The title of a public official who acted as judge and administrator of a given district. King Artaxerxes ordered Ezra to select magistrates along with judges to govern the people when they returned to Palestine (Ezra 7:25). This official was one of the officers of Nebuchadnezzar’s court invited to the dedication feast (Daniel 3:2–3). Luke 12:58 portrayed the magistrate as a ruling authority whose verdict was final.
During the Roman era, each colony had two magistrates (called duumviri). They judged crimes against the state. So, Paul and Silas were brought before the magistrates at Philippi. They were accused of advocating customs unacceptable to the Romans (Acts 16:20–38). Before this duumvir, they were ordered to be stripped, beaten, and thrown into prison. A chief magistrate was sometimes called a "praetor" (strategos in the Greek). It was a special title for a lead duumvir.