Bible Dictionaries
Province
Holman Bible Dictionary
A Roman political region. During New Testament times there were three types of provinces. Imperial districts were governed directly by the emperor. Senatorial provinces answered to the senate. A special type province were those composed of rugged terrain or newly conquered people. These demanded more strict control and were under the control of an imperial procurator. Judea was a special province because the Jews so fiercely hated the Roman domination. Israel practiced a type of provincial system during Ahab's reign (1 Kings 20:14-15 ). Later, the Babylonians and Persians used such districts in Palestine (Esther 4:11 ). The Romans refined the system dramatically and used it to maintain control over their vast empire. See Government; Rome.
Copyright Statement
These dictionary topics are from the Holman Bible Dictionary, published by Broadman & Holman, 1991. All rights reserved. Used by permission of Broadman & Holman.
Bibliography Information
Butler, Trent C. Editor. Entry for 'Province'. Holman Bible Dictionary. https://www.studylight.org/dictionaries/eng/hbd/p/province.html. 1991.