Word study
Governor
5 Hebrew and 2 Greek words behind this English word
The original-language words that the Berean Standard Bible translates with one of these: governor, governors. English often uses one word where Hebrew or Greek has several, each with its own shade of meaning. Under each word are verses where it is translated this way; choose the word itself for its full study: every verse, how else it is translated, the forms it takes and what the dictionaries say.
At a glance
How often each original word is translated “governor” or one of its forms.
Compare the Hebrew words side by side Compare the Greek words side by side
Hebrew and Aramaic words (Old Testament)
- פֶּחָה pechâhgovernortranslated this way 25 times of its 28 uses · Strong’s H6346Noun · Translated: governors 14, governor 8, officer 2, allotted to the governor 2Full study and all 27 verses →
1 Kings 10:15 not including the revenue from the merchants, traders, and all the Arabian kings and governors of the land.
2 Chronicles 9:14 not including the revenue from the merchants and traders. And all the Arabian kings and governors of the land also brought gold and silver to Solomon.
- פֶּחָה pechâhtranslated this way 10 times of its 10 uses · Strong’s H6347Noun · Translated: governor 6, governors 4Full study and all 10 verses →
Ezra 5:3 At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates went to the Jews and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”
Daniel 3:2 Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue he had set up.
- שַׂר sarchieftain, chief, ruler, official, captain, princetranslated this way 9 times of its 401 uses · Strong’s H8269Noun · Translated: commanders 74, officials 67, princes 63, commander 39Full study and all 366 verses →
Judges 9:30 When Zebul the governor of the city heard the words of Gaal son of Ebed, he burned with anger.
1 Kings 20:14 “By whom?” Ahab asked. And the prophet replied, “This is what the LORD says: ‘By the young officers of the district governors.’” “Who will start the battle?” asked Ahab. “You will,” answered the prophet.
- תִּרְשָׁתָא TirshâthâTirshathâtranslated this way 5 times of its 5 uses · Strong’s H8660Adjective · Translated: governor 5Full study and all 5 verses →
Ezra 2:63 The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.
Nehemiah 7:65 The governor ordered them not to eat the most holy things until there was a priest to consult the Urim and Thummim.
- נָצַב nâtsabtake one's stand, standtranslated this way 3 times of its 69 uses · Strong’s H5324Verb · Translated: set 15, standing 14, stood 6, governors 3Full study and all 69 verses →
1 Kings 4:5 Azariah son of Nathan was in charge of the governors; Zabud son of Nathan was a priest and adviser to the king;
1 Kings 4:7 Solomon had twelve governors over all Israel to provide food for the king and his household. Each one would arrange provisions for one month of the year,
Greek words (New Testament)
- ἡγεμών hēgemṓna governortranslated this way 18 times of its 19 uses · Strong’s G2232Noun · Translated: governor 11, governors 4, governor's 3, rulers 1Full study and all 19 verses →
Matthew 10:18 On My account you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.
Mark 13:9 So be on your guard. You will be delivered over to the councils and beaten in the synagogues. On My account you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them.
- ἡγεμονεύω hēgemoneúōI governtranslated this way 2 times of its 2 uses · Strong’s G2230Verb · Translated: governor 2Full study and all 2 verses →
Luke 2:2 This was the first census to take place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.
Luke 3:1 In the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, while Pontius Pilate was governor of Judea, Herod tetrarch of Galilee, his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and Trachonitis, and Lysanias tetrarch of Abilene,
How to study a word well
- Start from the verse, not the dictionary. Find which Hebrew or Greek word stands in the verse you are studying. One English word often translates several different original words.
- Read every place the word is used. A word means what its writers used it to mean. The list of verses and the count by book show its range, and who uses it most.
- Look at how it is translated. A word rendered five different ways has a wider meaning than any one English word can carry.
- Notice the form. A command is not a statement, and a passive verb is something done to the subject. The form in your verse is part of the meaning.
- See what it keeps company with. The words that appear beside it again and again show how the Bible itself connects ideas.
- Then read the dictionaries. They give the considered view of scholars, with their evidence.
- Come back to the verse. Context decides. A word does not carry every one of its meanings into every verse, and where a word came from does not settle what it means in a sentence written centuries later.
Scripture text and translation counts: Berean Standard Bible. Full entry: Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906, public domain), in the digital edition Brown-Driver-Briggs Enhanced by unfoldingWord (Joel Ruark, J. de Joode), based on data by Eliran Wong and Stephen Ku; its additions are used under CC BY 4.0. Strong’s Hebrew Dictionary: Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible Project, CC BY 4.0. Hebrew-to-English verse numbering: original work of the Open Scriptures Hebrew Bible available at https://github.com/openscriptures/morphhb, CC BY 4.0. We reformatted the data, linked the references to this site’s Bible text and left out words in other scripts that the source holds only as images. These are historical reference works; an entry gives its authors’ view, and a word’s meaning in any verse depends on how it is used there.