The Aramaic word gedabar (or gizbar in later usage) refers to a treasurer or keeper of the treasury. It appears in Ezra 7:21 in the Aramaic portions of Scripture, where Artaxerxes commands his treasurers west of the Euphrates to assist Ezra. The word reflects Persian administrative terminology adopted into Biblical Aramaic.
The appearance of this administrative term in Scripture reminds us that God works through the structures of earthly governments and institutions to accomplish His redemptive purposes. Artaxerxes' treasurers were commanded to provision God's temple — pagan civil servants serving the divine agenda. The role of treasurer also foreshadows stewardship theology: those entrusted with material resources bear responsibility to use them in service of God's kingdom.