Deputy

Deputy - (Easton's Bible Dictionary)

In 1 Kings 22:47, means a prefect; one set over others. The same Hebrew word is rendered "officer;" i.e., chief of the commissariat appointed by Solomon (1 Kings 4:5, etc.).

In Esther 8:9; 9:3 (R.V., "governor") it denotes a Persian prefect "on this side" i.e., in the region west of the Euphrates. It is the modern word pasha.

In Acts 13:7, 8, 12; 18:12, it denotes a proconsul; i.e., the governor of a Roman province holding his appointment from the senate. The Roman provinces were of two kinds, (1) senatorial and (2) imperial. The appointment of a governor to the former was in the hands of the senate, and he bore the title of proconsul (Gr. anthupatos). The appointment of a governor to the latter was in the hands of the emperor, and he bore the title of propraetor (Gr. antistrategos).

Deputy - (Webster's 1828 Dictionary)

DEPUTY, n.

1. A person appointed or elected to act for another, especially a person sent with a special commission to act in the place of another; a lieutenant; a viceroy. A prince sends a deputy to a diet or council, to represent him and his dominions. A sheriff appoints a deputy to execute the duties of his office. The towns in New England send deputies to the legislature. In the latter sense, a deputy has general powers, and it is more common to use the word representative.

2. In law, one that exercises an office in anothers right, and the forfeiture or misdemeanor of such deputy shall cause the person he represents to lose his office.

dep'-u-ti: This is the correct rendering of nitsabh (1Ki 22:47). In Es 8:9, 9:3 the term improperly represents caghan, in the King James Version, and is corrected to "governor" in the Revised Version (British and American). In the New Testament "deputy" represents anthupatos (Ac 13:7,8,12; 18:12; 19:38), which the Revised Version (British and American) correctly renders "proconsul" (which see). The Roman proconsuls were officers invested with consular power over a district outside the city, usually for one year. Originally they were retiring consuls, but after Augustus the title was given to governors of senatorial provinces, whether they had held the office of consul or not. The proconsul exercised judicial as well as military power in his province, and his authority was absolute, except as he might be held accountable at the expiration of his office. See GOVERNMENT.

William Arthur Heidel