Bible Dictionary
Schoolmaster
Schoolmaster translates the Greek term for a household guardian who supervised a child until maturity. Paul uses the figure for the law, which directed and restrained Israel until faith in Christ came.
Definition
A schoolmaster, translating paidagogos, was not primarily a teacher but a household guardian. This person supervised a boy, accompanied him to and from school, protected him from harmful companions, and directed his conduct until maturity.
Biblical Usage
Paul uses the schoolmaster as a figure for the law. The law guarded and disciplined Israel with a view to Christ, preparing for faith by producing convictions of guilt and helplessness. When faith came, the guardianship ceased.
Historical Background
The paidagogos was commonly a slave in wealthy households and was a familiar figure in public life. The English word “schoolmaster” does not fully convey the meaning of child-leader or guardian.
Scripture References
Related Figures
Historical Bible Dictionaries
Easton's Bible Dictionary
The law so designated by Paul (Gal. 3:24, 25). As so used, the word does not mean teacher, but pedagogue (shortened into the modern page), i.e., one who was intrusted with the supervision of a family, taking them to and from the school, being responsible for their safety and manners. Hence the pedagogue was stern and severe in his discipline. Thus the law was a pedagogue to the Jews, with a view to Christ, i.e., to prepare for faith in Christ by producing convictions of guilt and helplessness. The office of the pedagogue ceased when “faith came”, i.e., the object of that faith, the seed, which is Christ.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>skool'-mas-ter: Ga 3:24 f the King James Version reads: "The law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster." "Schoolmaster" is a translation of paidagogos, literally, "child-leader." This paidagagos was not a teacher but a slave, to whom in wealthy families the general oversight of a boy was committed. It was his duty to accompany his charge to and from school, never to lose sight of him in public, to prevent association with objectionable companions, to inculcate moral lessons at every opportunity, etc. He was a familiar figure in the streets, and the (sour) "face of paidagogos" and "to follow one like a paidagogos" were proverbial expressions. Naturally, to the average boy the paidagogos must have represented the incorporation of everything objectionable. Hence, Paul's figure may be paraphrased: "The law was a paidagogos, necessary but irksome, to direct us until the time of Christ. Then was the time of our spiritual coming-of-age, so that the control of the paidagogos ceased." The word paidagogos was taken over into Aramaic at an early date, and Paul's language; which is hardly that of a mere adult observer, suggests that he had had personal experience with the institution. Wealthy and intensely orthodox Jewish parents living in a Gentile city may well have adopted such a precaution for the protection of their children.</p><p>No English word renders paidagogos adequately. "Schoolmaster" is quite wrong, but Revised Version's "tutor" (compare 1Co 4:15) is little better in modern English.</p><p>Burton Scott Easton</p>