גִּזְבָּר
𐤂𐤆𐤁𐤓
gizbâr
H1489 noun
SILEX Entry
Definition
A public official responsible for the supervision and management of royal or temple finances; an overseer of treasury funds or resources. In biblical contexts, refers specifically to officers entrusted with the financial administration of temple or state revenues, often under a Persian imperial bureaucracy.
Semantic Range
treasurer, financial administrator, official in charge of temple or state treasury
Root / Etymology
Borrowed from Old Persian *ganzabara- ('treasurer', from 'ganza-' meaning 'treasure, treasury' + '-bara-' meaning 'bearer, carrier'), not of native Hebrew origin. The word reflects administrative vocabulary introduced during the Persian period.
Historical & Contextual Notes
The term גִּזְבָּר (gizbâr) appears exclusively in postexilic biblical texts (notably Ezra and Nehemiah), denoting financial officials of the Second Temple, typically functioning under Persian governance. Its usage reflects the incorporation of Persian administrative structures and terminology into Judean society following the return from Babylonian exile. Unlike earlier Israelite or Judahite roles associated with the management of the sanctuary or royal treasury (such as סֹפֵר 'scribe' or שֹׁטֵר 'official'), גִּזְבָּר is distinctly associated with the postexilic Judahite community and is not attested in preexilic sources. English translations as 'treasurer' approximate the sense but may obscure the Persian administrative provenance and the specific postexilic context. The analogous Persian and Aramaic terms appear in extra-biblical sources from the Achaemenid empire; this borrowing reflects broader patterns of linguistic and bureaucratic influence during this historical period.
Original Strong's Gloss (1890)
of foreign derivation; treasurer; treasurer.
Bantu Hebrew
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גזבר (g-z-b-r) — treasure-bearing, carrying valuables, treasury oversight
Word Forms
1 distinct form
| SIDANCE | Surface | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 | Occurrences |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1489-01 |
הַ/גִּזְבָּ֑ר | hagizebar | HTd/Ncmsa |
the treasurer | the treasury-overseer | the treasurer | 1 |
Occurrences in Scripture
1 occurrence
| SIDANCE | Reference | Word | Transliteration | Morphology | Common | SIBI-P1 | SIBI-P2 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
H1489-01 |
Ezra 1:8 | הַ/גִּזְבָּ֑ר | hagizebar | HTd/Ncmsa |
the treasurer | the treasury-overseer | the treasurer |