Ezekiel 1:8 - "Cyrus, king of Persia, brought these out in charge of Mithredath the treasurer, who counted them out to Sheshbazzar the prince of Judah."

Romans 16:23 - "Gaius, who is host to me and to the whole church, greets you. Erastus, the city treasurer, and our brother, Quartus, greet you."

The treasurer was an important officer in Oriental courts, probably having charge of the receipts and disbursements of the public treasury. This title was given to this officer of state and indicated that he was a man of great importance. He was frequently considered superior to all others, and this position was sometimes filled by the heir to the throne.

This is a logical step, if we consider the type of treasure for which this man was responsible. These royal - and also sacred - treasures consisted of money, jewels, gold, documents, silver, spices, shields, grain, wine, oil, cattle, sheep, and on and on. Quite a bookkeeping chore! And that it was - so treasurers were probably men who were familiar with various forms of bookkeeping.

And then there were the sacred treasures. These included basins of silver and gold, money, vessels, bowls, priestly garments, altars, candlesticks, and all the rest of the myriads of objects necessary for the worship services.

Can you imagine what it must have been like in the hey-day of Solomon’s reign, when he had a whole city for just his horses, not to mention all the rest of the wealth of which he was possessed! For one man to keep track of all that would be like the Secretary of the Treasury today having to account for every penny daily. That’s patently an impossible task. And, just as our Treasury department has many sub-divisions, so too the treasurer has many sub-treasurers, or sub-stewards, working under him.

At that, it was quite a job keeping track of all the king’s and the priests’ possessions. But we know that it must have been done accurately, because we have mention in various places of accountings that were given to the king. And, considering the prerogotives of kings and the well-known disposition of most of them, it would seem that a treasurer of judgment was also a man of scrupulous honesty.