Tirshatha

a governor

A word probably of Persian origin, meaning "severity," denoting a high civil dignity. The Persian governor of Judea is so called (Ezra 2:63; Nehemiah 7:65, 70). Nehemiah is called by this name in Nehemiah 8:9; 10:1, and the "governor" (pehah) in 5:18. Probably, therefore, tirshatha=pehah=the modern pasha. TIRSHATHA

ter-sha'-tha, tur'-sha-tha (tirshatha'; Hathersatha): A title which occurs 5 times in Ezra and Nehemiah (Ezra 2:63 Nehemiah 7:65, the American Standard Revised Version and the English Revised Version margin "governor"). In Nehemiah 8:9; Nehemiah 10:1, Nehemiah is called the tirshatha'. In Ezra 2:63 Nehemiah 7:65, 70, it is the title of Sheshbazzar, or Zerubbabel. As in Nehemiah 12:26, Nehemiah is called a pechah, or governor, a title which in Ezra 5:14 is given to Sheshbazzar also, it has been supposed that pechah and tirshatha' were equivalent terms, the former being of Assyrio-Babylonian and the latter of Persian origin. According to Lagarde, it comes from the Bactrian antarekshatra, that is, "he who takes the place of the king." According to Meyer and Scheftelowitz it is a modified form of a hypothetical Old Persian word tarsata. According to Gesenius and Ewald, it is to be compared with the Persian torsh, "severe," "austere," i.e. "stern lord." It seems more probable that it is derived from the Babylonian root rashu, "to take possession of," from which we get the noun rashu, "creditor." In this case it may well have had the sense of a tax-collector. One of the principal duties of the Persian satrap, or governor, was to assess and collect the taxes (see Rawlinson's Persia, chapter viii). This would readily account for the fact that in Nehemiah 7:70 the tirshatha' gave to the treasure to be used in the building of the temple a thousand drachms of gold, etc., and that in Ezra 1:8 Cyrus numbered the vessels of the house of the Lord unto Sheshbazzar. This derivation would connect it with the Aramaic rashya, "creditor," and the New Hebrew rashuth, "highest power," "magistrate."

R. Dick Wilson

8660. tirshatha -- (a Pers. title) governor
... 8659, 8660. tirshatha. 8661 . (a Pers. title) governor. Transliteration: tirshatha
Phonetic Spelling: (teer-shaw-thaw') Short Definition: governor. ...
/hebrew/8660.htm - 6k

The Rebuilding of the Temple.
... the Promised Land better than wealth at Babylon. Zerubbabel was called
Tirshatha, or governor. His kingdom was gone, but his right ...
/.../yonge/the chosen people/lesson xiii the rebuilding of.htm

The Historical Books.
... received from Artaxerxes Longimanus, king of Persia, in the twentieth year of his
reign (BC446), to go to Jerusalem in the capacity of Tirshatha, or civil ...
/.../barrows/companion to the bible/chapter xx the historical books.htm

Tirshatha (5 Occurrences)
... Nehemiah is called by this name in Nehemiah 8:9; 10:1, and the "governor" (pehah)
in 5:18. Probably, therefore, tirshatha=pehah=the modern pasha. ...TIRSHATHA. ...
/t/tirshatha.htm - 10k

Attharates
... the title; the Vulgate (Jerome's Latin Bible, 390-405 AD) gives "Athersatha"; the
King James Version reads "Nehemiah, which is the Tirshatha." Tirshatha is the ...
/a/attharates.htm - 6k

Governor (78 Occurrences)
... Elsewhere commonly rendered "prince." (9) shalliT (Genesis 42:6). Elsewhere rendered
"ruler" or "captain." (10) tirshatha' the Revised Version (British and ...
/g/governor.htm - 48k

Nehemi'ah (8 Occurrences)
... Nehemiah 8:9 And Nehemiah, who was the Tirshatha, and Ezra the priest the scribe,
and the Levites that taught the people, said unto all the people: 'This day ...
/n/nehemi'ah.htm - 8k

Nehemias
... Neither Nehemias nor Attharias is found in the parallel Ezra 2:63 Nehemiah 7:65,
but ha-tirshatha' equals Tirshatha, "the governor," by whom Zerubbabel must be ...
/n/nehemias.htm - 7k

Zerubbabel (25 Occurrences)
... Zerubbabel was also made a governor of Jerusalem, and performed also the duties
of the tirshatha, an official who was probably the Persian collector of taxes. ...
/z/zerubbabel.htm - 20k

Zedeki'ah (62 Occurrences)
... Nehemiah 10:1 Now those that set their seal were: Nehemiah the Tirshatha,
the son of Hachaliah, and Zedekiah; (See RSV). Jeremiah ...
/z/zedeki'ah.htm - 25k

Zidkijah (1 Occurrence)
... Zidkijah (1 Occurrence). Nehemiah 10:1 Now those that sealed were, Nehemiah, the
Tirshatha, the son of Hachaliah, and Zidkijah, (KJV WBS YLT). ...
/z/zidkijah.htm - 7k

Nehemiah (9 Occurrences)
... Nehemiah explained it all to the king, and obtained his permission to go up to
Jerusalem and there to act as tirshatha, or governor of Judea. ...
/n/nehemiah.htm - 24k

Instructing (14 Occurrences)
... Nehemiah 8:9 And Nehemiah -- he 'is' the Tirshatha -- saith (and Ezra the priest,
the scribe, and the Levites who are instructing the people) to all the people ...
/i/instructing.htm - 10k

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