HERALD (Aram. כָּרﯴז, H10370, Dan 3:4 from root כרז, meaning to proclaim, Dan 5:29; מְבַשֵּׂ֥ר, Isa 40:9; 41:27; Nah 1:15, from root בשׂר, meaning to bring news; κηρύσσω, G3062, meaning to proclaim or cry out.) A herald was usually a representative of a royal or government official having as his specific responsibility the bearing of a message. The message and whom he represented was his primary concern, and he was to remain secondary. There is no instance in the Bible where the herald is actually involved in conflict. His sender may be, but not the herald. In the OT the word rarely is used of the prophets. They were not just heralds, but more in the sense of God’s identity on earth.

In the OT מְבַשֵּׂ֥ר and Aram. כָּרﯴז, H10370, are both tr. as “herald.” Isaiah (40:9) spoke of him as “herald of good tidings” (RSV). Both in Genesis (41:43) and in Esther (6:9f.) the activity of a herald is seen as one running before the royal chariot to attract the attention of the people. In Daniel (3:4) the herald is responsible for making known the will of the king. In rabbinic lit. the herald had the added purpose of announcing publicly certain aspects of Jewish law.

More emphasis is given to the herald in the NT setting, often equating him with the evangelist or the preacher. The cognate of כָּרﯴז, H10370, which is κηρύσσω, G3062, is used throughout the NT as the proclamation of the good news of Jesus Christ.