5461. sagan
Lexical Summary
sagan: Deputy, Governor, Ruler, Official

Original Word: סָגָן
Part of Speech: Noun Masculine
Transliteration: cagan
Pronunciation: sah-GAHN
Phonetic Spelling: (saw-gawn')
KJV: prince, ruler
NASB: officials, prefects, rulers
Word Origin: [from an unused root meaning to superintend]

1. a prefect of a province

Strong's Exhaustive Concordance
prince, ruler

From an unused root meaning to superintend; a prefect of a province -- prince, ruler.

NAS Exhaustive Concordance
Word Origin
of foreign origin
Definition
a prefect, ruler
NASB Translation
officials (11), prefects (3), rulers (3).

Brown-Driver-Briggs
[סָגָן, סֶ֫גֶן] noun masculine prefect, ruler (loan-word from Assyrian šaknu, prefect of conquered city or province (√ šakânu, set, appoint DlHWB 659, compare SchrCOT Isaiah 41:25; apparently = Late Hebrew סָגָן, סֶגֶן, Aramaic סִגְנָא a superior (not high) priest; Mandean אשגאנדא WBrandtMand. Schriften 169 a candidate for priesthood; compare Jen in Brandtib.; hence perhaps Greek ζωγάνης, compare LewyFremdw. 129); — only plural סְגָנִים Ezekiel 23:6 14t.; suffix סְגָנֶיהָ Jeremiah 51:57 + Jeremiah 51:58 (where read probably סְגָנָיו ᵐ5 Gie); —

1 prefects of Assyr. and Babylonian Ezekiel 23:6,12,23; Jeremiah 51:23,57 (all + מַּחוֺת), Isaiah 41:25, of king of Medes Jeremiah 51:28 (+ מַּחוֺת).

2 petty rulers, officials of Judah (only Nehemiah Ezra in sources): distinguished from חֹרִים nobles Nehemiah 2:16; Nehemiah 4:8; Nehemiah 4:13; Nehemiah 5:7; Nehemiah 7:5; alone, Nehemiah 2:16; Nehemiah 12:40; Nehemiah 13:11; + יְהוּדִים Nehemiah 5:17 (see also Nehemiah 2:16); + שָׂרִים Ezra 9:2. compare Biblical Aramaic סְגַן.

Topical Lexicon
Definition and Scope of Office

The Hebrew term סָגָן (sāgān) designates a high-ranking civic or military officer—an under-governor, deputy, or prefect—who stands between the supreme ruler and the populace. The office carries weight in taxation, corvée labor, military readiness, and judicial oversight. Scripture links the sagan to nobles, commanders, and elders, revealing a mediating role that spans local and imperial structures.

Historical Background

1. Assyrian milieu

Ezekiel depicts Samaria and Jerusalem enamored of Assyrian “governors and commanders” (Ezekiel 23:6, 12), dazzling cavalry officers whose political power and martial splendor drew Israel into idolatrous alliances.

2. Babylonian administration

Jeremiah foresees Babylon’s collapse: “With you I shatter governor and official” (Jeremiah 51:23); “Prepare the nations… their governors and all their officials” (Jeremiah 51:28); “I will make her governors [and] officials drunk” (Jeremiah 51:57). The sagan here is a provincial chief who collects tribute and commands troops—yet none can withstand the Lord’s judgment.

3. Medo-Persian context

Isaiah anticipates Cyrus trampling “rulers as mortar” (Isaiah 41:25), a vivid image of Persian satraps rendered as clay under God’s chosen instrument.

4. Post-exilic Judah

Under Persian rule Judah gained limited self-governance. Nehemiah leads “the nobles, the officials, and the rest of the people” (Nehemiah 4:19), and keeps detailed rolls of “nobles and officials” (Nehemiah 7:5). These saganim supervised wall construction, food distribution (Nehemiah 5:17), and temple maintenance (Nehemiah 13:11), showing how imperial titles became embedded in Jewish civic life.

Role in the Reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah

Ezra laments that “the hands of the officials and elders have been foremost in this unfaithfulness” of intermarriage (Ezra 9:2). Nehemiah “rebuked the officials” for usury (Nehemiah 5:7) and for neglecting Levites (Nehemiah 13:11). Yet the officials also rally when called: “Do not be afraid… fight for your brothers” (Nehemiah 4:14). Their cooperation helps finish the wall in fifty-two days (Nehemiah 6:15). The sagan thus serves as both a potential source of corruption and a vital agent of reform, depending on spiritual disposition.

Prophetic Imagery of Judgment

Jeremiah’s triple refrain against saganim highlights comprehensive doom; Ezekiel turns them into instruments of chastisement; Isaiah records God’s ease in crushing them. The sagan becomes a literary emblem of human authority dissolved by divine fiat.

Ministry Implications

• Accountability: High office does not confer immunity from covenant standards (Ezra 9:2; Nehemiah 13:11).
• Servant Leadership: Nehemiah models generosity and restraint, feeding “one hundred fifty Jews and officials” at his own expense (Nehemiah 5:17-18).
• Intercession: The fragility of civic power under God underscores the call to pray “for kings and all who are in authority” (1 Timothy 2:1-2).

Intertextual Connections

The Septuagint renders sagan with ἡγεμών and ἄρχων, linking Old Testament officials to New Testament “governors” such as Pilate. Daniel’s Aramaic section uses the cognate sāgān for provincial administrators (Daniel 3:2), reinforcing continuity across empires and languages.

Summary

Sāgān describes a deputy whose authority is genuine yet derivative. Arrayed in Assyrian blue, seated in Babylonian palaces, or standing on Jerusalem’s wall, the sagan illustrates both the necessity of orderly government and the futility of power divorced from reverence for the Lord. God raises up such officials to accomplish His purposes and removes them when they exalt themselves. All who bear similar responsibility today are wise to remember that even the highest prefect is but clay in the Potter’s hand.

Forms and Transliterations
הַסְּגָנִ֔ים הַסְּגָנִ֖ים הַסְּגָנִ֛ים הַסְּגָנִים֙ הסגנים וְהַסְּגָנִ֗ים וְהַסְּגָנִ֜ים וְלַסְּגָנִ֗ים וּסְגָנִ֔ים וּסְגָנִ֤ים וּסְגָנִֽים׃ וּסְגָנִים֙ וּסְגָנֶ֙יהָ֙ והסגנים ולסגנים וסגניה וסגנים וסגנים׃ סְגָנִים֙ סְגָנֶ֑יהָ סגניה סגנים has·sə·ḡā·nîm hassegaNim hassəḡānîm sə·ḡā·ne·hā sə·ḡā·nîm səḡānehā segaNeiha segaNim səḡānîm ū·sə·ḡā·ne·hā ū·sə·ḡā·nîm ūsəḡānehā usegaNeiha usegaNim ūsəḡānîm vehassegaNim velassegaNim wə·has·sə·ḡā·nîm wə·las·sə·ḡā·nîm wəhassəḡānîm wəlassəḡānîm
Links
Interlinear GreekInterlinear HebrewStrong's NumbersEnglishman's Greek ConcordanceEnglishman's Hebrew ConcordanceParallel Texts
Englishman's Concordance
Ezra 9:2
HEB: וְיַ֧ד הַשָּׂרִ֣ים וְהַסְּגָנִ֗ים הָ֥יְתָ֛ה בַּמַּ֥עַל
NAS: of the princes and the rulers have been
KJV: of the princes and rulers hath been chief
INT: the hands of the princes and the rulers have been unfaithfulness

Nehemiah 2:16
HEB: וְהַסְּגָנִ֗ים לֹ֤א יָדְעוּ֙
NAS: The officials did not know where
KJV: And the rulers knew
INT: the officials nor know

Nehemiah 2:16
HEB: וְלַכֹּהֲנִ֜ים וְלַחֹרִ֣ים וְלַסְּגָנִ֗ים וּלְיֶ֙תֶר֙ עֹשֵׂ֣ה
NAS: the nobles, the officials or the rest
KJV: nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest
INT: the priests the nobles the officials the rest did

Nehemiah 4:14
HEB: הַחֹרִ֤ים וְאֶל־ הַסְּגָנִים֙ וְאֶל־ יֶ֣תֶר
NAS: to the nobles, the officials and the rest
KJV: unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest
INT: the nobles about the officials and to the rest

Nehemiah 4:19
HEB: הַחֹרִ֤ים וְאֶל־ הַסְּגָנִים֙ וְאֶל־ יֶ֣תֶר
NAS: to the nobles, the officials and the rest
KJV: unto the nobles, and to the rulers, and to the rest
INT: the nobles about the officials and to the rest

Nehemiah 5:7
HEB: הַחֹרִ֣ים וְאֶת־ הַסְּגָנִ֔ים וָאֹמְרָ֣ה לָהֶ֔ם
NAS: with the nobles and the rulers and said
KJV: the nobles, and the rulers, and said
INT: and contended the nobles and the rulers and said debt

Nehemiah 5:17
HEB: וְהַיְּהוּדִ֨ים וְהַסְּגָנִ֜ים מֵאָ֧ה וַחֲמִשִּׁ֣ים
NAS: Jews and officials, besides those who came
KJV: of the Jews and rulers, beside those that came
INT: Jews and officials hundred and fifty

Nehemiah 7:5
HEB: הַחֹרִ֧ים וְאֶת־ הַסְּגָנִ֛ים וְאֶת־ הָעָ֖ם
NAS: the nobles, the officials and the people
KJV: the nobles, and the rulers, and the people,
INT: to assemble the nobles the officials and the people to be enrolled

Nehemiah 12:40
HEB: וַאֲנִ֕י וַחֲצִ֥י הַסְּגָנִ֖ים עִמִּֽי׃
NAS: So did I and half of the officials with me;
KJV: and I, and the half of the rulers with me:
INT: I half of the officials with

Nehemiah 13:11
HEB: וָאָרִ֙יבָה֙ אֶת־ הַסְּגָנִ֔ים וָאֹ֣מְרָ֔ה מַדּ֖וּעַ
NAS: So I reprimanded the officials and said,
KJV: Then contended I with the rulers, and said,
INT: reprimanded for the officials and said Why

Isaiah 41:25
HEB: בִשְׁמִ֑י וְיָבֹ֤א סְגָנִים֙ כְּמוֹ־ חֹ֔מֶר
NAS: And he will come upon rulers as [upon] mortar,
KJV: and he shall come upon princes as [upon] morter,
INT: my name will come rulers according to as mortar

Jeremiah 51:23
HEB: בְךָ֔ פַּח֖וֹת וּסְגָנִֽים׃
NAS: governors and prefects.
KJV: captains and rulers.
INT: shatter governors and prefects

Jeremiah 51:28
HEB: וְאֶת־ כָּל־ סְגָנֶ֑יהָ וְאֵ֖ת כָּל־
NAS: and all their prefects, And every
KJV: the captains thereof, and all the rulers thereof, and all the land
INT: their governors and all their prefects and every land

Jeremiah 51:57
HEB: וַחֲכָמֶ֜יהָ פַּחוֹתֶ֤יהָ וּסְגָנֶ֙יהָ֙ וְגִבּוֹרֶ֔יהָ וְיָשְׁנ֥וּ
NAS: Her governors, her prefects and her mighty men,
KJV: [men], her captains, and her rulers, and her mighty men:
INT: wise her governors her prefects mighty may sleep

Ezekiel 23:6
HEB: תְכֵ֙לֶת֙ פַּח֣וֹת וּסְגָנִ֔ים בַּח֥וּרֵי חֶ֖מֶד
NAS: governors and officials, all
KJV: captains and rulers, all of them desirable
INT: purple governors and officials young desirable

Ezekiel 23:12
HEB: עָגָ֜בָה פַּח֨וֹת וּסְגָנִ֤ים קְרֹבִים֙ לְבֻשֵׁ֣י
NAS: governors and officials, the ones near,
KJV: captains and rulers clothed
INT: lusted governors and officials the ones dressed

Ezekiel 23:23
HEB: חֶ֜מֶד פַּח֤וֹת וּסְגָנִים֙ כֻּלָּ֔ם שָֽׁלִשִׁים֙
NAS: governors and officials all
KJV: captains and rulers, great lords
INT: desirable governors and officials all officers

17 Occurrences

Strong's Hebrew 5461
17 Occurrences


has·sə·ḡā·nîm — 6 Occ.
sə·ḡā·ne·hā — 1 Occ.
sə·ḡā·nîm — 1 Occ.
ū·sə·ḡā·ne·hā — 1 Occ.
ū·sə·ḡā·nîm — 4 Occ.
wə·has·sə·ḡā·nîm — 3 Occ.
wə·las·sə·ḡā·nîm — 1 Occ.

5460
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