Government Governor
Government Governor [1]
(1) The term ‘government’ occurs twice in the Authorized Versionof the Nt, in neither case with reference to civil government. In the first passage, 1 Corinthians 12:28, it occurs in the plural, being a translation of the Greek κυβερνήσεις, which, like the English ‘government,’ is a metaphor from steersmanship (see following article). In the second passage, 2 Peter 2:10 (cf. Judges 1:8), the word appears to be abstract, but to have an implicit reference to the domination of angels (see articleDominion).
(2) The word ‘governor’ occurs many times in the Nt. In nearly every passage it is a translation of ἡγεμών or some word connected with it. This word is the most general term in this connexion in the Greek language (=Lat. prœses ). This can be seen in two ways. In the first place, in Mark 13:9 (and parallels) and 1 Peter 2:13 the word is coupled with ‘kings’ (emperors), and the two words together include all the Gentile authorities before whom the followers of Jesus will have to appear. In the second place, the term, or its cognates, is used with reference to authorities of such diverse status as the Emperor Tiberius ( Luke 3:1), the legate P. Sulpicius Quirinius ( Luke 2:3, a special deputy of consular rank sent by the Emperor Augustus in an emergency to have temporary rule over the great province of Syria), and the successive procurators of the small and unimportant province of Judaea , Pontius Pilate and Felix; for 2 Corinthians 11:33 see Ethnarch. It was in accordance with Greek genius to avoid specific titles and to use general terms, and to the Oriental the king (emperor) dwarfed everyone else. The procurator (agent) was really a servant of the Emperor’s household, never of higher rank than equestrian, and belonged to the lowest class of governor. He is never called by his own (Greek) name (ἐπίτροπος) except in a variant reading of Luke 3:1.
A. Souter.
