mathetes denotes a person belonging to a follower group, especially those identified as Jesus’ own.

The term identifies people as followers or as members of a recognizable community of followers: Jesus speaks of people becoming his own in John 15:8, while Acts uses it for groups who gather, receive encouragement, act together, and are taught. The same designation can identify an individual, as with Timothy in Acts 16:1 and Ananias in Acts 9:10.

1. Followers belonging to a recognized community · dominant

   Plural forms identify groups who gather around a person, receive instruction or encouragement, and act together: in Acts 6:2 the APB renders the gathering as “the multitude of the disciples,” and in Acts 14:22 it renders people whose souls were strengthened and who were urged to continue in the faith. In John 15:8, the nominative plural occurs in the clause about bearing much fruit and becoming Jesus’ disciples; singular forms likewise identify Timothy and Ananias as individual members in Acts 16:1 and Acts 9:10.

   John 15:8Acts 6:2Acts 14:22Acts 16:1Acts 9:10John 18:1

In the Anselm Project Bible: Across these verses, the APB regularly presents the term as “disciples,” for both groups and individuals. In passages such as Acts 6:2 and John 15:8, that rendering fits the visible group and belonging relationships, though the translation does not align individual English words to the Greek form.