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•GOURD (1.) Jonah’s gourd (Jonah 4:6-10), bearing the Hebrew name kikayon (found only here), was probably the kiki of the Egyptians, the croton. This is the castor-oil plant, a species of ricinus, the palma Christi, so called from the palmate division of its leaves. Others with more probability regard it as the cucurbita the el-keroa of the Arabs, a kind of pumpkin peculiar to the East. “It is grown in great abundance on the alluvial banks of the Tigris and on the plain between the river and the ruins of Nineveh.” At the present day it is trained to run over structures of mud and brush to form boots to protect the gardeners from the heat of the noon-day sun. It grows with extraordinary rapidity, and when cut or injured withers away also with great rapidity.
(2.) Wild gourds (2 Kings 4:38-40), Hebrews pakkuoth, belong to the family of the cucumber-like plants, some of which are poisonous. The species here referred to is probably the colocynth (Cucumis colocynthus). The LXX. render the word by “wild pumpkin.” It abounds in the desert parts of Syria, Egypt, and Arabia. There is, however, another species, called the Cucumis prophetarum, from the idea that it afforded the gourd which “the sons of the prophets” shred by mistake into their pottage.
•GOVERNMENTS (1 Corinthians 12:28), the powers which fit a man for a place of influence in the church; “the steersman’s art; the art of guiding aright the vessel of church or state.”
•GOVERNOR (1.) Hebrews nagid, a prominent, conspicuous person, whatever his capacity: as, chief of the royal palace (2 Chronicles 28:7; comp. 1 Kings 4:6), chief of the temple (1 Chronicles 9:11; Jeremiah 20:1), the leader of the Aaronites (1 Chronicles 12:27), keeper of the sacred
treasury (26:24), captain of the army (13:1), the king (1 Samuel 9:16), the
Messiah (Daniel 9:25).
(2.) Hebrews nasi, raised; exalted. Used to denote the chiefs of families (Numbers 3:24, 30, 32, 35); also of tribes (2:3; 7:2; 3:32). These dignities appear to have been elective, not hereditary.
(3.) Hebrews pakid, an officer or magistrate. It is used of the delegate of the high priest (2 Chronicles 24:11), the Levites (Nehemiah 11:22), a military commander (2 Kings 25:19), Joseph’s officers in Egypt (Genesis 41:34).
(4.) Hebrews shallit, one who has power, who rules (Genesis 42:6; Ezra 4:20; Ecclesiastes 8:8; Daniel 2:15; 5:29).
(5.) Hebrews aluph, literally one put over a thousand, i.e., a clan or a subdivision of a tribe. Used of the “dukes” of Edom (Genesis 36), and of the Jewish chiefs (Zechariah 9:7).
(6.) Hebrews moshel, one who rules, holds dominion. Used of many classes of rulers (Genesis 3:16; 24:2; 45:8; Psalm 105:20); of the Messiah
(Micah 5:2); of God (1 Chronicles 29:12; Psalm 103:19).
(7.) Hebrews sar, a ruler or chief; a word of very general use. It is used of the chief baker of Pharaoh (Genesis 40:16); of the chief butler (40:2, etc. See also Genesis 47:6; Exodus 1:11; Daniel 1:7; Judges 10:18; 1 Kings
22:26; 20:15; 2 Kings 1:9; 2 Samuel 24:2). It is used also of angels,
guardian angels (Daniel 10:13, 20, 21; 12:1; 10:13; 8:25).
(8.) Pehah, whence pasha, i.e., friend of the king; adjutant; governor of a province (2 Kings 18:24; Isaiah 36:9; Jeremiah 51: 57; Ezekiel 23:6, 23;
Daniel 3:2; Esther 3: 12), or a perfect (Nehemiah 3:7; 5:14; Ezra 5:3; Hag. 1:1). This is a foreign word, Assyrian, which was early adopted into the Hebrew idiom (1 Kings 10:15).
(9.) The Chaldean word segan is applied to the governors of the Babylonian satrapies (Daniel 3:2, 27; 6:7); the prefects over the Magi (2:48). The corresponding Hebrew word segan is used of provincial rulers (Jeremiah 51:23, 28, 57); also of chiefs and rulers of the people of Jerusalem (Ezra 9:2; Nehemiah 2:16; 4:14, 19; 5:7, 17; 7:5; 12:40).
In the New Testament there are also different Greek words rendered thus.