Dictionaries :: Sceptre

Easton's Bible Dictionary

Sceptre:

(Heb. shebet = Gr. skeptron), properly a staff or rod. As a symbol of authority, the use of the sceptre originated in the idea that the ruler was as a shepherd of his people (Gen 49:10; Num 24:17; Psa 45:6; Isa 14:5). There is no example on record of a sceptre having ever been actually handled by a Jewish king.

Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words

Sceptre:

For SCEPTRE see ROD

Smith's Bible Dictionary

Sceptre:

This word originally meant a rod or staff. It was thence specifically applied to the shepherd's crook (Leviticus 27:32; Micah 7:14) and to the wand or sceptre of a ruler. The allusions to it are all of a metaphorical character, and describe it simply as one of the insignia of supreme power (Genesis 49:10). We are consequently unable to describe the article from any biblical notice we may infer that it was probably made of wood. The sceptre of the Persian monarch is described as "golden" i.e. probably of massive gold (Esther 4:11).