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), 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" (Exod 2:13; Judg 7:13; Judg 7:14; Judg 7:22); re`ah (or ra`yah), "a female friend" (Judg 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 Judg 11:38, "companions" is the translation of `amith, "fellowship"; `amith (Zech 13:7, "the man that is my fellow," literally, "the man of my fellowship"); hetairos, "companion" (Matt 11:16); metochos, "partner"; (compare Luke 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 Judg 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); /APC 1Macc 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; 1 Sam 25:21; 1 Kgs 22:27; 2 Kgs 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" (Matt 12:24; Matt 26:61; Matt 26:71; Luke 22:59; Luke 23:2; John 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?" /APC 1Macc 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" (Judg 9:4), for "men" (Judg 11:3); "base fellows" for "men the children of Belial" ( Deut 13:13), margin, "sons of worthlessness"; the American Standard Revised Version "worthless fellow" for "son of Belial" (1 Sam 25:17; 1 Sam 25:25), "base fellows" for "sons of Belial" (Judg 19:22; Judg 20:13, etc.); the Revised Version (British and American) has also "companions" for "fellows" (Judg 11:37; Ezek 37:19; Dan 2:13), "each man his fellow" for "one another" (2 Kgs 3:23); "fellow by" for "neighbor in" (1 Kgs 20:35).

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

W. L. Walker