Smith's Bible Dictionary.pdf - Online Christian Library

Smith's Bible Dictionary
•A ruler in his capacity of lawgiver and dispenser of justice.
•A ruler consider especially as having power over the property and persons of his subjects. (Genesis
24:2; Joshua 12:2; Psalms 100:20) The “governors of the people,” in (2 Chronicles 23:20) appear
to have been the king’s body-guard; cf. (2 Kings 11:19)
•A prominent personage, whatever his capacity. It is applied to a king as the military and civil chief
of his people, (2 Samuel 5:2; 6:21; 1 Chronicles 29:22) to the general of an army, (2 Chronicles
32:21) and to the head of a tribe. (2 Chronicles 19:11) It denotes an officer of high rank in the
palace, the lord high chamberlain. (2 Chronicles 28:7) It is applied in (1 Kings 10:15) to the petty
chieftains who were tributary to Solomon, (2 Chronicles 9:14) to the military commander of the
Syrians, (1 Kings 20:24) the Assyrians, (2 Kings 18:24; 23:8) the Chaldeans, (Jeremiah 51:23)
and the Medes. (Jeremiah 51:38) Under the Persian viceroys, during the Babylonian captivity, the
land of the Hebrews appears to have been portioned out among “governors” (pachoth) inferior in
rank to the satraps, (Ezra 8:30) like the other provinces which were under the dominion of the
Persian king. (Nehemiah 2:7,9) It is impossible to determine the precise limits of their authority
or the functions which they had to perform. It appears from (Ezra 6:8) that these governors were
intrusted with the collection of the king’s taxes; and from (Nehemiah 5:18; 12:26) that they were
supported by a contribution levied upon the people, which was technically termed “the bread of
the governor” comp. (Ezra 4:14) They were probably assisted in discharging their official duties
by A council. (Ezra 4:7; 6:6) The “governor” beyond the river had a judgment-seat beyond
Jerusalem, from which probably he administered justice when making a progress through his
province. (Nehemiah 3:7) At the time of Christ Judea was a Roman province, governed by a
procurator (governor) appointed by Rome.
Gozan
seems in the Authorized Version of (1 Chronicles 5:26) to be the name of a river, but in (2
Kings 17:6) and 2Kin 18:11 It is evidently applied not to a river but a country. Gozan was the tract
to which the Israelites were carried away captive by Pul, Tiglathpileser and Shalmaneser, or possibly
Sargon. It is probably identical with the Gauzanitis of Ptolemy, and I may be regarded as represented
by the Mygdonia of other writers. It was the tract watered by the Habor, the modern Khabour, the
great Mesopotamian affluent of the Euphrates.
Grape
[Vine]
Grasshopper
[Locust]
Grave
[Burial, Sepulchres]
Greaves
a piece of defensive armor which reached from the foot to the knee and thus protected the shin
of the wearer. It was made of leather or brass.
Grecian
The term Grecian, or Hellenist, denotes a Jew by birth or religion who spoke Greek. It is used
chiefly of foreign Jews and proselytes in contrast with the Hebrews speaking the vernacular Hebrew
or Aramaean.—Bible Dictionary of Tract Society .
Greece, Greeks, Grecians
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William Smith