Bible Characters & Character Studies
Diotrephes
First appears at 3 John 1:9
First named in Scripture at 3 John 1:9 — read the chapter.
From Easton’s Bible Dictionary (1897)
a church leader rebuked by the apostle John in his third epistle: “Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them, receiveth us not” (3 John 9). John charges him with prating against the apostles “with malicious words,” refusing to receive the brethren himself, forbidding others who would, and casting them out of the church (3 John 10). John promises to remember his deeds when he comes, and sets Demetrius before the church as the contrary example. [Biography compiled from the KJV record; Easton’s dictionary has no entry for Diotrephes.]