סְגַן
se.gan
prefect
Lexicon Entry
Lexicon data from STEPBible TIPNR, Tyndale House, Cambridge. Licensed under CC BY 4.0.
What Original Readers Understood
Supported# Segan (סְגַן): An Ancient Administrative Title The Hebrew word *segan* refers to a prefect or high-ranking administrator, appearing 17 times throughout the biblical text. Based on its consistent translation and frequency of occurrence, this term designated an official with substantial authority within the hierarchical structures of ancient Near Eastern governance. The word's repeated use across different biblical contexts suggests it was a recognized, standardized title rather than a casual designation. The relatively modest number of occurrences (17) indicates that *segan* referred to a specific administrative rank rather than a common position. This limited frequency, combined with its singular translation as "prefect," implies a role reserved for elite personnel in positions of significant responsibility. The term appears sufficiently important to warrant direct transliteration into English rather than paraphrase, suggesting biblical translators viewed it as a distinct institutional role requiring preservation of its original form. Without access to specific usage examples, the consistent lemmatization of *segan* as "prefect" across all 17 occurrences points to a stable, well-defined position in ancient administrative systems. The word likely referred to a deputy or regional governor—a role that would have commanded respect and wielded real power, though the exact scope of duties and jurisdictions would have varied depending on historical period and political context.
Source data & methodology
Occurrences in Scripture
17 total occurrences across the text
For they have taken of their daughters for themselves and for their sons, so that the holy offspring have mixed themselves with the peoples of the lands. Yes, the hand of the princes and rulers has been chief in this trespass.”
Nehemiah 2:16The rulers didn’t know where I went, or what I did. I had not as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest who did the work.
Nehemiah 2:16The rulers didn’t know where I went, or what I did. I had not as yet told it to the Jews, nor to the priests, nor to the nobles, nor to the rulers, nor to the rest who did the work.
Nehemiah 4:14I looked, and rose up, and said to the nobles, to the rulers, and to the rest of the people, “Don’t be afraid of them! Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives, and your houses.”
Nehemiah 4:19I said to the nobles, and to the rulers and to the rest of the people, “The work is great and large, and we are separated on the wall, far from one another.
Nehemiah 5:7Then I consulted with myself, and contended with the nobles and the rulers, and said to them, “You exact usury, everyone of his brother.” I held a great assembly against them.
Nehemiah 5:17Moreover there were at my table, of the Jews and the rulers, one hundred fifty men, in addition to those who came to us from among the nations that were around us.
Nehemiah 7:5My God put into my heart to gather together the nobles, and the rulers, and the people, that they might be listed by genealogy. I found the book of the genealogy of those who came up at the first, and I found this written in it:
Nehemiah 12:40So the two companies of those who gave thanks in God’s house stood, and I, and the half of the rulers with me;
Nehemiah 13:11Then I contended with the rulers, and said, “Why is God’s house forsaken?” I gathered them together, and set them in their place.
Isaiah 41:25“I have raised up one from the north, and he has come, from the rising of the sun, one who calls on my name, and he shall come on rulers as on mortar, and as the potter treads clay.
Jeremiah 51:28Prepare against her the nations, the kings of the Medes, its governors, and all its deputies, and all the land of their dominion!
Jeremiah 51:23With you I will break in pieces the shepherd and his flock. With you I will break in pieces the farmer and his yoke. With you I will break in pieces governors and deputies.
Jeremiah 51:57I will make her princes, her wise men, her governors, her deputies, and her mighty men drunk. They will sleep a perpetual sleep, and not wake up,” says the King, whose name is Yahweh of Armies.
Ezekiel 23:6who were clothed with blue, governors and rulers, all of them desirable young men, horsemen riding on horses.
Ezekiel 23:12She lusted after the Assyrians, governors and rulers, her neighbors, clothed most gorgeously, horsemen riding on horses, all of them desirable young men.
Ezekiel 23:23the Babylonians and all the Chaldeans, Pekod, Shoa, Koa, and all the Assyrians with them; all of them desirable young men, governors and rulers, princes and men of renown, all of them riding on horses.