1038. burseus
Lexical Summary
burseus: Tanner

Original Word: βυρσεύς
Part of Speech: Noun, Masculine
Transliteration: burseus
Pronunciation: boor-SYOOS
Phonetic Spelling: (boorce-yooce')
KJV: tanner
NASB: tanner
Word Origin: [from bursa "a hide"]

1. a tanner

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
tanner.

From bursa (a hide); a tanner -- tanner.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
from bursa (a hide)
Definition
a tanner
NASB Translation
tanner (3).

Thayer's Greek Lexicon
STRONGS NT 1038: βυρσεύς

βυρσεύς, βυρσέως, (βύρσα a skin stripped off, a hide), a tanner: Acts 9:43; Acts 10:6, 32. (Artemidorus Daldianus, oneir. 4, 56.) (Cf. B. D. American edition under the word .)

Topical Lexicon
Term Overview

Strong’s Greek 1038 designates the occupation of a tanner—one who cures animal hides to make leather. The word appears only in Acts and always in reference to “Simon the tanner” of Joppa, the host of the apostle Peter (Acts 9:43; Acts 10:6; Acts 10:32).

Occupational Background in the Ancient Mediterranean

Tanners were essential to daily life, supplying leather for sandals, belts, water-skins, scroll cases, military gear, and many other items. The process required soaking skins in water, lime, and various alkaline or tannic solutions, producing a pungent odor that normally relegated tanneries to the outskirts of towns, often near the sea or a river for easy rinsing and waste disposal. In first-century Judaism, continual contact with carcasses and blood (Numbers 19:11-16) rendered a tanner ceremonially unclean, lowering his social status. Rabbinic sources even allowed a wife of a tanner to seek divorce because of the smell. Yet the trade remained economically significant and widely practiced.

Cultic and Ceremonial Considerations

The Mosaic law associated dead animals with ritual impurity (Leviticus 11:24-28), so devout Jews normally avoided prolonged association with those handling carcasses. That Peter willingly lodged with Simon the tanner shows a softening of traditional boundary markers in light of the gospel. The episode foreshadows God’s declaration to Peter in the vision of unclean animals (Acts 10:9-16) and anticipates the inclusion of Gentiles into the covenant community.

Appearances in Acts

Acts 9:43 — “And Peter stayed for many days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon.”

Following the healing of Tabitha, Peter chooses to remain in a house that would have been regarded as ritually defiling. Luke thus presents the apostle already breaking with customary notions of purity before the encounter with Cornelius.

Acts 10:6 — The angel tells Cornelius: “He is staying with Simon the tanner, whose house is by the sea.”

The specification “by the sea” aligns with known tannery practice and highlights the providential ease with which messengers could find Peter.

Acts 10:32 — Peter later recounts the angelic message, again naming Simon the tanner as his host, underscoring continuity and the divine orchestration of events leading to Gentile conversion.

Theological and Missional Significance

1. A Living Parable of Cleansing. Leatherworkers transformed putrid hides into durable goods; likewise, the gospel transforms sinners into useful vessels (2 Timothy 2:21).
2. A Bridge between Jew and Gentile. Peter’s stay in an “unclean” environment prepared him to enter a Gentile’s home without hesitation, embodying the principle that in Christ “nothing is unclean in itself” (Romans 14:14).
3. Affirmation of God’s Sovereign Timing. Joppa—ancient port of Jonah’s flight (Jonah 1:3)—becomes the launch point for a missionary breakthrough that Jonah once resisted. Peter, unlike Jonah, obeys, illustrating redemption even of historical failures.
4. Elevation of Humble Labor. God chooses a tradesman of humble standing to host the chief apostle, honoring faithful service regardless of societal rank and reminding the Church that “God is no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34).

Lessons for Contemporary Ministry

• Hospitality transcends social stigma; opening one’s home advances the gospel.
• Ministers should welcome settings and people deemed marginal, trusting that God works powerfully in unlikely contexts.
• The Church must continually evaluate traditions in light of Scripture, never allowing cultural taboos to impede mission.

Thus Strong’s 1038, though rare, marks a pivotal narrative hinge in Acts, illustrating how God used a humble tanner’s house to open the door of salvation “even to the Gentiles” (Acts 11:18).

Forms and Transliterations
βυρσει βυρσεί βυρσεῖ βυρσεως βυρσέως bursei burseos burseōs byrsei byrseî byrseos byrseōs byrséos byrséōs
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Acts 9:43 N-DMS
GRK: τινι Σίμωνι βυρσεῖ
NAS: in Joppa with a tanner [named] Simon.
KJV: one Simon a tanner.
INT: a certain Simon a tanner

Acts 10:6 N-DMS
GRK: τινι Σίμωνι βυρσεῖ ᾧ ἐστὶν
NAS: he is staying with a tanner [named] Simon,
KJV: one Simon a tanner, whose house
INT: a certain Simon a tanner whose is

Acts 10:32 N-GMS
GRK: οἰκίᾳ Σίμωνος βυρσέως παρὰ θάλασσαν
NAS: of Simon [the] tanner by the sea.'
KJV: of [one] Simon a tanner by
INT: [the] house of Simon a tanner by [the] sea

Strong's Greek 1038
3 Occurrences


βυρσεῖ — 2 Occ.
βυρσέως — 1 Occ.

1037
Top of Page
Top of Page