H1489 H1489
treasurer (Persian loanword)
This Persian administrative title appears in Ezra 1:8, where Cyrus commands 'Mithredath the treasurer' to inventory and release the temple vessels. The word entered Hebrew as a loanword during the Persian period, reflecting the administrative terminology of the Achaemenid Empire. Similar forms appear in Aramaic and Syriac. The Persian original relates to treasure-keeping, an essential function in ancient bureaucracies where wealth was stored physically rather than electronically. Such loanwords in Ezra-Nehemiah authenticate those books' Persian-period setting.
Senses
1. sense 1 — A treasury official in the Persian administration (Ezra 1:8), responsible for managing royal or temple wealth. English 'treasurer' and Spanish 'tesorero' use cognate Romance terms, while French and German preserve the Hebrew/Persian form, acknowledging its loanword status. The definite article ('the treasurer') may indicate this was Mithredath's official title rather than a generic description. The context of releasing temple vessels confirms the treasury management role. 1×
AR["الْخَازِنِ"]·ben["-কোষাধ্যক্ষের"]·DE["[הגזבר]"]·EN["the-treasurer"]·FR["[הגזבר]"]·heb["ה-גזבר"]·HI["खजांची"]·ID["bendahara"]·IT["[הגזבר]"]·jav["kang-bendahara"]·KO["그-보물관원"]·PT["o-tesoureiro"]·RU["хранителя-сокровищ"]·ES["el-tesorero"]·SW["mweka-hazina"]·TR["hazinedar"]·urd["ال-خزانچی"]
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
† גִּזְבָּר n.m. treasurer (loan-word; NH id.; cf. Biblical Aramaic [גִּזְבָּר], pl. גִּזְבָּרַיָּא; Syriac ܓܺܙܒܰܪ, ܓܺܙܰܒܪܳܐ, also ܓܰܢܙܘܳܪ, Pers. گنجوار, cf. LagGes Abh. 27 f., Arm. Stud. § 454), Ezr 1:8.