In the Old Testament this word appears in connection with the wars between Ahab and Ben-hadad. ( 1 Kings 20:141 Kings 20:151 Kings 20:19 ) The victory of the former is gained chiefly "by the young" probably men of the princes of the provinces the chiefs: of tribes in the Gilead country.
More commonly the word is used of the divisions of the Chaldean kingdom. ( Daniel 2:49 ; Daniel 3:1Daniel 3:30 ) and the Persian kingdom. ( Ezra 2:1 ; Nehemiah 7:6 ; Esther 1:1Esther 1:22 ; 2:3 ) etc. In the New Testament we are brought into contact with the administration of the provinces of the Roman empire. The classification of provinces supposed to need military control and therefore placed under the immediate government of the Caesar, and those still belonging theoretically to the republic and administered by the senate, and of the latter again into proconsular and praetorian, is recognized, more or less distinctly, in the Gospels and the Acts. [PROCONSUL; PROCURATOR] The strategoi of ( Acts 16:22 ) ("magistrates," Authorized Version), on the other hand were the duumviri or praetors of a Roman colony. The right of any Roman citizen to appeal from a provincial governor to the emperor meets us as asserted by St. Paul. ( Acts 25:11 ) In the council of ( Acts 25:12 ) we recognize the assessors who were appointed to take part in the judicial functions of the governor.
Bibliography InformationSmith, William, Dr. "Entry for 'Province'". "Smith's Bible Dictionary". . 1901.