Aramaic word · H6347

פֶּחָה

fechah

governor

A provincial governor appointed by an imperial overlord. It comes from Akkadian bēl pīḫati or pāḫatu, 'lord of a district.' Under Persian rule a peḥāh ran a province and ranked below the satrap of a large region such as 'Beyond the River' (lands west of the Euphrates).

A Biblical Aramaic word, from the parts of the Old Testament written in Aramaic. Why Aramaic?

Appears 10 times in 10 verses of the Aramaic of the Old Testament. ·

What it means

governor

Aramaic of pe.chah (פֶּחָה "governor" H6346)

Abridged from Brown, Driver and Briggs, A Hebrew and English Lexicon of the Old Testament (1906), via STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0).

In depth

From the study of Ezra 5:14

Range of meaning

A provincial governor appointed by an imperial overlord. It comes from Akkadian bēl pīḫati or pāḫatu, 'lord of a district.' Under Persian rule a peḥāh ran a province and ranked below the satrap of a large region such as 'Beyond the River' (lands west of the Euphrates). The title was used flexibly, for officials both large and small.

Against the English

All the versions say 'governor.' Modern readers may picture an elected state governor or a colonial administrator. This was a royal appointee who held office at the king's pleasure and answered upward.

How it drifted

Modern political use of 'governor' carries ideas of election and fixed constitutional powers that the ancient office did not have.

Used elsewhere in the period

It is used of Tattenai (Ezra 5:3, 6), Zerubbabel (Haggai 1:1), and Nehemiah (Nehemiah 5:14). The Elephantine papyri (late 400s BC) mention Bagohi as 'governor of Judah' using the same title. It also appears on seals and jar stamps from Persian-period Judah.

From the study of Ezra 5:6

Range of meaning

Governor appointed by the crown, at different levels: from a major regional governor down to the governor of a small province like Judah (Zerubbabel is called pechah in Haggai 1:1; Nehemiah too in Nehemiah 5:14). Borrowed from Akkadian pāḫatu, 'province, governor'.

Against the English

'Governor' is accurate. English does not show that the same title covered very different ranks; here it is the governor of the whole western region, far senior to Zerubbabel.

Used elsewhere in the period

A Babylonian cuneiform tablet from 502 BC refers to 'Tattannu, pāḫat of Ebir-nāri' (governor of Beyond-the-River), matching Ezra's title exactly. Other texts show that in these years the region was joined to Babylon under a satrap (a higher-level viceroy) named Ushtani.

Where it appears

Ezra · 6

  1. Ezra 5:3 פַּחַ֧ת [the] governor of

    At that time Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates went to the Jews and asked, “Who authorized you to rebuild this temple and restore this structure?”

  2. Ezra 5:6 פַּחַ֣ת [the] governor of

    This is the text of the letter that Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates, the officials in the region, sent to King Darius.

    Here: 'Governor of': the title of a royal provincial governor, borrowed from Akkadian. Here it marks Tattenai as the crown's top administrator over the whole western region, a much bigger office than the local governor of Judah.

  3. Ezra 5:14 פֶחָ֖ה governor

    He also removed from the temple of Babylon the gold and silver articles belonging to the house of God, which Nebuchadnezzar had taken and carried there from the temple in Jerusalem. King Cyrus gave these articles to a man named Sheshbazzar, whom he appointed governor

    Here: An imperial governor of a province, appointed by the crown. Tattenai, who wrote this letter, holds the same title (v.3).

  4. Ezra 6:6 פַּחַ֨ת [the] governor of

    Therefore Darius decreed: To Tattenai governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and your associates and officials in the region: You must stay away from that place!

  5. Ezra 6:7 פַּחַ֤ת [the] governor of

    Leave this work on the house of God alone. Let the governor and elders of the Jews rebuild this house of God on its original site.

  6. Ezra 6:13 פַּחַ֧ת [the] governor of

    In response, Tattenai the governor of the region west of the Euphrates, Shethar-bozenai, and their associates diligently carried out what King Darius had decreed.

Daniel · 4

  1. Daniel 3:2 וּֽפַחֲוָתָ֡א and governors the

    Then King Nebuchadnezzar sent word to assemble the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the other officials of the provinces to attend the dedication of the statue he had set up.

  2. Daniel 3:3 וּֽפַחֲוָתָ֡א and governors the

    So the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates, and all the rulers of the provinces assembled for the dedication of the statue that King Nebuchadnezzar had set up, and they stood before it.

  3. Daniel 3:27 וּפַחֲוָתָא֮ and governors the

    and when the satraps, prefects, governors, and royal advisers had gathered around, they saw that the fire had no effect on the bodies of these men. Not a hair of their heads was singed, their robes were unaffected, and there was no smell of fire on them.

    Here: From Akkadian pāḫatu, "province, governor". It is the same title later held by governors of Judah such as Nehemiah. These are regional governors.

  4. Daniel 6:7 וּפַחֲוָתָ֔א and governors the

    All the royal administrators, prefects, satraps, advisers, and governors have agreed that the king should establish an ordinance and enforce a decree that for thirty days anyone who petitions any god or man except you, O king, will be thrown into the den of lions.

    Here: 'And the governors': regional governors (from Akkadian bēl pīḫati); the same title is used of Persian governors of Judah such as Zerubbabel and Nehemiah.

Word data: STEPBible.org (CC BY 4.0), main text only.