Administrative Jurisdictions and Posts

In the third century bc, Judaea was considered part of a larger region known as “Coele-Syria.” This term has generally been understood to mean either “Hollow Syria,” reflecting its location between two mountain ranges, or “All of Syria,” based on an Aramaic term (Grabbe, Coming of the Greeks, 173–74).

The outer territories—including Palestine—were divided into individual provinces (ὑπαρχείαι, hyparcheiai). Due to the lack of historical sources, the government structure in Palestine under the Ptolemies remains unclear. The following offices were of special significance:

• The provincial governor (στρατηγός, stratēgos), who was charged with both military and civil responsibilities

• The chief financial administrator (οἰκονόμος, oikonomos)

• the “primary administrative officers at the village level” (κωμάρχης, kōmarchēs; Bagnall, Administration of Ptolemaic Possessions, 19)

• the tax farmer or tax collector (τελώνης, telōnēs)—typically wealthy residents of Palestine who ensured taxes were collected