This article "captain" will appear in the New Interpreter's Dictionary of the Bible.  This rough draft is not for citation.

CAPTAIN (r$#a, s8ar; braa, rab; rp'so, so4pe4r; #$)ro, ro4)s]; hxfpe@@%, peh[a4h; #$yli#f$, s]\\a43|<ys]; xili/arxoj, chiliarchos; strathgo/j, strate4gos; e)katonta/rxhj, ekatontarche4s, kubernh/thj, kyberne4te4s)

Typically a man with the authority of military command (an officer), but sometimes anyone in a position of authority. 

In contemporary translations of the Old and New Testaments, captain indicates four positions of authority: the captain of a small military unit, of an entire army, of a ship, and of the temple guard.

Captain of a Small Military Unit

The most common OT term for captain (r$#,a s8ar), often designates the leader of a small, sometimes elite, military unit, particularly the captain of the (royal) guard (Gen 37:36; 39:1; 40:3-4; 41:10, 12; 2 Kgs 11:4, 9, 10, 14, although braa (rab) designates the captain of the guard in Jer 52:19, 24), captain of a raiding band (2 Sam 4:2), captain of the chariots (1 Kgs 22:31-33; 2 Chr 18:30-32), and captain of 50 soldiers (2 Kgs 1:9-14; Isa 3:3) or of 100 soldiers (2 Kgs 11:15, 19; 2 Chr 23:9-14, 20).  The LXX anachronistically supplies the Greco-Roman term centurion (e)katonta/rxhj, ekatontarche4s) for captain of 100 in 2 Chr 23:14, but the terms are not parallel (see CENTURION).

The size of the military unit which a r$#a (s8ar) commanded is sometimes unspecified (Judg 7:25; 8:3; 1 Sam 22:2; 1 Kgs 9:22; Job 39:25).  When an individual’s military authority and position are ambiguous, other Hebrew terms are likely to appear (rp'so (so4pe4r); Judg 5:14; Isa 36:9; #$)ro (ro4)s]); Num 14:4; hxfpe@@% (peh[a4h); 2 Kgs 18:24; #$yli#f$, (s]\\a43|<ys); 1 Kgs 7:2, 17, 19; 2 Kgs 15:25).  In the Apocrypha and NT, xili/arxoj (chiliarchos) conveys this conception (1 Esd 1:9; Jdt 14:12; 1 Macc 16:19; Mark 6:21; John 18:12; Acts 21:31-33; 22:24-29; 23:10-22; 24:17; 25:23; Rev 6:15; 19:18).

Captain of the Army

A r$#a (s8ar) could command an entire army (Josh 5:14-15; 1 Sam 12:9, 14:50; 1 Kgs 4:13; 5:1; 26:26; Jer 40:7).  However, braa (rab) also commonly indicates the highest ranking officers (Jer 39:9-11, 13; 40:1-2, 5; 43:6; 52:12, 26, 30; Dan 2:14).  r$#a (s8ar) and braa (rab) can be used interchangably (2 Kgs 25:8-26:26).

Captain of a Boat

In the OT, braa (rab) designated the commander of Jonah’s ship (Jonah 1:6). In the NT, the commanders of Paul’s ship in Acts 27:11 and of the doomed trading vessels in Rev 18:17 are kubernh/thj (kyberne4te4s).

Captain of the Temple Police

 Luke narrates the participation of several captains of the temple guard (strathgo/j, strate4gos) in Jesus’ arrest (22:4, 52) and the participation of a single captain in opposition to the apostles’ early Christian message (Acts 4:1; 5:24-26).  Although little is known about these persons, Luke portrays their duties as quasi-military and not as religious.

See ARMOR-BEARER; CENTURION; CHARIOT; RABSHAKEH; RASSARIS; TEMPLE

Bibliography

Anglim, Simon, Rob Rice, Phyllis Jestice, Scott Rusch, and John Serrati.
      Fighting Techniques of the Ancient World (3000 B.C. to 500 A.D.). New

      York: Thomas Dunne, 2003.

Gabriel, Richard. The Military History of Ancient Israel. Westport: Praeger,

      2003.

Thomas E. Phillips