THE FULL ARTICLE — from the International Standard Bible Encyclopedia

The International Standard Bible Encyclopedia (1915), general editor James Orr — public domain, printed whole.

prin'-si-pal: Appears in the King James Version as a translation of nine Hebrew words (fewer in the Revised Version (British and American)), in one case (Isa 28:25) being used quite wrongly and in 2Ki 25:19 (Jer 52:25); 1Ch 24:31 gives a wrong sense (all corrected in the Revised Version (British and American)). In 1Ki 4:5, "principal officer" (the American Standard Revised Version "chief minister") is an arbitrary translation of kohen to avoid "priest" (so the English Revised Version; compare 2Sa 8:18).