Noah Webster's Dictionary 1. (n.) A public speaker; one who delivers an oration; especially, one distinguished for his skill and power as a public speaker; one who is eloquent. 2. (n.) In equity proceedings, one who prays for relief; a petitioner. 3. (n.) A plaintiff, or complainant, in a bill in chancery. 4. (n.) An officer who is the voice of the university upon all public occasions, who writes, reads, and records all letters of a public nature, presents, with an appropriate address, those persons on whom honorary degrees are to be conferred, and performs other like duties; -- called also public orator. Int. Standard Bible Encyclopedia ORATOR; ORTION or'-a-ter, o-ra'-shun: The word "orator" occurs twice: (1) As the King James Version rendering of lachash; only Isaiah 3:3, "the eloquent orator," the King James Version margin "skilful of speech," where the Revised Version (British and American) rightly substitutes "the skillful enchanter." The word lachash is probably a mimetic word meaning "a hiss," "a whisper" and is used in the sense of "incantation" "charm." Hence, nebhon lachash means "skillful in incantation," "expert in magic." See DIVINATION; ENCHANTMENT. (2) As the rendering of rhetor, the title applied to Tertullus, who appeared as the advocate of the Jewish accusers of Paul before Felix (Acts 24:1). The proceedings, as was generally the case in the provincial Roman courts, would probably be conducted in Latin, and under Roman modes of procedure, in which the parties would not be well versed; hence, the need of a professional advocate. Rhetor is here the equivalent of the older Greek sunegoros, "the prosecuting counsel," as opposed to the sundikos, "the defendant's advocate." Oration occurs only in Acts 12:21: "Herod.... made an oration unto them" (edemegorei pros autous). The verb demegoreo, "to speak in an assembly" (from demos, "people," agoreuo, "to harangue"), is often found in classical Greek, generally in a bad sense (Latin concionari); here only in the New Testament. D. Miall Edwards

Multi-Version Concordance Orator (3 Occurrences) Acts 24:1 After five days, the high priest, Ananias, came down with certain elders and an orator, one Tertullus. They informed the governor against Paul. (WEB KJV ASV DBY WBS YLT) 2 Corinthians 11:6 And if in the matter of speech I am no orator, yet in knowledge I am not deficient. Nay, we have in every way made that fully evident to you. (WEY) Isaiah 3:3 The captain of fifty, and the honourable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. (KJV WBS)