Philo considerably enriched the idea of the dokimos, and these nuances are found
also in Josephus: “the most eminent ones (hoi
dokimotatoi ) were slaughtered” (War
1.35); “the most eminent citizens by birth and intelligence” (2.482; 4.160);
the most eminent Jews of Alexandria and of Rome (7.447; Ant. 14.21, 43; Life 55);
Tiberius Alexander, “the most respected of the friends of Titus.”31
The nuances of
honor and celebrity are also found in St. Paul: “Greet Apelles, ton dokimon en Christo ” (Rom 16:10),
which is correctly translated “who has proved himself as a Christian” but must
also be understood as praise for an illustrious believer, one of good repute.
Likewise 2Tim 2:15—“Work to present yourself to God as an approved person (seauton dokimon ), a worker who does not
need to be ashamed” (cf. G. Therrien, Le
Discernement dans les écrits pauliniens, pp. 218–259), tested by his
excellent achievements in the gospel ministry but as a result excellent and
recognized as such by all. For a Christian who serves Christ in righteousness,
peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit is not only pleasing to God but “approved of
men,” recognized by other people as a true or valuable disciple (Rom 14:18).
Obviously these praises presuppose preliminary testing: hoi dokimoi are“qualified” Christians,32 not through
their words, but demonstrably, through their deeds (2Cor 10:18; 2Cor 13:7).
Thus tested, they receive the crown of life.
Dokime. — “Proof, trial” appears only in the
Hellenistic period (Symmachus, Ps 68:11; Dioscorides 4.184 [but LSJ says the
word is interpolated here—Tr.]) and is used only by St. Paul in the NT. In an
active sense, the testing of the Macedonian churches through multiple
afflictions gives them abundant joy (2Cor 8:2). The Corinthians seek proof that
Christ is speaking through St. Paul (13:3); they could verify his apostolic
authenticity by the manifestations of power in their community, a proof that
the Lord would approve. The other texts have a passive sense: “proven
character” (Rom 5:4), a quality of one who has been put to the test (2Cor 2:9;
Phil 2:22), proof (2Cor 9:13).
Dokimion, dokimios .33
— In the papyri, the adjective is only used to describe refined gold or silver:
“six minas of pure gold according to the Alexandrian standard.”34
Similarly the four occurrences in the LXX: “the words of Yahweh are pure words
of refined gold”;35 but in Jas 1:3—“the testing (to dokimion ) of your faith produces endurance”; faith that has
been put to the test is purified, strengthened, verified, and on this account
has become precious. In 1Pet 1:7, the neuter adjective used as a noun also
shows the proven character of faith; when it has proved itself, it it worthy of
praise; its worth is recognized after examination.
Adokimos. — This word, which means “worthless,” seems to
have only one occurrence in the papyri, this in the Zeno correspondence: kai adokimou in an account of receipts
and disbursements seems to mean “not taken into account, not included in the
sum total” (P.Cair.Zen. 59176, 64).
The LXX has only two usages: “dross” (Hebrew sîg ) to be purged from silver (Prov 25:4); which in Isa 1:22 means
“worthless” (“your silver has become dross”). This is the predominant meaning
in Philo: the worthless words, desires, and deeds of the fool (Conf. Tongues 198); it could even be
translated “void, of no account.”36 This nuance is to be retained in many NT
texts. In contrast to a fertile field, one that bears “thorns and thistles is
worthless (adokimos ) and in danger
of being cursed” (Heb 6:8). Since it is void as far as fertility is concerned,
it is not fit for the intended use; it is rejected, abandoned, since one is
judged by one’s works. After asking “Test yourselves . . . examine yourselves,”
St. Paul adds “at least unless you should be void” (ei meti adokimoi este, 2Cor 13:5), meaning that there would be no
good to verify. This “incapacity” is that of the mind (adokimon noun ) of the pagan philosophers, who cannot discern truth
and virtue (Rom 1:28) or of latter-day heretics robbed by their corrupt
intelligence of the capacity for sound judgment in anything concerning the
faith and moral values (2Tim 3:8). Warped and disordered minds are radically
incapable of any good work (Titus 1:16), whereas the apostle is not incapable
of proving himself (2Cor 13:7). In the athletic context of 1Cor 9:27, the
nuance is more precise: St. Paul beats his body and trains it as a slave “for
fear lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” He is
alluding to the preliminary test at athletic competitions, where the judge,
after an examination, “eliminated” certain contestants who were “not
acceptable,” or in the case of defeat, refused to award them a prize.
Ceslas Spicq, Theological Lexicon of the New Testament | TLNT (3 Vols.), n.d. #page=461
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