Esteem
The Biblical Vocabulary of Esteem
The concept of esteem in Scripture is expressed through a rich vocabulary in both Hebrew and Greek, each term bringing its own shade of meaning. The most common Hebrew word translated "esteem" is chashav, which originally meant to combine or reckon, and came to mean "to think" or "to regard." It can express simple calculation, as when something is reckoned or counted, or it can carry the deeper sense of valuing or honoring someone.
Other Hebrew terms expand the picture. The word tsaphan, meaning "to treasure up" or "to hide as precious," appears in Job 23:12 where Job declares that he has treasured the words of God's mouth more than his daily food. The words qalah and qalal, both meaning "to be light" or "of little weight," express the negative sense — to be "lightly esteemed" is to be considered worthless or insignificant (1 Samuel 2:30; 18:23).
In the New Testament, hegeomai (to lead out, hence to consider or regard) expresses the idea of deliberate, thoughtful valuation (Philippians 2:3; 1 Thessalonians 5:13), while krino (to judge) and logizomai (to reckon) describe the act of making an assessment about worth or status (Romans 14:5, 14).
Esteeming Others Above Ourselves
One of the most countercultural commands in Scripture concerns how believers should esteem one another. Paul instructs the Philippians: "In humility count others more significant than yourselves" (Philippians 2:3). This is not false modesty or pretense but a genuine orientation of the heart that mirrors Christ's own attitude, who "though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself" (Philippians 2:6-7).
Paul also commands the Thessalonian church to "esteem them very highly in love because of their work" (1 Thessalonians 5:13), referring to those who labor among them as leaders and teachers. Here esteem is not merely a feeling but an active posture of honor and support toward those who serve the community.
Jesus warned about the danger of seeking human esteem at the expense of God's approval: "What is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God" (Luke 16:15). The things the world esteems highly — wealth, status, power — may be the very things God regards as worthless. This inversion of values runs throughout Jesus' teaching.
The Suffering Servant: Despised and Not Esteemed
The most theologically charged use of esteem in the Old Testament appears in Isaiah's portrait of the Suffering Servant. Isaiah 53:3 declares: "He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not." The next verse continues: "Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted" (Isaiah 53:4).
Here the failure to properly esteem the Servant is not merely a social slight but a catastrophic misreading of God's redemptive work. The people looked at the Servant's suffering and concluded that God was punishing him for his own sins. In reality, "he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5). The failure of esteem was a failure of spiritual perception — an inability to recognize God's saving action in an unexpected form.
This theme finds its fulfillment in the New Testament's portrayal of Jesus, whose own people rejected Him and whose disciples initially failed to understand that the Messiah must suffer.
Esteeming God's Word and Ways
Scripture repeatedly calls people to esteem God's words and commands as supremely valuable. Job declared, "I have treasured the words of his mouth more than my necessary food" (Job 23:12). The Psalmist proclaimed that God's ordinances are "more to be desired than gold, even much fine gold" (Psalm 19:10). Moses instructed Israel to regard God's commands not as burdensome obligations but as their very life (Deuteronomy 32:47).
Paul expressed this same priority in personal terms: "I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ" (Philippians 3:8). Here hegeomai (esteem, count, regard) is used to describe a total revaluation of life's priorities in light of Christ.
The writer of Hebrews attributes the same reckoning to Moses, who "considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt" (Hebrews 11:26). True esteem, in the biblical sense, is the ability to see past appearances and assign proper value to what God values.
Esteem and the Creator's Knowledge
A striking use of esteem appears in Isaiah 29:16, where the prophet rebukes those who try to reverse the proper relationship between Creator and creature: "Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay?" The question is rhetorical — of course the maker should not be regarded as equivalent to the thing made. This passage affirms that God, as Creator, possesses knowledge and authority that the creature cannot claim, and to esteem Him otherwise is the height of folly.
Biblical Context
Esteem appears throughout the Old Testament in Job (23:12; 36:19), Isaiah (29:16; 53:3-4), 1 Samuel (2:30; 18:23), and Lamentations (4:2). In the New Testament, key passages include Philippians 2:3 and 3:8, 1 Thessalonians 5:13, Romans 14:5 and 14:14, Luke 16:15, 1 Corinthians 6:4, and Hebrews 11:26. The concept spans from everyday social valuation to the deepest theological questions about recognizing God's work in the world.
Theological Significance
Esteem reveals the human capacity for both proper and distorted valuation. The failure to esteem the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 illustrates how spiritual blindness can cause people to misread God's greatest acts of redemption. Conversely, the call to esteem others above oneself (Philippians 2:3) reflects the self-giving nature of Christ. Proper esteem requires spiritual discernment — the ability to value what God values rather than what the world prizes.
Historical Background
In ancient Near Eastern cultures, honor and esteem were fundamental social currencies. A person's standing in the community determined their access to resources, protection, and influence. The biblical concept of esteem both reflects and subverts these cultural norms. While Scripture affirms the importance of giving proper honor, it radically redefines who deserves esteem: not the powerful and wealthy, but the humble, the faithful, and the servant of others. This inversion was particularly striking in the Greco-Roman world, where honor was closely tied to social rank and public achievement.