H1169 H1169
lord, master (Aramaic); official title meaning 'commander' or 'chief officer'
An Aramaic word meaning 'lord' or 'master,' cognate to Hebrew ba'al. In Ezra, it appears in the title 'beel teem' (master of the decree/commander), referring to a Persian official responsible for correspondence and administration—possibly a provincial governor or regional commander. The title occurs three times in Ezra 4 (vv. 8, 9, 17) in official letters concerning the Jerusalem rebuilding. The term functions as a bureaucratic title, not a personal name, designating rank within the Persian imperial hierarchy.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A title for a Persian administrative official: 'master of decree' or 'commander.' Rehum the 'beel teem' (commander) and Shimshai the scribe write to Artaxerxes opposing Jerusalem's reconstruction (Ezra 4:8, 9). The king's reply is addressed to them using the same title (Ezra 4:17). Translations render this as 'commanding officer' or leave transliterated, recognizing it as an official designation within Persian governance. 3×
AR["صَاحِبُ-", "صَاحِبِ-"]·ben["কর্তা-"]·DE["Baal"]·EN["master-of"]·FR["in-sur"]·heb["בעל"]·HI["राज्यपाल"]·ID["penguasa"]·IT["in-su"]·jav["kang-komandan", "lan-Simsai"]·KO["주인-"]·PT["o-comandante"]·RU["начальник-", "начальнику-"]·ES["maestro-de-"]·SW["kamanda"]·TR["komutan-"]·urd["صاحب-"]
Related Senses
H3808 1. simple negation (not) (4839×)G1722 1. locative: in, within (2442×)H1004b 1. house, dwelling, building (2015×)G3756 1. not (negation particle) (1635×)H4480a 1. source or separation (1198×)H5892b 1. city, town (1093×)G1519 1. direction: into, to, toward (1061×)H3427 1. Qal: to dwell, inhabit (937×)G1537 1. from, out of (source/origin) (886×)H8034 1. Name (designation / identifier) (856×)G3361 1. subjective negation (not) (834×)G1909 1. on, upon (spatial surface) (757×)H0369 1. existential negation: there is not (738×)H5869a 1. in the eyes/sight of (evaluative) (734×)H5650 1. Servant, attendant, subject (723×)H0408 1. prohibitive negation do-not (712×)G2443 1. so that, in order that (purpose/result) (665×)G0575 1. from (649×)G1223 1. through, by means of (582×)H3541 1. thus, so, in this manner (569×)
BDB / Lexicon Reference
† בְּעֵל (K§ 54, 3 γ) n. m. owner, lord (Syriac ܒܥܶܠ, used similarly; cf.BH בַּ֫עַל, √ בָּעַל; also 𝔗 בְּעֵיל);—cstr. בּ׳־טְעֵם Ezr 4:8, 9, 17 i.e. commander (AndrM 56* as translation of Persian framātār, commander).