kus'-tum (usage): In the Old Testament, except,Ge 31:35where the Revised Version (British and American) renders, better, "manner" (derekh, "way"), the words translated "custom" are choq, chuqqah, "statute," and mishpaT, "judgment." Such passages asJud 11:39;Jer 32:11, and especiallyEzr 3:4(the King James Version "custom," the Revised Version (British and American) "ordinance"), illustrate the difficulty of deciding upon the proper translation, in cases where "custom" might become "statute," "usage" establish itself as "law." InLe 18:30;Jer 10:3the reference is to heathen religious practices.
In the New TestamentLu 1:9;2:42;Ac 6:14;15:1(the King James Version "manner");Lu 16:21;21:21(ethos), andLu 2:27from the same Greek root, refer likewise to definitely established religious practices; in every case exceptAc 16:21, those of the Jewish law. The Revised Version (British and American) makes the translation of ethos uniform, reading "custom" inLu 22:39(the King James Version "wont") and inJoh 19:40;Ac 25:16;Heb 10:25(the King James Version "manner"). Greek eiothos, from the same root, is rendered "custom" inLu 4:16by English Versions of the Bible, and by the Revised Version (British and American) also inAc 17:2, its only other occurrence in the New Testament. InJoh 18:39;1Co 11:16"custom" is the translation of Greek sunetheia, in the sense of "usage" rather than of "law."
F. K. Farr