Deputy

Easton's Bible Dictionary

1 Kings 22:47 1 Kings 4:5

In Esther 8:9; 9:3 (RSV, "governor") it denotes a Persian prefect "on this side" i.e., in the region west of the Euphrates. It is the modern word Pasha .

In Acts 13:7,8,12; 18:12 , it denotes a proconsul; i.e., the governor of a Roman province holding his appointment from the senate. The Roman provinces were of two kinds, (1) senatorial and (2) imperial. The appointment of a governor to the former was in the hands of the senate, and he bore the title of proconsul (Gr. anthupatos). The appointment of a governor to the latter was in the hands of the emperor, and he bore the title of propraetor (Gr. antistrategos).

Fausset's Bible Dictionary

("proconsul" or "propraetor"); Greek anthupatos . The supreme governor of the provinces left by the emperors, still under the Roman senate ( Acts 13:7; Acts 19:38, plural for singular). The emperor gave the peaceable provinces to the senate. Over these the senate appointed those who had been praetors; governing only one year; having no power of life and death, not wearing sword or military costume (Dion. Cass., 53:13-14).

Achaia had been imperial, governed by a procurator, but was restored to the senate by Claudius (Tacitus, Annals 1:76; Suet., Claud., 25). So Gallio is rightly named "proconsul" or "deputy" ( Acts 18:12). Cyprus after the battle of Actium was an imperial province (Dion. Cuss., 53:12), but five years later was given to the senate and had a deputy; so, Acts 13:7-8; Acts 13:12 is accurate. A coin of Ephesus, in the senate's province of Asia, illustrates the use of "deputies" in Acts 19:38.

Holman Bible Dictionary

1 Kings 22:47 Acts 13:7 Acts 18:12 Acts 19:38Proconsul

Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible

DEPUTY . 1. AV [Note: Authorized Version.] of Esther 8:9; Esther 9:3 (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘governor’) as tr. [Note: translate or translation.] of pechâh . See Governor. 2. AV [Note: Authorized Version.] of Acts 13:7-8; Acts 13:12; Acts 18:12; Acts 19:38 (RV [Note: Revised Version.] ‘proconsul’) as tr. [Note: translate or translation.] of Gr. anthupatos . See Proconsul. 3. RV [Note: Revised Version.] of Jeremiah 51:23; Jeremiah 51:28 (AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘ruler’), Daniel 3:2-3; Daniel 6:7 (AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘governor’) as tr. [Note: translate or translation.] of sâgân or its Aram. [Note: Aramaic.] equivalent. The term denotes in these passages a superior official or prefect of the Babylonian Empire. It is applied elsewhere ( Ezra 9:2 , Nehemiah 2:16; Nehemiah 4:14; Nehemiah 4:19 etc.) to petty officials in Judah (EV [Note: English Version.] ‘rulers,’ RVm [Note: Revised Version margin.] ‘deputies’). 4. AV [Note: Authorized Version.] and RV [Note: Revised Version.] of 1 Kings 22:47 as tr. [Note: translate or translation.] of nizzâb (lit. ‘one set up or appointed’), used of the vassal-king of Edom.

Hastings' Dictionary of the New Testament

This is the Authorized Version translation of ἀνθύπατος, the Gr. equivalent of pro consule , ‘proconsul’ ( q.v. [Note: quod vide, which see.] ). In NT times ‘proconsul’ was the name given to the governor of a senatorial province-that is, a province under the supervision of the Roman Senate, which appointed the governors. In the NT the following senatorial provinces are referred to as under proconsuls: Asia, governed by an ex-consul, called proconsul, a province of the highest class, and Cyprus and Achaia, each governed by an ex-praetor, also called proconsul, provinces of the second class.

A. Souter.

King James Dictionary

DEPUTY, n.

1. A person appointed or elected to act for another, especially a person sent with a special commission to act in the place of another a lieutenant a viceroy. A prince sends a deputy to a diet or council, to represent him and his dominions. A sheriff appoints a deputy to execute the duties of his office. The towns in New England send deputies to the legislature. In the latter sense, a deputy has general powers, and it is more common to use the word representative.

2. In law, one that exercises an office in anothers right, and the forfeiture or misdemeanor of such deputy shall cause the person he represents to lose his office.

Morrish Bible Dictionary

In the O.T. governor of a district. 1 Kings 22:47; Esther 8:9; Esther 9:3 . In the N.T. proconsul, one who acted as governor of a Roman province with consular power. Acts 13:7,8,12; Acts 18:12; Acts 19:38 .

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Deputy. Acts 13:7-8; Acts 13:12; Acts 19:38. The Greek word signifies proconsul, the title of the Roman governors who were appointed by the senate.

International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

dep´ū̇ -ti : This is the correct rendering of נצב , nicābh ( 1 Kings 22:47 ). In Esther 8:9 and Esther 9:3 the term improperly represents סגן , ṣāghān , in the King James Version, and is corrected to "governor" in the Revised Version (British and American). In the New Testament "deputy" represents ἀνθύπατος , anthúpatos ( Acts 13:7 , Acts 13:8 , Acts 13:12; Acts 18:12; Acts 19:38 ), which the Revised Version (British and American) correctly renders "proconsul" (which see). The Roman proconsuls were officers invested with consular power over a district outside the city, usually for one year. Originally they were retiring consuls, but after Augustus the title was given to governors of senatorial provinces, whether they had held the office of consul or not. The proconsul exercised judicial as well as military power in his province, and his authority was absolute, except as he might be held accountable at the expiration of his office. See Government .

Cyclopedia of Biblical, Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature

stands in our version as a translation of two Heb. and one Greek term.

1. This rendering occurs in 1 Kings 22:47, of the נַצָּב, nitstsab' (literally set over), or praefect, apparently constituted a sheik by common consent of the Edomitish clans prior to royalty. See DUKE. It is also spoken of the "officers" or chiefs of the commissariat appointed by Solomon ( 1 Kings 4:5, etc.) (See Purveyor).

2. The same rendering occurs in Esther 8:9; Esther 9:3, of the פֶּחָה, pechah' ( pehhah, a Sanscrit term, whence the modern pasha), or Persian prosfect on this side the Euphrates; applied also to the "governors" of inferior rank in the Assyrian, Babylonian, and Median empires, and even to the governor of Jerusalem. (See Governor).

3. Proconsul ( ἀνθύπατος ) was the proper title of the governor of a Roman province when appointed by the senate. (See Province). Several such are mentioned in the Acts, viz. Sergius Paulus in Cyprus (8:7, 8, 12), Gallio in Achaia (18:12), and the chief officer of Achaia, whose court is indefinitely referred to in ch. 19:38, by the use of the plural (see Smith's Dict. of Class. Antiq. s.v. Proconsul). (See Proconsul).