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PRINCE.—This is the tr. [Note: translate or translation.] of a considerable number of Heb. and Gr. words, expressing different shades of meaning, e.g. ‘chieftain,’ ‘ruler,’ ‘king,’ ‘governor,’ ‘noble,’ ‘deputy.’ The main terms are 1. sar, ‘one who has authority or bears rule.’ It is used of rulers (Isa_21:6, Num_21:18 etc.), of royal officials (Gen_12:15, 2Ki_24:12 etc.), of leaders in war (1Sa_22:2), of tribal chieftains (e.g. Philistines, 1Sa_18:30), of the chief butler and baker (Gen_40:2; Gen_40:16), of the keeper of prison (Gen_39:21), of the taskmaster (Exo_1:11), of the prince of the eunuchs (Dan_1:7). It came later to be applied to the guardian angels of the nations (Dan_10:13; Dan_10:20-21), to Michael the archangel (Dan_12:1). It is the most general term for prince, and occurs in the fem, form sârâh, ‘princess,’ used of the wives of Solomon (1Ki_11:3), and also of Jerusalem ‘princess among the provinces’ (Lam_1:1), and it is translated ‘ladies’ in Jdg_5:29 and ‘queens’ in Isa_49:23.
2. nâgîd, ‘one who is high, conspicuous, outstanding.’ It is applied to the governor of the palace (2Ch_28:7), the keeper of the treasury (1Ch_26:24), the chief of the Temple (1Ch_9:11, 2Ch_31:13); also to the chief of a tribe (2Ch_19:11), the son of a king (2Ch_11:22), the king himself (1Sa_25:30), the high priest (Dan_9:25), and is occasionally in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] translated ‘captain.’
3. nâsî’, ‘one lifted up,’ is applied to chiefs of tribes, princes of Ishmael (Gen_17:20), to Abraham (Gen_23:6), to Shechem (Gen_34:2), to Sheshbazzar (Ezr_1:8). It is often used of the heads of the Israelitic tribes, and translated ‘ruler’ in AV [Note: Authorized Version.] . The word is frequently in Ezekiel used of kings of Judah and foreign princes, and is also applied to the future head of the ideal State (Gen_34:24 etc.).
4. nâdîb, ‘willing,’ ‘a volunteer,’ ‘generous,’ ‘noble,’ generally found in plur. and often translated ‘nobles,’ used of those of noble or princely birth (1Sa_2:8, Psa_47:9; Psa_107:40 etc.).
Other less frequent terms are nâsîk ‘installed,’ partĕîm ‘leading men,’ qâtsîn ‘judge,’ shâlîsh ‘officer,’ ‘captain,’ sĕânîm ‘deputies.’ In Dan_3:2-3; Dan_3:27; Dan_6:2; Dan_6:4; Dan_6:7, the ‘princes’ of AV [Note: Authorized Version.] are Persian satraps, while in the names Rabshakeh, Rabsaris the prefix rab signifies ‘chief,’ as also the proper name Rezon (1Ki_11:23), which occurs as a common noun (râzôn) in Pro_14:28. We may also note that in Job_12:19 the word ‘priests’ (kôh ãn îm) is wrongly rendered ‘princes,’ and in Psa_68:31 the word translated ‘princes’ is not found in any other passage, the text being likely corrupt.
The NT terms are 1. archçgos, applied to Christ ‘the Prince (author) of life’ (Act_3:15), ‘Prince and Saviour’ (Act_5:31); so in Heb_2:10 Jesus is ‘the author (AV [Note: Authorized Version.] ‘captain’) of salvation’ and in Heb_12:2 the ‘author and finisher of our faith.’ 2. archôn, used of Beelzebub (Mat_9:34; Mat_12:24, Mar_3:22), of the princes of the Gentiles (Mat_20:25), the princes of this world (1Co_2:6; 1Co_2:8), prince of the power of the air (Eph_2:2), the Prince of the kings of the earth (Rev_1:5). 3. hçgemôn, used of Bethlehem, ‘not least among the princes of Judah’ (Mat_2:6).
W. F. Boyd.