GOVERNOR (אַלּוּפ֮, H477, חﯴקֵק, מֹשֵׁל, נָגִיד, H5592, נָשִׂיא֒, H5954, סֶ֫גֶן, H6036, פֶּחָה, H7068, פָּקִיד, H7224, שַׂר, H8569, שַׁלִּיט, H8954, תִּרְשָׁתָא, H9579; ἡγέομαι, ἡγεμών, ἡγεμονεύω, ἐθνάρχης, εὐθυνω, ἀρχιτρίκλινος, οἰκόνομος). A person appointed to govern a country, province, or town. In the OT, the various Heb. words for governor are sometimes used in a vague way to refer to any person of higher rank who exercised some kind of authority; consistency is not observed in their use. Although the above Heb. words are rendered “governor” in the KJV, in the RSV they are tr. in a variety of ways: clan, commander, governor, leader, officer, chief officer, prefect, prince, ruler. The Heb. word most commonly rendered “governor” is פֶּחָה, H7068, (1 Kings 10:15; 2 Chron 9:14; Ezra 5:3, 14; 6:6, 7, 13; 8:36; Neh 2:7; 5:14, 15; Esth 3:12; 8:9; Jer 51:23, 28; Ezek 23:6, 23; Hag 1:1; Mal 1:8). It refers to the ruler of a district under a king, e.g. Chaldean and Persian governors (Ezek 23:6, 23; Esth 3:12; 8:9), the Persian Tatnai, whose satrapy included Palestine, Phoenicia, and Egypt (Ezra 5:3; 6:6); and Nehemiah and Zerubbabel as governors of Judah (Neh 5:14; Ezra 6:7).

The Gr. words tr. “governor” are sometimes used with technical accuracy, sometimes somewhat loosely. ̔Ηγέομαι, and its derivatives are the words most frequently used, usually for Rom. subordinate rulers.

In the NT period, the various territories under Rom. rule were constituted in various ways, and their governors were of different ranks. The rulers of senatorial provinces, which were kept under control without difficulty, were appointed by the senate and called “proconsuls,” their term usually running for one year. Governors of imperial provinces, which were apt to cause trouble for Rome, were appointed by the emperor personally for an indefinite term of office and were called “legates.” The governor of a subdivision of an imperial province was also appointed by the emperor, and was called a “procurator.” The NT mentions the following governors who were proconsuls: Sergius Paulus, governor of Cyprus (Acts 13:6f.); Gallio, governor of Achaia (18:12); and the unnamed governors of the province of Asia, who lived at Ephesus (19:38). Quirinius, governor of Syria, was a legate (Luke 2:2). The governors of Judea, which was a part of the imperial province of Syria, were Pilate (Matt 27:2; 28:14), Felix (Acts 23:26), and Festus (Acts 26:32), all of whom were procurators.

The KJV sometimes uses the word “governor” in an obsolete sense. In the account of the marriage at Cana, “the governor of the feast” and “the ruler of the feast” (John 2:8, 9 KJV) are the same person. He was the ἀρχιτρίκλινος, G804, the steward, whose duty it was to take care of all the banquet arrangements—the tables, seating, food, etc. In Galatians 4:1, 2 “tutors and governors” is better tr. in the RSV as “guardians and trustees.” The word “governor” in James 3:4 refers to the pilot or steersman of a ship; the RSV has “pilot.”

Bibliography J. Finegan, Light from the Ancient Past (1959).