Fellow

FELLOW [ISBE]

FELLOW - fel'-o (chabher, rea`; hetairos): Meant originally a "partner," from fe, "property," and lag, "to lay," then "a companion," "an equal," "a person or individual," "a worthless person."

(1) As "companion" it is the translation of chabher, "associate," "companion," "friend" (also chabbar, Job 41:6 (Hebrew 40:30), where we have the original sense of partnership, translated "bands" the Revised Version (British and American), the King James Version "companions"); Ps 45:7, "God hath anointed thee .... above thy fellows"; of habhrah (Eccl 4:10; Dan 7:20); of rea`, "companion," "friend," "another" (Ex 2:13; Jdg 7:13,14,22); re`ah (or ra`yah), "a female friend" (Jdg 11:37, "I and my fellows," the Revised Version (British and American) "companions"; here the King James Version applies "fellow" to a female; compare Baruch 6:43, "She reproacheth her fellow," he plesion); in Jdg 11:38, "companions" is the translation of `amith, "fellowship"; `amith (Zec 13:7, "the man that is my fellow," literally, "the man of my fellowship"); hetairos, "companion" (Mt 11:16); metochos, "partner"; (compare Lk 5:7; Heb 1:9, quoted from Ps 45:7, Septuagint for chabher).

(2) As an individual or person "fellow" is the translation of 'ish, "a man," "an individual": "make this fellow return" (1 Sam 29:4 the King James Version, the Revised Version (British and American) "the man"); in the same verse "fellow" is supplied instead of "he"; "fellow" in 1611 meant simply "a man," and it is difficult to say in what passages the ideas of "worthless," etc., are meant to be implied; probably, however, in Jdg 18:25, where the Hebrew is simply 'enosh, "man," and the text is almost the only deviation from the rendering "man," "men," "lest angry (margin, Revised Version "bitter of soul") fellows fall upon you"; also Acts 17:5, aner, "a man," "certain lewd fellows of the baser sort," the Revised Version (British and American) "vile fellows"; compare 2 Sam 6:20, "vain (req) fellows" (supplied); 1 Macc 10:61, "contain pestilent fellows" (aner); Ecclesiasticus 8:15, "a bold fellow" (tolmeros), the Revised Version (British and American) "a rash man"; in several places of the Old Testament "fellow" represents zeh, "this," and in these instances there seems to be something of worthlessness or contempt implied (1 Sam 21:15 bis; 25:21; 1 Ki 22:27; 2 Ki 9:11, and, as before, 1 Sam 29:4 the Revised Version (British and American)); in the New Testament also "fellow" often represents houtos, "this," and in most of these cases the King James Version seems to intend something depreciatory to be understood; the Revised Version (British and American) gives simply "man" (Mt 12:24; 26:61,71; Lk 22:59; 23:2; Jn 9:29; Acts 18:13); so Ecclesiasticus 13:23, "If the poor man speaks, they say, What fellow is this?" the Revised Version (British and American) "who is this?" 1 Macc 4:5, "These fellows flee from us," the Revised Version (British and American) "these men." the Revised Version (British and American) has "fellows" for "persons" (Jdg 9:4), for "men" (Jdg 11:3); "base fellows" for "men the children of Belial" (Dt 13:13), margin, "sons of worthlessness"; the American Standard Revised Version "worthless fellow" for "son of Belial" (1 Sam 25:17,25), "base fellows" for "sons of Belial" (Jdg 19:22; 20:13, etc.); the Revised Version (British and American) has also "companions" for "fellows" (Jdg 11:37, as above; Ezek 37:19; Dan 2:13), "each man his fellow" for "one another" (2 Ki 3:23); "fellow by" for "neighbor in" (1 Ki 20:35).

Fellow-citizen, Fellow-disciple, Fellow-heirs, Yokefellow, etc. In composition, "fellow" always means partner or companion.

W. L. Walker