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מְדִינָה

𐤌𐤃𐤉𐤍𐤄

mᵉdîynâh

H4083 noun

SILEX Entry

Root דון to judge, govern, exercise authority, rule

Definition

Administrative region, territory, or province—an official geographic or political unit governed within a larger kingdom or empire, often with its own local authority or jurisdiction. In various biblical contexts, refers to a defined district or province within imperial structures such as the Persian or Babylonian empires, as well as subordinate administrative regions elsewhere. The term highlights the established or recognized civil boundaries and governmental oversight.

Semantic Range

province, administrative district, jurisdictional territory, region, governmental area, specifically a province under imperial administration

Root / Etymology

From the root דון (dyn, 'to judge, govern, exercise authority'). The noun מְדִינָה is derived from this root, abstracting the idea of governance or jurisdiction into a concrete realm—'an administered territory' or 'province.' In Aramaic and later Hebrew, this sense was commonly used for politically-defined regions within large imperial structures. The term develops from the notion of jurisdiction (that which is subject to judgment/government) to a recognized province or district.

Historical & Contextual Notes

מְדִינָה occurs predominantly in exilic and post-exilic biblical books (notably Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther, Daniel), reflecting the administrative divisions characteristic of the Persian and later empires; it rarely appears in pre-exilic texts. Unlike other geographic terms (e.g., גְּבוּל 'border', אֶרֶץ 'land/country'), מְדִינָה denotes specifically an official governmental district under imperial authority. In the book of Esther, for example, the '127 provinces' refer to administrative regions within the Persian Empire. While the term is sometimes translated 'province' or 'district' in English Bibles, earlier Israelite administrative terms before the exile differ (e.g., שֵׁבֶט 'tribe', מַטֵּה 'clan/family group'). The later English/Jewish concept of 'province' should not be retroactively applied to earlier Israelite territorial divisions. The Aramaic usage (especially in Daniel and Ezra) contributes to its post-exilic prominence.

Original Strong's Gloss (1890)

(Aramaic) corresponding to מְדִינָה; {properly, a judgeship, i.e. jurisdiction; by implication, a district (as ruled by a judge); generally, a region}; province.

Bantu Hebrew

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Root Family

דון (d-w-n) — judge, govern, exercise authority, rule

Strong's Lemma SIBI-P1
H3036 יָדוֹן and He-will-judge

Word Forms

6 distinct forms

SIDANCE Surface Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1 Occurrences
H4083-02 מְדִינַ֣ת medinat ANcfsc province governed province of 4
H4083-01 בִּ/מְדִינַ֖ת bimedinat AR/Ncfsc in the province in governed province of 2
H4083-03 מְדִֽינָתָ֑/א medinata ANcfsd/Td of the provinces the governed province 2
H4083-05 מְדִינְתָּ֖/ה medinetah ANcfsd/Td province-its her governed province 1
H4083-04 מְדִֽינְתָּ/א֙ medineta ANcfsd/Td province-the the governed province 1
H4083-06 וּ/מְדִנָ֔ן umedinan AC/Ncfpa and provinces and governed provinces 1

Occurrences in Scripture

11 total occurrences

SIDANCE Reference Word Transliteration Morphology Common SIBI-P1
H4083-02 Daniel 2:48 מְדִינַ֣ת medinat ANcfsc province governed province of
H4083-02 Daniel 2:49 מְדִינַ֣ת medinat ANcfsc province governed province of
H4083-01 Daniel 3:1 בִּ/מְדִינַ֖ת bimedinat AR/Ncfsc in the province of in governed province of
H4083-03 Daniel 3:2 מְדִֽינָתָ֑/א medinata ANcfsd/Td of the provinces the governed province
H4083-03 Daniel 3:3 מְדִֽינָתָ֔/א medinata ANcfsd/Td of the provinces the governed province
H4083-02 Daniel 3:12 מְדִינַ֣ת medinat ANcfsc of the province governed province of
H4083-01 Daniel 3:30 בִּ/מְדִינַ֥ת bimedinat AR/Ncfsc in the province in governed province of
H4083-06 Ezra 4:15 וּ/מְדִנָ֔ן umedinan AC/Ncfpa and provinces and governed provinces
H4083-04 Ezra 5:8 מְדִֽינְתָּ/א֙ medineta ANcfsd/Td province-the the governed province
H4083-05 Ezra 6:2 מְדִינְתָּ֖/ה medinetah ANcfsd/Td province-its her governed province
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