Doctor

Doctor in the King James Version translates Greek terms meaning teacher (Greek didaskalos or nomodidaskalos). In Luke 2:46, the twelve-year-old Jesus is found in the temple "sitting among the teachers (doctors), listening to them and asking them questions"—a scene that astonished the assembled scholars with his understanding and his answers. Luke 5:17 introduces "Pharisees and teachers of the law" who had gathered from every village of Galilee, Judea, and Jerusalem as Jesus healed and taught.

In Acts 5:34, Gamaliel is specifically identified as a nomodidaskalos—a teacher of the law—"held in honor by all the people," who counseled the Sanhedrin to adopt a wait-and-see posture toward the apostles. The term is essentially equivalent to "rabbi" or "scribe" in its Jewish context and designates those professionally trained to interpret and transmit the Torah. Paul identifies himself as having been educated "at the feet of Gamaliel" (Acts 22:3), placing him in the mainstream of first-century Jewish legal scholarship.