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Bible Dictionaries
Prince
Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible
or PRINCE . This is the tr. [Note: translate or translation.] of a considerable number of Heb. and Gr. words, expressing different shades of meaning, e.g. ‘chieftain,’ ‘ruler,’ ‘king,’ ‘governor,’ ‘noble,’ ‘deputy.’ The main terms are 1. sar , ‘one who has authority or bears rule.’ It is used of rulers ( Isaiah 21:6 , Numbers 21:18 etc.), of royal officials ( Genesis 12:15 , 2 Kings 24:12 etc.), of leaders in war ( 1 Samuel 22:2 ), of tribal chieftains ( e.g. Philistines, 1 Samuel 18:30 ), of the chief butler and baker ( Genesis 40:2; Genesis 40:16 ), of the keeper of prison ( Genesis 39:21 ), of the taskmaster ( Exodus 1:11 ), of the prince of the eunuchs ( Daniel 1:7 ). It came later to be applied to the guardian angels of the nations ( Daniel 10:13; Daniel 10:20-21 ), to Michael the archangel ( Daniel 12:1 ). It is the most general term for prince, and occurs in the fem, form sârâh , ‘princess,’ used of the wives of Solomon ( 1 Kings 11:3 ), and also of Jerusalem ‘princess among the provinces’ ( Lamentations 1:1 ), and it is translated ‘ladies’ in Judges 5:29 and ‘queens’ in Isaiah 49:23 .
2. nâgîd , ‘one who is high, conspicuous, outstanding.’ It is applied to the governor of the palace ( 2 Chronicles 28:7 ), the keeper of the treasury ( 1 Chronicles 26:24 ), the chief of the Temple ( 1 Chronicles 9:11 , 2 Chronicles 31:13 ); also to the chief of a tribe ( 2 Chronicles 19:11 ), the son of a king ( 2 Chronicles 11:22 ), the king himself ( 1 Samuel 25:30 ), the high priest ( Daniel 9:25 ), and is occasionally in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] translated ‘captain.’
3 . nâsî ’, ‘one lifted up,’ is applied to chiefs of tribes, princes of Ishmael ( Genesis 17:20 ), to Abraham ( Genesis 23:6 ), to Shechem ( Genesis 34:2 ), to Sheshbazzar ( Ezra 1:8 ). It is often used of the heads of the Israelitic tribes, and translated ‘ruler’ in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] . The word is frequently in Ezekiel used of kings of Judah and foreign princes, and is also applied to the future head of the ideal State ( Genesis 34:24 etc.).
4 . nâdîb , ‘willing,’ ‘a volunteer,’ ‘generous,’ ‘noble,’ generally found in plur. and often translated ‘nobles,’ used of those of noble or princely birth ( 1 Samuel 2:8 , Psalms 47:9; Psalms 107:40 etc.).
Other less frequent terms are nâsîk ‘installed,’ partÄ•mîm ‘leading men,’ qâtsîn ‘judge,’ shâlîsh ‘officer,’ ‘captain,’ sÄ•gânîm ‘deputies.’ In Daniel 3:2-3; Daniel 3:27; Daniel 6:2; Daniel 6:4; Daniel 6:7 , the ‘princes’ of AV [Note: Authorized Version.] are Persian satraps, while in the names Rabshakeh , Rabsaris the prefix rab signifies ‘chief,’ as also the proper name Rezon ( 1 Kings 11:23 ), which occurs as a common noun ( râzôn ) in Proverbs 14:28 . We may also note that in Job 12:19 the word ‘priests’ ( kôh ăn îm ) is wrongly rendered ‘princes,’ and in Psalms 68:31 the word translated ‘princes’ is not found in any other passage, the text being likely corrupt.
The NT terms are 1. archçgos , applied to Christ ‘the Prince (author) of life’ ( Acts 3:15 ), ‘Prince and Saviour’ ( Acts 5:31 ); so in Hebrews 2:10 Jesus is ‘the author (AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘captain’) of salvation’ and in Hebrews 12:2 the ‘ author and finisher of our faith.’ 2. archôn , used of Beelzebub ( Matthew 9:34; Matthew 12:24 , Mark 3:22 ), of the princes of the Gentiles ( Matthew 20:25 ), the princes of this world ( 1 Corinthians 2:6; 1 Corinthians 2:8 ), prince of the power of the air ( Ephesians 2:2 ), the Prince of the kings of the earth ( Revelation 1:5 ). 3. hçgemôn , used of Bethlehem, ‘not least among the princes of Judah’ ( Matthew 2:6 ).
W. F. Boyd.
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Hastings, James. Entry for 'Prince'. Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hdb/p/prince.html. 1909.
