Governor: 1. Heb. nagid, a prominent, conspicuous person, whatever his
capacity: as,
a. Chief of the royal palace
(2 Chronicles 28:7) comp.
(1 Kings 4:6)
b. Chief of the temple
(1 Chronicles 9:11; Jeremiah 20:1)
c. The leader of the Aaronites
(1 Chronicles 12:27)
d. Keeper of the sacred treasury
(1 Chronicles 26:24)
e. Captain of the army
(1 Chronicles 13:1)
f. The king
(1 Samuel 9:16)
g. The Messiah
(Daniel 9:25)2. Heb. nasi, raised; exalted. Used to denote the chiefs of
a. Families
(Numbers 3:24,30,32,35)
b. Tribes
(Numbers 2:3; 7:2; 3:32)
These dignities appear to have been elective, not hereditary.
3. Heb. pakid, an officer or magistrate. It is used of
a. The delegate of the high priest
(2 Chronicles 24:11)
b. The Levites
(Nehemiah 11:22)
c. A military commander
(2 Kings 25:19)
d. Joseph's officers in Egypt
(Genesis 41:34)
4. Heb. shallit, one who has power, who rules
(Genesis 42:6; Ezra 4:20)
(Ecclesiastes 8:8; Daniel 2:15; 5:29)
5. Heb. aluph, literally one put over a thousand, i.e., a clan or a
subdivision of a tribe. Used of
a. The "dukes" of Edom
(Genesis 36:1)ff
b. The Jewish chiefs
(Zechariah 9:7)
6. Heb. moshel, one who rules, holds dominion. Used of
a. Many classes of rulers
(Genesis 3:16; 24:2; 45:8; Psalms 105:20)
b. The Messiah
(Micah 5:2)
c. God
(1 Chronicles 29:12; Psalms 103:19)
7. Heb. sar, a ruler or chief; a word of very general use. It is
used of
a. The chief baker of Pharaoh
(Genesis 40:16)
b. The chief butler
(Genesis 40:2) etc. See also
(Genesis 47:6; Exodus 1:11)
(Daniel 1:7; Judges 10:18; 1 Kings 22:26; 20:15; 2 Kings 1:9; 2 Samuel 24:2)
c. Angels, guardian angels
(Daniel 10:13,20,21; 12:1; 10:13; 8:25)
8. Pehah, whence pasha, i.e., friend of the king; adjutant;
a. Governor of a province
(2 Kings 18:24; Isaiah 36:9; Jeremiah 51:57)
(Ezekiel 23:6,23; Daniel 3:2; Esther 3:12)
b. A perfect
(Nehemiah 3:7; 5:14; Ezra 5:3; Haggai 1:1)
This is a foreign word, Assyrian, which was early adopted into the
Hebrew idiom
(1 Kings 10:15)
9. The Chaldean word segan is applied to
a. The governors of the Babylonian satrapies
(Daniel 3:2,27; 6:7)
b. The prefects over the Magi
(Daniel 2:48)
The corresponding Hebrew word segan is used of
a. Provincial rulers
(Jeremiah 51:23,28,57)
b. Chiefs and rulers of the people of Jerusalem
(Ezra 9:2)
(Nehemiah 2:16; 4:14,19; 5:7,17; 7:5; 12:40)
10. In the New Testament there are also different Greek words rendered
thus.
a. Meaning an ethnarch
(2 Corinthians 11:32) which was an office distinct
from military command, with considerable latitude of
application.
b. The procurator of Judea under the Romans
(Matthew 27:2) (Comp.)
(Luke 2:2) (where the verb from which the Greek word so
rendered is derived is used.)
c. Steward
(Galatians 4:2)
d. Governor of the feast
(John 2:9) who appears here to have been
merely an intimate friend of the bridegroom, and to have
presided at the marriage banquet in his stead.
e. A director, i.e., helmsman; Lat. gubernator,
(James 3:4)
