UBS Dictionary of the Greek New Testament

βασανιστής

MainId: 000928000000000

Version: 0

HasAramaic: False

InLXX: False

AlphaPos: β

StrongCodes: G0930

BaseForms:

BaseFormID: 000928001000000
PartsOfSpeech: noun, m.
Inflections:
1. Lemma: βασανιστής
  BaseFormIndex: 1
  Realizations: -οῦ
LEXMeanings:
1. LEXID: 000928001001000
  LEXIsBiblicalTerm: Y
  LEXEntryCode: 37.126
  LEXIndent: 0
  LEXDomains: Control, Rule
  LEXSubDomains: Guard, Watch Over
  LEXSenses:
  1. LanguageCode: en
    LastEdited: 2021-02-04 22:23:19
    DefinitionShort: (derivative of {L:βασανίζω} ‘to torture,’ {D:38.13}) a person serving as a guard in a prison, whose function was to torture prisoners as a phase of judicial examination
    Glosses: ['prison guard', 'torturer']
    Comments: It is difficult to know in the case of {S:04001803400018} if βασανιστής is to be understood in the specific sense of ‘torturer’ (in which case it could be classified after {D:38.13}) or only in terms of ‘prison guard.’ The use of βασανιστής in {S:04001803400018} may simply be an instance of literary hyperbole. As such it may be possible to translate the expression in {S:04001803400018} as ‘his master was very angry and handed him over to prison guards to torture him until he should pay back the whole amount.’
  LEXReferences: MAT 18:34