Bible Dictionary
TOPARCHY
A toparchy was a small administrative district or province. In the Maccabean period, several such districts were detached from Samaria and attached to Judea, which itself was divided into a number of toparchies.
Definition
A toparchy was a small administrative district or province. The term corresponds to a minor territorial division administered by an official.
Biblical Usage
In the Maccabean account, several toparchies were detached from Samaria and added to Judea. The word is rendered “government” in one version and “province” in another.
Historical Background
The source compares a toparchy with a modern Turkish nahieh administered by a mudir. Judea was divided into ten or eleven such districts, giving an indication of their scale.
Historical Bible Dictionaries
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (ISBE)
<p>to'-par-ki, top'-ar-ki (toparchia): the King James Version renders this Greek word by "government" in 1 Macc 11:28 (the King James Version margin and the Revised Version (British and American) "province"). It denotes a small administrative district corresponding to the modern Turkish Nahieh, administered by a Mudir. Three such districts were detached from the country of Samaria and added to Judea. Elsewhere (1 Macc 10:30; 11:34) the word used to describe them is nomos. Some idea of the size of these districts may be gathered from the fact that Judea was divided into ten (Pliny v.14) or eleven (BJ, III, iii, 5) toparchies.</p>