τετράρχ-ης G5076
A tetrarch; a Roman-appointed regional ruler of lower rank than a king, governing a quarter of a territory.
Derived from the Greek for 'ruler of a fourth,' this title designated a provincial governor under Roman authority who ranked below a king. In the New Testament it refers exclusively to rulers in Palestine, most notably Herod Antipas. The Spanish 'tetrarca' and French 'tétrarque' preserve the original Greek form nearly unchanged, reflecting how this technical political title passed directly into Western languages. Luke 3:19 and Acts 13:1 show the term applied to specific historical figures within the Roman client-state system.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A regional ruler appointed under Roman imperial authority, governing a portion of a divided territory with a rank subordinate to king. All four NT occurrences (Matt 14:1; Luke 3:19; 9:7; Acts 13:1) refer to Herodian rulers in Palestine. The multilingual glosses uniformly transliterate rather than translate, confirming this was a fixed political title rather than a descriptive term. 4×
AR["رَئيسُ-الرُّبْعِ", "رَئِيسُ-الرُّبْعِ", "رُبعِ-مُلكٍ"]·ben["চতুর্থাংশ-শাসক", "চতুর্থাংশাধিপতি", "রাজ্যপাল", "রাজ্যপালের"]·DE["τετραάρχης", "τετραάρχου"]·EN["tetrarch"]·FR["tétrarque"]·heb["הָרְבִיעִי", "טֶטְרַךְ", "טֶטְרַרְךְ", "טֶטְרַרְכָה"]·HI["चौथाई", "तेत्ररच-ने", "तेत्रार्खी", "राज्यपाल"]·ID["raja-wilayah", "tetrarki", "wali-negeri"]·IT["tetraarches", "tetrarca"]·jav["raja-wilayah", "raja-wèwilah", "tetrarkus", "wali-nagari,"]·KO["분봉왕", "분봉왕의", "분봉왕이"]·PT["tetrarca"]·RU["тетрарха", "четверовластник", "четвертовластник"]·ES["tetrarca"]·SW["mkuu-wa-robo", "mtawala-wa-robo", "tetrarchi"]·TR["bölge-hükümdarının", "bölge-yöneticisi", "tetrarh", "vali"]·urd["حاکم", "حاکم-نے", "چوتھائی-حاکم"]
Related Senses
G2962 1. Lord (divine title) (661×)H0136 1. Lord (divine title) (440×)H0113 1. lord, human superior (249×)G1849 1. authority, power (91×)H6485a 2. Qal: punish, bring judgment (63×)H8198 1. maidservant, female slave (63×)G2962 2. master, lord (human authority) (61×)H0034 1. needy, poor, destitute (61×)H0519 1. female servant, maidservant (56×)H6041 1. poor, needy person (55×)H0113 2. master, owner of servants (49×)H4910 1. Qal: to have dominion, exercise power over (44×)H1800 1. poor, needy (socioeconomic) (38×)H3515 1. heavy, severe, grievous (36×)G4434 1. (34×)G5092 1. honor, esteem, respect (33×)H6485a 4. Qal: visit, attend to, care for (32×)H3513 1. honor / show respect (Piel) (30×)H4910 2. Qal: to rule, govern (administrative authority) (27×)H4513 1. withhold, restrain, hold back (25×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
τετράρχ-ης, ου, ὁ, tetrarch, Refs 1st c.BC+, etc.; of rulers under the protection of Rome of lower grade than kings, e.g. in Palestine, NT+1st c.AD+: also τέτραρχος, Θεσσαλῶν Refs 4th c.BC+ genitive -χου Refs c.AD), but -χα Refs __II a leader of four λόχοι, or 64 men, Refs 3rd c.BC+