H5461 H5461
Prefect, provincial official — an appointed governor or administrator, borrowed from Akkadian šaknu, used of Assyrian, Babylonian, and post-exilic Jewish leaders.
This Akkadian loanword (from šaknu, 'one set in place') designates appointed officials who governed provinces or administered civic affairs. In the prophets, sganim appear paired with pahot ('governors') as the ruling elite of Assyria, Babylon, and Media — Ezekiel 23:6 pictures them in splendid attire alongside Assyrian warriors. In the post-exilic books, particularly Nehemiah, the term shifts to describe Jewish communal leaders who helped rebuild Jerusalem's walls and enforced reforms. Spanish 'magistrados' and 'gobernantes' capture both the judicial and administrative dimensions of this flexible title.
Senses
1. prefect, official, ruler — An appointed official or prefect in a provincial bureaucracy, derived from the Akkadian šaknu ('one appointed'). In prophetic texts such as Ezekiel 23:6, 12 and Jeremiah 51:23, 57, it designates high-ranking administrators of imperial Assyria and Babylon, consistently paired with pahot. In Nehemiah (2:16; 4:14; 5:7; 12:40; 13:11), the term is reapplied to Jewish civic leaders overseeing reconstruction and governance. French and German leave the word untranslated in brackets, reflecting its technical specificity, while Spanish renders it as 'magistrados' or 'gobernantes.' 17×
AR["الرُّؤَسَاءَ","السُّعَاةِ","الوُلاةِ","الْوُلاةَ","حُكَّامِهَا","عَلَى-الوُلَاةِ","وَ-السُّعَاةُ","وَ-النُّوَّاب","وَ-الْوُلاةُ","وَ-لِـ-السُّعَاةِ","وَحُكَّامًا","وَحُكَّامِهَا","وَنُوَّابٍ"]·ben["-কর্মকর্তাদের","অধিনায়কদের","আর-উপশাসকদের","আর-উপাধ্যক্ষদের","আর-তার-উপশাসকদের","এবং-অধিনায়কদেরকে","এবং-অধিনায়কেরা","এবং-উপ-শাসনকর্তাদের","তার-উপশাসকদের","শাসনকর্তাদের-উপরে"]·DE["Statthalter","[וסגניה]","[וסגנים]","[סגניה]","[סגנים]","und-Statthalter"]·EN["and-her-prefects","and-prefects","and-rulers","and-the-officials","and-to-the-officials","her-prefects","on-rulers","the-officials"]·FR["[וסגניה]","[וסגנים]","[סגניה]","[סגנים]","et-les-préfets","et-préfet","les-préfets"]·heb["ה-סגן","ו-ה-סגן","ו-ל-ה-סגן","ו-סגניה","ו-סגנים","סגניה","סגנים"]·HI["अधिकारियों","उसके-हाकिमों","और-अधिकारियों-का","और-अधिकारियों-को","और-अधिकारी","और-उसके-सरदारों","और-सरदारों","और-हाकिम","शासकों","शासकों-के-साथ","हाकिमों","हाकिमों-पर"]·ID["dan-kepada-pemimpin-pemimpin","dan-para-penguasa","dan-pemimpin-pemimpin","dan-penguasa-penguasa","dan-penguasa-penguasanya","para-pemimpin","pejabat-pejabat","pemimpin-pemimpin","penguasa-penguasanya"]·IT["[וסגניה]","[וסגנים]","[סגניה]","[סגנים]","e-i-prefetti","e-prefetto","i-prefetti"]·jav["Lan-para-pangageng","lan-dhateng-para-pangageng","lan-para-pangageng","lan-para-wakil","lan-para-wakil-nipun","para-pangageng","para-panguwasa","para-punggawa","para-wakil-nipun"]·KO["관리들을-그녀의","그-관원들과","그-관원들을","그-관원들의","그리고-관리들을","그리고-관리들을-그녀의","그리고-관리들이다","그리고-관원들","그리고-그-관리들-의","그리고-그-관리들은","그리고-에게-그-관리들","총독들을"]·PT["e-magistrados","e-oficiais","e-os-governadores","e-os-oficiais","e-para-os-governadores","e-seus-magistrados","governadores","os-governadores","os-oficiais","seus-magistrados"]·RU["близких","и-начальникам","и-начальники","и-начальников","и-правителей","и-правителей-его","начальникам","начальников","правителей-его","правители","сановников"]·ES["Y-los-magistrados","gobernantes","los-magistrados","sus-oficiales","y-a-los-magistrados","y-a-sus-oficiales","y-los-gobernantes","y-los-magistrados","y-oficiales"]·SW["maafisa","maofisa","na-kwa-maofisa","na-maafisa","na-maofisa","na-wakuu","na-wakuu-wake","na-wasimamizi","wake","watawala"]·TR["komutanlarını","valiler","valileri","ve-komutanları","ve-komutanlarını-onun","ve-yetkililerin","ve-yöneticiler","ve-yöneticilere","yöneticilere","yöneticileri","yöneticilerin"]·urd["اور-اُس-کے-نائبوں-کو","اور-حاکم","اور-حکاموں","اور-سرداروں-کو","اور-نائب","اور-نائبوں-کو","اور-کو-نائبوں","اُس-کے-سرداروں","حاکموں","حاکموں-کو","حکمرانوں-پر","نائبوں","نائبوں-کے"]
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
† [סָגָן, סֶ֫גֶן] n.m. prefect, ruler (loan-word from Assyrian šaknu, prefect of conquered city or province (√ šakânu, set, appoint) DlHWB 659, cf. SchrCOT Is 41:25; appar. = NH סָגָן, סֶגֶן, Aramaic סִגְנָא a superior (not high) priest; Mand. אשגאנדא WBrandtMand. Schriften 169 a candidate for priesthood; cf. Jen in Brandtib.; hence perhaps Gk. ζωγάνης, cf. LewyFremdw. 129);—only pl. סְגָנִים Ez…