Word Study for H4083 (מְדִינָה)

mᵉdîynâh /med-ee-naw'/ Ask about this word

Root(Aramaic) corresponding to מְדִינָה

Meaning(properly, a judgeship, i.e. jurisdiction; by implication, a district (as ruled by a judge); generally, a region)

KJV usageprovince.

Word Study

In depth

A plain-language study of mᵉdîynâh — the range of meaning it carries, how Scripture actually uses it, and where it points. Written for readers who don’t know the original language.

Core Meaning & Semantic Range

The Aramaic word mᵉdîynâh, represented by H4083, is the term for a province. It appears 11 times across 11 unique verses. The word's base definition refers to a judgeship or jurisdiction, highlighting its use as a term for a district under specific rule, generally a region or province within a larger kingdom.

Biblical Occurrences & Contextual Analysis

In the biblical narrative, H4083 consistently refers to a formal administrative region under the authority of a king. It is most frequently used to identify the "province of Babylon," which serves as the setting for pivotal events in the book of Daniel, including the erection of Nebuchadnezzar's golden image Daniel 3:1. This province is the domain where Daniel is made a ruler Daniel 2:48 and where his companions are put in charge of its affairs (Daniel 2:49, Daniel 3:12). The term also designates other distinct territories, such as the "province of Judea" Ezra 5:8 and the "province of the Medes," where an official record was found Ezra 6:2.

Related Words & Concepts

Several related words clarify the administrative context of a province:

H4430 melek (a king): This is the supreme authority who rules over the provinces. The king commands the rulers of the provinces Daniel 3:2 and has the power to appoint individuals like Daniel over the entire province of Babylon Daniel 2:48.
H5460 çᵉgan (governor): Defined as "a prefect of a province," these are the officials who administer the region. The king gathered governors and other rulers from the provinces to attend the dedication of his image Daniel 3:2.
H7984 shilṭôwn (ruler): This word for "a potentate" is used to describe the collective leadership of the administrative districts. In Daniel, "all the rulers of the provinces" were summoned by King Nebuchadnezzar (Daniel 3:2, Daniel 3:3).
H7149 qiryâʼ (city): This term for a city is used in contrast to a province. In Ezra, a letter to the king warns that a rebellious city could be hurtful to kings and provinces, showing the relationship between a city and the larger region it belongs to Ezra 4:15.

Theological Significance

The narrative weight of H4083 is significant in understanding the political landscape of Daniel and Ezra.

Administrative Framework: The province is the fundamental unit of imperial government described in the text. It is the jurisdiction from which resources are gathered Ezra 7:16 and officials are summoned, demonstrating the organized power of the king over his vast territory Daniel 3:2.
Sphere of Influence and Testing: For God's people in exile, the province is the arena for both promotion and trial. Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego are given authority over the affairs of the province of Babylon Daniel 2:49, placing them in positions of significant influence within the gentile empire, where their faith is ultimately tested.
Geographic and Political Identity: The term mᵉdîynâh provides specific geographic and political context to the events. It distinguishes between regions with unique identities, such as Judea Ezra 5:8 and Babylon Daniel 3:1, grounding the narrative in the concrete administrative reality of the Persian and Babylonian empires.

Summary

In summary, H4083 defines a province not just as a location, but as a distinct sphere of jurisdiction within an empire. Its use in Daniel and Ezra is crucial for establishing the political backdrop against which the characters operate. The word mᵉdîynâh frames the narrative of exile and return, illustrating how God's faithful servants navigated and influenced the official administrative structures of the world's ruling powers.

How the KJV Renders It

Translation

Strong’s lists the renderings but not their weight. These are counted from the King James text of the tagged verses — the bar under each is how often the translators actually reached for it. Select one to filter the occurrences below.

Grammatical Forms

Morphology

In the Hebrew Old Testament, this word appears as a noun across 11 occurrences, inflected in 4 grammatical forms — each row is one form, and the bar is how often it is that form. Select any form to read what each part of its name means, and to filter the occurrence list to it.

מְדִינַת
מְדִינָתָ
מְדִינְתָּ
מְדִנָן

Theographic Context

Context

The people, places, and span of history the verses containing this word touch on — drawn from the theographic tagging of Scripture. Select any name to isolate its verses in the occurrence list.

Biblical Distribution

Distribution

Appears in 11 verses across 2 of the 39 books. Most frequent in Daniel (7 verses); never once in the other 37.

Ezra

Daniel

Every Occurrence

Concordance

Every verse where the word is tagged in the King James text. Filter by book, by the English word the translators chose, by grammatical form, or search within the verses.

Sources. Definition and numbering: James Strong, Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890). Morphology: STEPBible / Tyndale House (CC BY). Verse tagging: the King James text keyed to Strong’s numbers. Every count on this page is computed from the tagged corpus, not estimated.