tng a common interest with the Israelites in resisting (ovfiflovXiov) of Acts xxv. 12 we recognise the assess-
the attacks of Syria. They are specially distinguished ors who were appointed to take part in the judicial
in ver. 15 from " the children of Israel." Not the hosts functions of the governor. The authority of the lcga-
of Ahab, but the youngest warriors ("armor-bearers," ins proconsul, or procurator, extended, it need hardly
Keil, ad loc.~) of the land of Jephthah and Elijah, fight- be said, to capital punishment (subject, in the case of
Lag with a fearless faith, were to carry oil' the glory of Roman citizens, to the right of appeal), and, in most
the battle (comp. Ewald, Gesck. iii. 492 . cases, the power of inflicting it belonged to him exclu-
Rfore commonly the word is used of the divisions of sively. It was necessary for the Sanhedrim to gain
the Chaldaean (Dan. ii, 19; iii. 1,30) and the Persian Pilate's consent to the execution of our Lord (John
kingdom (Ezra ii, 1 ; Neh.vii,6; Esth. i, 1,22; ii, 3, xviii, 31). The strict letter of the law forbade govern-
etc.). The occurrence of t lie word in Eccles. ii, 8; v, 8, ors of provinces to take their wives with them, but the
lias been noted as an indication of the later date now cases ol Pilate's wife (Matt, xxvii, 19) and Drusilla ( Acta
frequently ascribed to that book. The tacts as to the xxiv, 24) show that it had fallen into disuse. Tacitus
administration of the Persian provinces which come (A run. iii, 33, 34) records an unsuccessful attempt to re-
within our view in these passages are chiefly these: vive the old practice.— Smith. See Proconsi t.
Each province had its own governor, who cpmmuni- PROVINCE is, in ecclesiastical language, the juris-
cated more or less regularly with the central authority diction or an archbishop. See Diocese.
for instructions (Ezra iv and v). 'lhus latnai. govern- _ . , _, , . . ,
or of the provinces on the right hank of the Euphrates, Provincial. Ihe local sup. nor of the monasteries
applied to Darius to know how he was to act as to the Cabb°t> guardian, prior, etc. - stands und. r the supen is-
conflicting claims of the Apharsachites and the -bus '-'". >e distort sup, norsorrftfmtor*; these are sub-
(Ezrav). Each provincehad itsown system offinance, ordinated to the superiors of the province, oi provincials,
subject to the king's direction (Herod, iii, 89). The who are themselves under the direction of the,
"treasurer" was ordered to spend a given amount upon "J l!" '"'/"- »"' head "' ""' whole community,
the Israelite- 1 Ezra \ii. 22), and to exempt them from Provincial Councils is the name given to the
all taxes (vii. 24). See Tax. The total number of synods held by the bishops of a single ecclesiastical
the provinces is given at. 127 (Esth. i, 1; viii, 9). province, and presided over by the metropolitan. The
Through the whole extent of the kingdom there was ecclesiastical superior of the province convokes the coun-
carried something like a postal system. The king's cou- cil. The resolutions of provincial councils in matters of
riers Q3i/3\io0opoi, the dyyapot ofHerod.viii, 98) con- discipline have legal force only within the limits of their
veyed his letters or decrees (Esth. i. 22; iii. bit. From own province. In respect to matters of faith, tin ir ri- al] provinces concubines were collected for his harem (ii, I olutions, like those of the national councils, are decisive
3). Horses, mules, or dromedaries were employed on only when they have been confirmed by the pope and
this service (viii, 10). (Comp. Herod, viii, 98 ; Xenoph. accepted by the whole Church.
Cyrop. viii, (J; Ileeren's /'< rrians, eh. ii.) The word is used, it must be remembered, of the smaller sections of a satrapy rather than of the satrapy itself. While the
provi s are 127, the satrapies are only 20 (Herod.
iii, 89). The .lews who returned from Babylon are de- scribed as "children of the province" (F./.ra ii. 1 ; Neb.
Provincial Synod. See Synod. Provisio Canonica. See Provision. Provision (Lat. provisio) is, in canon law, the be- stowal of an ecclesiastical I" i efia i q. \ .).
I. /// the Roman Catholic Church it involves the reg-
vii. 6), and bad a separate governor [see Tirshatha j ular collation (q. v.)ofthe ecclesiastical functions. Any
of its ecclesiastical offices can only be thus Lawfully ob- tained from a competent superior.
1. Extent and Classification. — (1.) The "provision" includes three stages — (a) the designation of the per- son on whom the benefice is bestowed son(p~); (b) the collation of the office itself (collatio sire institutio canonica ), for higher offices by papal confirma- tion, for inferior functions by episcopal institution ; and i. i the act of putting the nominee in possession of the office or the prebend, called, win n he is bishop, intkroni- aiion, when he is a canon or other prebendary, installa-
of their own race (Ezra ii, 63; Neh. v, 14; viii, 9)
while they were subject to the satrap (TAB) of the w hole province west of the Euphrates (Ezra v, 7; vi, 6).
2. (Eirap%ia.) In the New Test, we are brought into contact with the administration of the provinces of the Koman empire. The classification given by Strain. (xvii, p. 840) of pio\ inces I lirapxlai I supposed to nerd military control, and therefore placed under the imme- diate government of the ( \esar. and those still belong- ing theoretically to the republic, and administered by