Chamberlain

The chamberlain was a high-ranking confidential servant or officer of a royal court, typically responsible for managing access to the monarch's private apartments and handling the royal treasury or household. In the Old Testament, the Hebrew equivalent is often rendered eunuch or officer; Potiphar, the Egyptian to whom Joseph was sold, held such a position (Gen. 37:36; 39:1). The Authorized Version's use of chamberlain in the New Testament reflects the Greek oikonomos (city treasurer): Erastus is identified as chamberlain of the city of Corinth (Rom. 16:23), indicating a position of civic financial administration. Blastus, Herod's chamberlain (Acts 12:20), served as the intermediary through whom Tyre and Sidon sought peace with the king.