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captain of the guard
captain of the guard
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Boyd’s Bible Dictionary
:
(
head
). Title for a leader of a band of
ten
, fifty, hundred or thousand (
Deut. 1:15
15
So I took the chief of your tribes, wise men, and known, and made them heads over you, captains over thousands, and captains over hundreds, and captains over fifties, and captains over tens, and officers among your tribes. (Deuteronomy 1:15)
;
Josh. 10:24
24
And it came to pass, when they brought out those kings unto Joshua, that Joshua called for all the men of Israel, and said unto the captains of the men of war which went with him, Come near, put your feet upon the necks of these kings. And they came near, and put their feet upon the necks of them. (Joshua 10:24)
;
Judg. 11:6,11
6
And they said unto Jephthah, Come, and be our captain, that we may fight with the children of Ammon. (Judges 11:6)
11
Then Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and captain over them: and Jephthah uttered all his words before the Lord in Mizpeh. (Judges 11:11)
). Also a civic meaning (
Isa. 1:10; 3:3
10
Hear the word of the Lord, ye rulers of Sodom; give ear unto the law of our God, ye people of Gomorrah. (Isaiah 1:10)
3
The captain of fifty, and the honorable man, and the counsellor, and the cunning artificer, and the eloquent orator. (Isaiah 3:3)
). “
Captain
of the
Guard
” (
Acts 28:16
16
And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him. (Acts 28:16)
), was commander of the Praetorian troop of
Rome
. “Captain of
the Temple
” (
Acts 4:1
1
And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, (Acts 4:1)
), was chief of the Temple watchmen.
“Captain” From
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
In
the
Old
Testament
this
word is
used
for
one filling any
office
of
rule
or
command
: as the
head
of a tribe (
Num. 2:3-29
3
And on the east side toward the rising of the sun shall they of the standard of the camp of Judah pitch throughout their armies: and Nahshon the son of Amminadab shall be captain of the children of Judah.
4
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and fourteen thousand and six hundred.
5
And those that do pitch next unto him shall be the tribe of Issachar: and Nethaneel the son of Zuar shall be captain of the children of Issachar.
6
And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and four thousand and four hundred.
7
Then the tribe of Zebulun: and Eliab the son of Helon shall be captain of the children of Zebulun.
8
And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were fifty and seven thousand and four hundred.
9
All that were numbered in the camp of Judah were an hundred thousand and fourscore thousand and six thousand and four hundred, throughout their armies. These shall first set forth.
10
On the south side shall be the standard of the camp of Reuben according to their armies: and the captain of the children of Reuben shall be Elizur the son of Shedeur.
11
And his host, and those that were numbered thereof, were forty and six thousand and five hundred.
12
And those which pitch by him shall be the tribe of Simeon: and the captain of the children of Simeon shall be Shelumiel the son of Zurishaddai.
13
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were fifty and nine thousand and three hundred.
14
Then the tribe of Gad: and the captain of the sons of Gad shall be Eliasaph the son of Reuel.
15
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and five thousand and six hundred and fifty.
16
All that were numbered in the camp of Reuben were an hundred thousand and fifty and one thousand and four hundred and fifty, throughout their armies. And they shall set forth in the second rank.
17
Then the tabernacle of the congregation shall set forward with the camp of the Levites in the midst of the camp: as they encamp, so shall they set forward, every man in his place by their standards.
18
On the west side shall be the standard of the camp of Ephraim according to their armies: and the captain of the sons of Ephraim shall be Elishama the son of Ammihud.
19
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty thousand and five hundred.
20
And by him shall be the tribe of Manasseh: and the captain of the children of Manasseh shall be Gamaliel the son of Pedahzur.
21
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and two thousand and two hundred.
22
Then the tribe of Benjamin: and the captain of the sons of Benjamin shall be Abidan the son of Gideoni.
23
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were thirty and five thousand and four hundred.
24
All that were numbered of the camp of Ephraim were an hundred thousand and eight thousand and an hundred, throughout their armies. And they shall go forward in the third rank.
25
The standard of the camp of Dan shall be on the north side by their armies: and the captain of the children of Dan shall be Ahiezer the son of Ammishaddai.
26
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were threescore and two thousand and seven hundred.
27
And those that encamp by him shall be the tribe of Asher: and the captain of the children of Asher shall be Pagiel the son of Ocran.
28
And his host, and those that were numbered of them, were forty and one thousand and five hundred.
29
Then the tribe of Naphtali: and the captain of the children of Naphtali shall be Ahira the son of Enan. (Numbers 2:3‑29)
); commander of an
army
, and so forth. The
person
who appeared to
Joshua
as “a
man
” declared himself to be “
captain
of the
Lord
’s
host
.” He told Joshua to remove his
shoes
from his feet, for the ground was
holy
, evincing that he was
God
’s representative to
lead
their warfare (
Josh. 5:14-15
14
And he said, Nay; but as captain of the host of the Lord am I now come. And Joshua fell on his face to the earth, and did worship, and said unto him, What saith my lord unto his servant?
15
And the captain of the Lord's host said unto Joshua, Loose thy shoe from off thy foot; for the place whereon thou standest is holy. And Joshua did so. (Joshua 5:14‑15)
). In the
New
Testament the Lord is called “Captain” of our
salvation
, ἀρχηγός, “
chief
leader” (
Heb. 2:10
10
For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings. (Hebrews 2:10)
).
There
was
also
a “CAPTAIN OF
THE
TEMPLE
,” στρατηγός (
Luke 22:4, 52
4
And he went his way, and communed with the chief priests and captains, how he might betray him unto them. (Luke 22:4)
52
Then Jesus said unto the chief priests, and captains of the temple, and the elders, which were come to him, Be ye come out, as against a thief, with swords and staves? (Luke 22:52)
;
Acts 4:1
1
And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, (Acts 4:1)
;
Acts 5:24, 26
24
Now when the high priest and the captain of the temple and the chief priests heard these things, they doubted of them whereunto this would grow. (Acts 5:24)
26
Then went the captain with the officers, and brought them without violence: for they feared the people, lest they should have been stoned. (Acts 5:26)
). This word is literally “the leader of an army”; it is also applied to magistrates (
Acts 16:20
20
And brought them to the magistrates, saying, These men, being Jews, do exceedingly trouble our city, (Acts 16:20)
), but the captain of the temple was
set
not over the soldiers, but over the
priests
and
Levites
: (Compare Num. 32;
1 Chron. 9:11
11
And Azariah the son of Hilkiah, the son of Meshullam, the son of Zadok, the son of Meraioth, the son of Ahitub, the ruler of the house of God; (1 Chronicles 9:11)
;
Jer. 20:1
1
Now Pashur the son of Immer the priest, who was also chief governor in the house of the Lord, heard that Jeremiah prophesied these things. (Jeremiah 20:1)
).
THE CHIEF CAPTAIN or HIGH CAPTAIN is χιλίαρχος, lit. “Captain of a thousand,” applied to the chief of the soldiers in
Jerusalem
(Acts 21-25).
CAPTAIN OF THE
GUARD
(
Acts 28:16
16
And when we came to Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard: but Paul was suffered to dwell by himself with a soldier that kept him. (Acts 28:16)
), is στρατοπεδάρχης, properly “commander of a
camp
,” but here the prefect of the Prætorian Guard, an
officer
to whom state prisoners were entrusted at
Rome
.
“Guard” From
Concise Bible Dictionary
:
1.
mishmaath
, from “obedience,” a body-guard (
2 Sam. 23:23
23
He was more honorable than the thirty, but he attained not to the first three. And David set him over his guard. (2 Samuel 23:23)
;
1 Chron. 11:25
25
Behold, he was honorable among the thirty, but attained not to the first three: and David set him over his guard. (1 Chronicles 11:25)
).
2.
mishmar
, a place where watch was kept (
Neh. 4:22-23
22
Likewise at the same time said I unto the people, Let every one with his servant lodge within Jerusalem, that in the night they may be a guard to us, and labor on the day.
23
So neither I, nor my brethren, nor my servants, nor the men of the guard which followed me, none of us put off our clothes, saving that every one put them off for washing. (Nehemiah 4:22‑23)
;
Ezek. 38:7
7
Be thou prepared, and prepare for thyself, thou, and all thy company that are assembled unto thee, and be thou a guard unto them. (Ezekiel 38:7)
).
3.
ruts
, “to run,” runners, state couriers, who published edicts in the provinces, some of which would always be with the king (
1 Kings 14:27-28
27
And king Rehoboam made in their stead brazen shields, and committed them unto the hands of the chief of the guard, which kept the door of the king's house.
28
And it was so, when the king went into the house of the Lord, that the guard bare them, and brought them back into the guard chamber. (1 Kings 14:27‑28)
;
2 Kings 10:25
25
And it came to pass, as soon as he had made an end of offering the burnt offering, that Jehu said to the guard and to the captains, Go in, and slay them; let none come forth. And they smote them with the edge of the sword; and the guard and the captains cast them out, and went to the city of the house of Baal. (2 Kings 10:25)
;
2 Kings 11:4-19
4
And the seventh year Jehoiada sent and fetched the rulers over hundreds, with the captains and the guard, and brought them to him into the house of the Lord, and made a covenant with them, and took an oath of them in the house of the Lord, and showed them the king's son.
5
And he commanded them, saying, This is the thing that ye shall do; A third part of you that enter in on the sabbath shall even be keepers of the watch of the king's house;
6
And a third part shall be at the gate of Sur; and a third part at the gate behind the guard: so shall ye keep the watch of the house, that it be not broken down.
7
And two parts of all you that go forth on the sabbath, even they shall keep the watch of the house of the Lord about the king.
8
And ye shall compass the king round about, every man with his weapons in his hand: and he that cometh within the ranges, let him be slain: and be ye with the king as he goeth out and as he cometh in.
9
And the captains over the hundreds did according to all things that Jehoiada the priest commanded: and they took every man his men that were to come in on the sabbath, with them that should go out on the sabbath, and came to Jehoiada the priest.
10
And to the captains over hundreds did the priest give king David's spears and shields, that were in the temple of the Lord.
11
And the guard stood, every man with his weapons in his hand, round about the king, from the right corner of the temple to the left corner of the temple, along by the altar and the temple.
12
And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king.
13
And when Athaliah heard the noise of the guard and of the people, she came to the people into the temple of the Lord.
14
And when she looked, behold, the king stood by a pillar, as the manner was, and the princes and the trumpeters by the king, and all the people of the land rejoiced, and blew with trumpets: and Athaliah rent her clothes, and cried, Treason, Treason.
15
But Jehoiada the priest commanded the captains of the hundreds, the officers of the host, and said unto them, Have her forth without the ranges: and him that followeth her kill with the sword. For the priest had said, Let her not be slain in the house of the Lord.
16
And they laid hands on her; and she went by the way by the which the horses came into the king's house: and there was she slain.
17
And Jehoiada made a covenant between the Lord and the king and the people, that they should be the Lord's people; between the king also and the people.
18
And all the people of the land went into the house of Baal, and brake it down; his altars and his images brake they in pieces thoroughly, and slew Mattan the priest of Baal before the altars. And the priest appointed officers over the house of the Lord.
19
And he took the rulers over hundreds, and the captains, and the guard, and all the people of the land; and they brought down the king from the house of the Lord, and came by the way of the gate of the guard to the king's house. And he sat on the throne of the kings. (2 Kings 11:4‑19)
;
2 Chron. 12:10-11
10
Instead of which king Rehoboam made shields of brass, and committed them to the hands of the chief of the guard, that kept the entrance of the king's house.
11
And when the king entered into the house of the Lord, the guard came and fetched them, and brought them again into the guard chamber. (2 Chronicles 12:10‑11)
).
4.
tabbach
, slaughterer,
executioner
, attached to the body-guard of the king (
Gen. 37:36
36
And the Midianites sold him into Egypt unto Potiphar, an officer of Pharaoh's, and captain of the guard. (Genesis 37:36)
;
Dan. 2:14
14
Then Daniel answered with counsel and wisdom to Arioch the captain of the king's guard, which was gone forth to slay the wise men of Babylon: (Daniel 2:14)
). This
Hebrew
word occurs in every other
passage
where
the word
“guard” occurs.
Strong’s Dictionary of Greek Words:
Number:
4759
(
find all occurrences in KJV Bible
)
Greek:
στρατοπεδάρχης
Transliteration:
stratopedarches
Phonic:
strat-op-ed-ar’-khace
Meaning:
from
4760
and
757
; a ruler of an army, i.e. (specially), a Praetorian praefect
KJV Usage:
captain of the guard
Call: 1-630-543-1441
“Study to show thyself approved unto God, … rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).
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