unlikely that we can clearly distinguish between any of these terms either in terms of rank or function. On the basis of derivation van der Ploeg, followed by McKenzie, suggests that שׂרים refers to military commanders, but it seems better to say that the word שׂרים tends to be chosen when military action is in the writer’s mind. Under the monarchy sarim comes to mean royal official, but this only shows that all of these words can be used to refer to whatever powers there be, without thereby changing