Brief Overview of Σκευᾶς (Strong’s G4630: Skeuas)

Strong’s G4630: A proper noun naming a Jewish high priest whose seven sons attempted to perform exorcisms in Jesus’ name without proper authority. His story in Acts illustrates the danger of invoking spiritual power without genuine faith and submission to Christ.

U- Unveiling the Word

Σκευᾶς appears in Acts during a pivotal narrative about spiritual authority and the power of Jesus’ name. As a Jewish high priest in Ephesus, his sons’ failed attempt at exorcism demonstrates the difference between genuine spiritual authority and mere religious position. Early church writers used this account to teach about authentic spiritual power versus presumptuous religious practice. Today, this story continues to warn against treating spiritual warfare casually and emphasizes the necessity of genuine relationship with Christ for spiritual authority.

N – Necessary Information

• Greek Word: Σκευᾶς, Skeuas, SKEU-as
• Detailed Pronunciation: Σκευ (skeu) ᾶς (as) – stress on second syllable
• Part of Speech: Proper Noun, Masculine

Etymology:

• Possibly from Greek σκεῦος (vessel, implement)
• May be a Hellenized form of a Hebrew name
• -ᾶς ending common in Greek adaptations of Semitic names

D – Defining Meanings

• Personal name
• Jewish high priest in Ephesus
• Father of seven exorcists

Translation Options:

• Sceva – traditional English rendering
• Skeuas – direct transliteration
• Schevas – alternate transliteration

E – Exploring Similar Words

• σκεῦος (skeuos, SKEU-os) – See G4632: Vessel or implement
• ἀρχιερεύς (archiereus, ar-khee-e-REUS) – See G749: High priest
• Ἰουδαῖος (Ioudaios, ee-oo-DAI-os) – See G2453: Jewish person

R – Reviewing the Word’s Morphology

• Indeclinable Proper Noun
• Always appears in the same form
• No variation in gender or number
• Functions primarily as a personal name

The word maintains its form regardless of its grammatical function in the sentence.

S – Studying Lexicon Insights

BDAG notes his role as Jewish high priest in Ephesus. Thayer’s questions whether he was actually a high priest or claimed the title. LSJ has no classical references. Vine’s emphasizes the significance of the narrative context. Moulton and Milligan note similar name forms in period documents.

T – Tracing the Scriptures

First appearance:
Acts 19:14: “Seven sons of [Sceva] [Σκευᾶς], a Jewish chief priest, were doing this.”

Additional References:
This name appears only once in the New Testament.

A – Analyzing Classical Usage

N – Noteworthy Summary

Σκευᾶς’s story powerfully illustrates that spiritual authority comes not from position or ritual, but from authentic relationship with Jesus Christ. The failure of his sons’ attempt at exorcism proclaims the good news by showing that true spiritual power comes only through genuine faith in and submission to King Jesus.

D – Did You Know?

• Only Jewish high priest mentioned by name in Acts outside Jerusalem
• His sons’ experience led to widespread fear of the Lord in Ephesus
• The incident caused many occult practitioners to burn their books

Strong’s G4630: A proper noun naming a Jewish high priest whose seven sons attempted to perform exorcisms in Jesus’ name without proper authority. His story in Acts illustrates the danger of invoking spiritual power without genuine faith and submission to Christ.

Part of speech: Proper Noun

Tags: jewish-priests, ephesus, exorcism, spiritual-authority, acts, paul, names, spiritual-warfare, false-religion, presumption, power-of-jesus-name, jewish-diaspora​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​