Captain. In the Old Testament the rendering of a Hebrew word generally signifying a military officer. There were various ranks, from the captains of 50 to the captain of the host (or commander-in-chief). 1 Samuel 17:18; 2 Samuel 19:13; 2 Kings 1:9; 2 Kings 11:15. Captains of the guard are also mentioned. Genesis 37:36; 2 Kings 25:8. These were military officers, charged, it would seem, with the defence of the royal person, and with the execution of sentences pronounced by the king: comp. 1 Kings 2:29-34; 1 Kings 2:46. The officer in the New Testament, called a captain in Acts 28:16, was probably the commander of the prætorian troops at Rome, but the R. V. omits the clause containing the word. There is another Hebrew word translated sometimes "captain," Joshua 10:24, A. V. ("chiefs" in the R.V.), sometimes "ruler," Isaiah 3:6, which denotes both a military and a civil officer. The captain of the temple, Luke 22:4; Acts 4:1; Acts 5:24, was not a military man, but the chief of the priests and Levites that watched in the temple at night. Comp. Psalms 134:1. The word "captain" applied to our Lord, Hebrews 2:10, has not a military signification.
With more than 1,500 subjects and proper names defined and analyzed, this dictionary, authored by Dr. Edwin Rice, will provide unique insites into the Bible as it has since its introduction in 1893Wikipedia
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