Zenas in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE
ze'-nas (Zenas (Tit 3:13); the name in full would probably
be Zenodorus, literally, meaning "the gift of Zeus"):
1. A Jewish Lawyer:
Paul calls Zenas "the lawyer." The meaning of this is, that,
previous to his becoming a Christian, he had been a Jewish
lawyer. The lawyers were that class of Jewish teachers who
were specially learned in the Mosaic Law, and who
interpreted that Law, and taught it to the people.
They are met with again and again in the Gospels, where they
frequently came into contact with Christ, usually in a
manner hostile to Him. For example, "A certain lawyer stood
up and made trial of him, saying, Teacher, what shall I do
to inherit eternal life?" (Lk 10:25). our Lord replied to
him on his own ground, asking, "What is written in the law?
how readest thou?" Regarding this class of teachers as a
whole, it is recorded that "the Pharisees and lawyers
rejected for themselves the counsel of God" (Lk 7:30). The
term nomikos, "lawyer," applied to Zenas, is in the Gospels
varied by nomodidakalos, "a teacher of the law," and by
grammateus, "a scribe": all three terms describe the same
persons. Before his conversion to Christ, Zenas had been a
lawyer, one of the recognized expounders of the Law of
Moses...
Read More about Zenas in the Bible Encyclopedia - ISBE