This verb describes exercising governmental authority, particularly as a regional governor under Roman rule. Luke uses it to date key events in salvation history. Luke 2:2 places Jesus's birth during the census 'when Quirinius was governing Syria,' anchoring the nativity in secular chronology. Luke 3:1 provides an elaborate chronological framework for John the Baptist's ministry: 'in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judea...' followed by other rulers. Both passages demonstrate Luke's concern to show that the gospel unfolds within real history, not myth.