Charles Ellicott Commentary 1 Kings 10:15

"besides [that which] the traders [brought], and the traffic of the merchants, and of all the kings of the mingled people, and of the governors of the country." — 1 Kings 10:15 (ASV)

The governors of the country. The word “governor” (pechah) is supposed to be of foreign origin, possibly cognate with the Sanskrit word paksha, “friend.” It is used constantly of foreign officers, or satraps: as in 1 Kings 20:24, of the Syrian officers; in 2 Kings 18:24 and Isaiah 36:9, of the Assyrians; in Jeremiah 51:23, of the Babylonians; in Esther 8:9, Nehemiah 5:14, Nehemiah 5:18, Nehemiah 12:26, etc., of the Persians. Therefore, it would seem to be used here not for the officers in the land of Israel described in 1 Kings 4:0, but for governors (Israelite or foreign) in tributary countries; and it may possibly be a word of later origin than the age of Solomon, introduced by the compiler of the book.