[Heb. tirshāthā, a. OPersian tarsāta ‘his reverence,’ in LXX ἀθερσασθά (-αθά), Vulg. athersatha (i.e., hat-tirshāthā).] The title of an ancient Persian viceroy or prefect; applied in O. T. to Nehemiah.
1382. Wyclif, Ezra ii. 63. Athersatha [1388 Attersatha]. Ibid., Neh. viii. 9. Athirsata.
1535. Coverdale, Ezra ii. 63. Hathirsatha. Ibid. (1611). The Tirshatha.
1890. P. H. Hunter, After the Exile, II. ix. 192. He [Nehemiah] stood forward, with all the authority that belonged to him as Tirshatha and as popular favourite, to pacify and reassure the multitude.
1902. Hastings’ Dict. Bible, IV. 779. The Tirshatha appears to have been a royal commissioner … invested with the full powers of a satrap or viceroy, and employed on a special mission.
