5133. trapezités
Lexical Summary
trapezités: Money changer, banker

Original Word: τραπεζίτης
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: trapezités
Pronunciation: trap-ed-zee'-tace
Phonetic Spelling: (trap-ed-zee'-tace)
KJV: exchanger
NASB: bank
Word Origin: [from G5132 (τράπεζα - table)]

1. a money-broker or banker

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
a money changer, banker

From trapeza; a money-broker or banker -- exchanger.

see GREEK trapeza

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from trapeza
Definition
a money-changer, banker
NASB Translation
bank (1).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 5133: τραπεζίτης

τραπεζίτης (τραπεζειτης T WH; see WHs Appendix, p. 154, and cf. εἰ, ), τραπεζιτου, (τράπεζα, which see), a money-changer, broker, banker, one who exchanges money for a fee, and pays interest on deposits: Matthew 25:27. (Cebet. tab. 31; (Lysias), Demosthenes, Josephus, Plutarch, Artemidorus Daldianus, others.)

Topical Lexicon
Definition and Semantic Range

τραπεζίτης denotes a professional who received deposits, exchanged currency, and loaned money at interest—an occupation conducted “at the table” (trápēza). While the term occurs only once in the New Testament, its semantic field illuminates wider biblical teaching on finance, stewardship, and accountability.

Historical and Cultural Background

In the Greco-Roman world, private bankers operated in marketplaces, porticoes, and temples. They offered secure storage, facilitated commercial exchange, and extended loans, sometimes backed by state regulation. Interest rates varied but were generally lower than those charged by informal money-lenders. Because Palestine lay along major trade routes, Jewish society was familiar with such professionals; their services undergirded commerce, pilgrimage traffic, and even temple operations where currency exchange was necessary for offerings payable only in Tyrian coinage.

Biblical Occurrence and Immediate Context

Matthew 25:27 is the sole New Testament instance: “Then you should have deposited my money with the bankers, and on my return I would have received it back with interest”. Spoken by the returning master in the Parable of the Talents, the verse highlights the minimal, yet productive, alternative open to the third servant, contrasting diligence with negligence.

Exegetical Insights from the Parable of the Talents

1. External Stewardship Standard – The banker represents a public mechanism by which entrusted resources could grow. The servant’s refusal to use even this lowest-risk option exposes his culpable inertia.
2. Implicit Endorsement of Legitimate Interest – The master’s expectation of “interest” does not contradict Mosaic prohibitions against exploitative usury (Exodus 22:25; Leviticus 25:35-37) because the scenario assumes lawful commercial activity, not predatory lending to the poor.
3. Eschatological Accountability – The banker motif underscores that when the Lord returns, He will assess outcomes, not excuses (compare Luke 19:23 in the similar parable of the minas, where τραπεζίτης is replaced by “money changers,” kollubistai).

Old Testament and Second Temple Parallels

Proverbs 28:8 warns against unjust gain “by exorbitant interest.” The presence of bankers in Matthew 25:27 presupposes financial systems in which such gain was possible, sharpening the moral contrast.
Nehemiah 5:7-11 records Nehemiah’s rebuke of nobles who exacted interest from fellow Israelites, highlighting social responsibility within economic dealings—an ethical boundary assumed but not violated in the parable’s commercial setting.
• Philo and Josephus mention temple money changers (kollubistai), showing that professional banking functions were commonplace in first-century Judea.

Theological Significance

Stewardship – Resources, abilities, and opportunities belong to God and are temporarily entrusted to His servants. Productive use honors the Master; inactivity invites judgment.

Providence and Human Agency – God’s sovereignty in giving talents does not negate human responsibility to employ means (including financial institutions) for kingdom purposes.

Eschatology – The banker illustrates the final audit accompanying Christ’s return: reward for faithfulness, loss for sloth.

Practical Applications for Ministry

1. Encourage believers to invest time, gifts, and finances purposefully, refusing passivity.
2. Affirm legitimate financial planning while guarding against greed and exploitation.
3. Model transparency and accountability in church finances, recognizing that every “talent” belongs to the returning Lord.
4. Teach that risk for the gospel, when undertaken in faith, is preferable to safety that yields no increase.

Patristic and Reformation Commentary

• Chrysostom viewed τραπεζίτης as an emblem of pastors and teachers who multiply God’s word by instruction.
• Augustine applied the text to almsgiving, suggesting that what is lent to the poor earns heavenly interest.
• John Calvin highlighted the moral duty of profiting our neighbor through the gifts God has loaned us, condemning indolence rather than commerce.

Comparative Ancient Near Eastern Context

Clay tablets from Mesopotamia and papyri from Egypt attest to deposit banking and interest rates ranging from 12–20 percent. Against this backdrop, Matthew’s mention of bankers situates Jesus’ parable within real economic practice, enhancing its practical force for first-century hearers.

Relation to Temple Commerce

Although τραπεζίτης differs from kollubistēs, both operated around the “table.” Jesus’ cleansing of the temple (Matthew 21:12) condemns the perversion of worship, not the profession per se. The contrast underscores that economic roles gain moral value or condemnation based on their alignment with divine purposes.

Concluding Observations

Strong’s Greek 5133, though attested only once, serves as a strategic narrative device that buttresses biblical doctrine on stewardship. The solitary but vivid reference to bankers in Matthew 25:27 invites every disciple to weigh present responsibilities in view of future reckoning, encouraging faithful, wise, and fruitful management of all that God entrusts.

Forms and Transliterations
τραπεζειταις τραπεζείταις τραπεζίταις trapezitais trapezítais
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Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Matthew 25:27 N-DMP
GRK: μου τοῖς τραπεζίταις καὶ ἐλθὼν
NAS: my money in the bank, and on my arrival
KJV: money to the exchangers, and
INT: of me to the bankers and having come

Strong's Greek 5133
1 Occurrence


τραπεζίταις — 1 Occ.

5132
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