מֶ֫לֶךְ
king
Full lexicon entry — Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
From Brown-Driver-Briggs (BDB)
Where this word appears
See every Absolute-state word in the Hebrew Bible →
Grammar key — what these labels mean
Part of speech
- Noun
- A naming word — a person, place, thing, or idea.
Noun type
- Common
- A common noun — a general class of person, place, or thing (“king,” “city,” “water”), not a specific name.
State
- Absolute
- The independent form of a noun, not bound to a following word.
- Construct
- A noun bound to a following noun in a possessive / “of” relationship (the construct chain).
Gender
- Masculine
- Grammatically masculine.
Number
- Singular
- One.
- Plural
- More than one (in Hebrew, generally three or more).
56 verses where H4428 appears in the Absolute state in the Book of 1 Samuel. Filtered view — show all forms. Click any verse to open its interlinear word-by-word view. Verse text shown in the World English Bible for context — . Each verse’s Hebrew form is shown with its reference; the English is not keyword-highlighted, since the data carries no word-level English alignment. Use “Compare translations” on any verse to read it across multiple English versions. This concordance covers the Hebrew Bible; Septuagint (Greek Old Testament) occurrences are not indexed here.
1 Samuel
- 1 Samuel 8:5 מֶ֛לֶךְ n c ms and they said to him, Behold, you are old, and your sons don't walk in your ways: now make us a king to judge us like all the nations.
- 1 Samuel 8:6 מֶ֖לֶךְ n c ms But the thing displeased Samuel, when they said, Give us a king to judge us. Samuel prayed to Yahweh.
- 1 Samuel 8:9 הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms Now therefore listen to their voice: however you shall protest solemnly to them, and shall show them the manner of the king who shall reign over them.
- 1 Samuel 8:10 מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms Samuel told all the words of Yahweh to the people who asked of him a king.
- 1 Samuel 8:11 הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms He said, This will be the manner of the king who shall reign over you: he will take your sons, and appoint them to him, for his chariots, and to be his horsemen; and they shall run before his chariots;
- 1 Samuel 8:19 מֶ֖לֶךְ n c ms But the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel; and they said, No: but we will have a king over us,
- 1 Samuel 8:22 מֶ֑לֶךְ n c ms Yahweh said to Samuel, Listen to their voice, and make them a king. Samuel said to the men of Israel, Go you every man to his city.
- 1 Samuel 10:19 מֶ֖לֶךְ n c ms but you have this day rejected your God, who himself saves you out of all your calamities and your distresses; and you have said to him, [No], but set a king over us. Now therefore present yourselves before Yahweh by your tribes, and by your thousands.
- 1 Samuel 10:24 הַ/מֶּֽלֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms Samuel said to all the people, "You see him whom Yahweh has chosen, that there is none like him among all the people?" All the people shouted, and said, [Long] live the king.
- 1 Samuel 12:1 מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms Samuel said to all Israel, Behold, I have listened to your voice in all that you said to me, and have made a king over you.
- 1 Samuel 12:2 הַ/מֶּ֣לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms Now, behold, the king walks before you; and I am old and gray-headed; and, behold, my sons are with you: and I have walked before you from my youth to this day.
- 1 Samuel 12:12 מֶ֣לֶךְ מֶ֖לֶךְ מַלְכְּ/כֶֽם n c ms cs n c ms n c ms cs + sfx pers 2mp When you saw that Nahash the king of the children of Ammon came against you, you said to me, No, but a king shall reign over us; when Yahweh your God was your king.
- 1 Samuel 12:13 הַ/מֶּ֛לֶךְ מֶֽלֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms n c ms Now therefore see the king whom you have chosen, and whom you have asked for: and, behold, Yahweh has set a king over you.
- 1 Samuel 12:14 הַ/מֶּ֨לֶךְ֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms If you will fear Yahweh, and serve him, and listen to his voice, and not rebel against the commandment of Yahweh, and both you and also the king who reigns over you are followers of Yahweh your God, [well]:
- 1 Samuel 12:17 מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms Isn't it wheat harvest today? I will call to Yahweh, that he may send thunder and rain; and you shall know and see that your wickedness is great, which you have done in the sight of Yahweh, in asking you a king.
- 1 Samuel 12:19 מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms All the people said to Samuel, Pray for your servants to Yahweh your God, that we not die; for we have added to all our sins [this] evil, to ask us a king.
- 1 Samuel 15:1 לְ/מֶ֔לֶךְ prep + n c ms Samuel said to Saul, Yahweh sent me to anoint you to be king over his people, over Israel: now therefore listen you to the voice of the words of Yahweh.
- 1 Samuel 15:11 לְ/מֶ֔לֶךְ prep + n c ms It repents me that I have set up Saul to be king; for he is turned back from following me, and has not performed my commandments. Samuel was angry; and he cried to Yahweh all night.
- 1 Samuel 15:17 לְ/מֶ֖לֶךְ prep + n c ms Samuel said, "Though you were little in your own sight, weren't you made the head of the tribes of Israel? Yahweh anointed you king over Israel;
- 1 Samuel 15:23 מִ/מֶּֽלֶךְ prep + n c ms For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as idolatry and teraphim. Because you have rejected the word of Yahweh, he has also rejected you from being king.
- 1 Samuel 15:26 מֶ֖לֶךְ n c ms Samuel said to Saul, I will not return with you; for you have rejected the word of Yahweh, and Yahweh has rejected you from being king over Israel.
- 1 Samuel 16:1 מֶֽלֶךְ n c ms Yahweh said to Samuel, How long will you mourn for Saul, seeing I have rejected him from being king over Israel? fill your horn with oil, and go: I will send you to Jesse the Bethlehemite; for I have provided me a king among his sons.
- 1 Samuel 17:25 הַ/מֶּ֣לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms The men of Israel said, Have you seen this man who is come up? surely to defy Israel is he come up: and it shall be, that the man who kills him, the king will enrich him with great riches, and will give him his daughter, and make his father's house free in Israel.
- 1 Samuel 17:55 הַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms When Saul saw David go forth against the Philistine, he said to Abner, the captain of the host, Abner, whose son is this youth? Abner said, As your soul lives, O king, I can't tell.
- 1 Samuel 17:56 הַ/מֶּ֑לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms The king said, "Inquire whose son the young man is!"
- 1 Samuel 18:6 הַ/מֶּ֑לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms It happened as they came, when David returned from the slaughter of the Philistine, that the women came out of all the cities of Israel, singing and dancing, to meet king Saul, with tambourines, with joy, and with instruments of music.
- 1 Samuel 18:18 לַ/מֶּֽלֶךְ prep det + n c ms David said to Saul, Who am I, and what is my life, [or] my father's family in Israel, that I should be son-in-law to the king?
- 1 Samuel 18:22 הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ בַּ/מֶּֽלֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms prep det + n c ms Saul commanded his servants, [saying], Commune with David secretly, and say, Behold, the king has delight in you, and all his servants love you: now therefore be the king's son-in-law.
- 1 Samuel 18:23 בַּ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ prep det + n c ms Saul's servants spoke those words in the ears of David. David said, Seems it to you a light thing to be the king's son-in-law, seeing that I am a poor man, and lightly esteemed?
- 1 Samuel 18:25 לַ/מֶּ֨לֶךְ֙ הַ/מֶּ֑לֶךְ prep det + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms Saul said, Thus shall you tell David, The king desires no dowry except one hundred foreskins of the Philistines, to be avenged of the king's enemies. Now Saul thought to make David fall by the hand of the Philistines.
- 1 Samuel 18:26 בַּ/מֶּ֑לֶךְ prep det + n c ms When his servants told David these words, it pleased David well to be the king's son-in-law. The days were not expired;
- 1 Samuel 18:27 לַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ בַּ/מֶּ֑לֶךְ prep det + n c ms prep det + n c ms and David arose and went, he and his men, and killed of the Philistines two hundred men; and David brought their foreskins, and they gave them in full number to the king, that he might be the king's son-in-law. Saul gave him Michal his daughter as wife.
- 1 Samuel 19:4 הַ/מֶּ֜לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms Jonathan spoke good of David to Saul his father, and said to him, Don't let the king sin against his servant, against David; because he has not sinned against you, and because his works have been very good toward you:
- 1 Samuel 20:5 הַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms David said to Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field to the third day at evening.
- 1 Samuel 20:24 הַ/מֶּ֛לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms So David hid himself in the field: and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat food.
- 1 Samuel 20:25 הַ֠/מֶּלֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms The king sat on his seat, as at other times, even on the seat by the wall; and Jonathan stood up, and Abner sat by Saul's side: but David's place was empty.
- 1 Samuel 20:29 הַ/מֶּֽלֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms and he said, Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city; and my brother, he has commanded me [to be there]: and now, if I have found favor in your eyes, let me get away, I pray you, and see my brothers. Therefore he is not come to the king's table.
- 1 Samuel 21:2 הַ/מֶּלֶךְ֮ ptcl def.art + n c ms David said to Ahimelech the priest, The king has commanded me a business, and has said to me, Let no man know anything of the business about which I send you, and what I have commanded you: and I have appointed the young men to such and such a place.
- 1 Samuel 21:8 הַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms David said to Ahimelech, Isn't there here under your hand spear or sword? for I have neither brought my sword nor my weapons with me, because the king's business required haste.
- 1 Samuel 22:11 הַ/מֶּ֡לֶךְ הַ/מֶּֽלֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms Then the king sent to call Ahimelech the priest, the son of Ahitub, and all his father's house, the priests who were in Nob: and they came all of them to the king.
- 1 Samuel 22:14 הַ/מֶּ֖לֶךְ הַ/מֶּ֛לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms Then Ahimelech answered the king, and said, Who among all your servants is so faithful as David, who is the king's son-in-law, and is taken into your council, and is honorable in your house?
- 1 Samuel 22:15 הַ/מֶּ֨לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms Have I today begun to inquire of God for him? be it far from me: don't let the king impute anything to his servant, nor to all the house of my father; for your servant knows nothing of all this, less or more.
- 1 Samuel 22:16 הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms The king said, You shall surely die, Ahimelech, you, and all your father's house.
- 1 Samuel 22:17 הַ/מֶּ֡לֶךְ הַ/מֶּ֨לֶךְ֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms The king said to the guard who stood about him, Turn, and kill the priests of Yahweh; because their hand also is with David, and because they knew that he fled, and didn't disclose it to me. But the servants of the king wouldn't put forth their hand to fall on the priests of Yahweh.
- 1 Samuel 22:18 הַ/מֶּ֨לֶךְ֙ ptcl def.art + n c ms The king said to Doeg, Turn you, and fall on the priests. Doeg the Edomite turned, and he fell on the priests, and he killed on that day eighty-five persons who wore a linen ephod.
- 1 Samuel 23:20 הַ/מֶּ֛לֶךְ הַ/מֶּֽלֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms Now therefore, O king, come down, according to all the desire of your soul to come down; and our part shall be to deliver him up into the king's hand.
- 1 Samuel 24:8 הַ/מֶּ֑לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms David also arose afterward, and went out of the cave, and cried after Saul, saying, My lord the king. When Saul looked behind him, David bowed with his face to the earth, and did obeisance.
- 1 Samuel 25:36 הַ/מֶּ֗לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms Abigail came to Nabal; and, behold, he held a feast in his house, like the feast of a king; and Nabal's heart was merry within him, for he was very drunken: therefore she told him nothing, less or more, until the morning light.
- 1 Samuel 26:14 הַ/מֶּֽלֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms and David cried to the people, and to Abner the son of Ner, saying, Don't you answer, Abner? Then Abner answered, Who are you who cries to the king?
- 1 Samuel 26:15 הַ/מֶּ֑לֶךְ הַ/מֶּ֥לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms ptcl def.art + n c ms David said to Abner, Aren't you a [valiant] man? and who is like you in Israel? why then have you not kept watch over your lord, the king? for there came one of the people in to destroy the king your lord.
- 1 Samuel 26:16 הַ/מֶּ֛לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms This thing isn't good that you have done. As Yahweh lives, you are worthy to die, because you have not kept watch over your lord, Yahweh's anointed. Now see where the king's spear is, and the jar of water that was at his head.
- 1 Samuel 26:17 הַ/מֶּֽלֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms Saul knew David's voice, and said, Is this your voice, my son David? David said, It is my voice, my lord, O king.
- 1 Samuel 26:19 הַ/מֶּ֔לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms Now therefore, please let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it be Yahweh that has stirred you up against me, let him accept an offering: but if it be the children of men, cursed be they before Yahweh: for they have driven me out this day that I shouldn't cling to Yahweh's inheritance, saying, Go, serve other gods.
- 1 Samuel 26:22 הַ/מֶּ֑לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms David answered, Behold the spear, O king! let then one of the young men come over and get it.
- 1 Samuel 28:13 הַ/מֶּ֛לֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms The king said to her, Don't be afraid: for what do you see? The woman said to Saul, I see a god coming up out of the earth.
- 1 Samuel 29:8 הַ/מֶּֽלֶךְ ptcl def.art + n c ms David said to Achish, But what have I done? and what have you found in your servant so long as I have been before you to this day, that I may not go and fight against the enemies of my lord the king?
About this entry
At a glance — auto-summarized from this page’s data, not written by a person. Every figure links to its source below. This summary describes the numbers; it doesn’t interpret them.
מלך — transliterated melek — is a Hebrew noun carrying the sense “king.” Its earliest occurrence is Genesis 14:1. It appears 1,919 verses across 35 books of the Hebrew Bible, among its most common vocabulary. It shares a root with מלך, מלוכה and מלך. See the sense tree, 1,919-verse concordance, and the renderings breakdown below.
Gloss history
Strong's 1890 vs modern scholarship
About this word
Strong's H4428 catalogs a Hebrew word from the Hebrew Old Testament.
These counts are not copied from any lexicon or concordance. They are computed here, from the morphology-tagged Hebrew Old Testament. What Lemma adds →
- 1,919
- distinct verses
- The word appears in 1,919 distinct verses.
- 35 / 39
- OT books
- The word appears in 35 of 39 Old Testament books.
- #15
- by frequency
- Top 25 most frequent Hebrew words (rank 15 of 8,640 Hebrew words by occurrence).
View all 1,919 occurrences in the concordance →
Most concentrated in
- 2 Kings 268 verses 14%
- 1 Kings 231 verses 12%
- 2 Chronicles 218 verses 11%
By section of the Old Testament
By traditional corpus
Conventional, traditional groupings — biblical authorship is debated, so this is a traditional corpus grouping, not an authorship claim. Each share is this word’s portion of its verses in that division of the Hebrew canon. Each figure is a share of the word’s 1,919 distinct verses.
- Prophets (Nevi'im) 1,231 verses · 64%
- Writings (Ketuvim) 613 verses · 32%
- Torah (Pentateuch) 75 verses · 4%
How translations render this word
Counts come from each version’s own published word-to-Strong’s tagging or interlinear alignment — an approximate guide to how each version renders this word, not a word-level alignment the data otherwise carries. Because each total is that version’s own tagged count, the per-version totals vary from one another and need not match the appearance or distinct-verse counts above. These counts may also differ from a printed concordance because Lemma counts each distinctly tagged rendering and does not collapse phrase taggings into a single head-word total. This is a fixed set of word-tagged versions (KJV, ASV, BSB, ULT) and does not change with the reading translation you choose elsewhere. Each version’s license is shown beside its name below (and on Sources).
BDB lists this Strong’s number as 2 distinct words (homographs). Each count above pools all of them and is not split by sense — see the Senses section below. A low-frequency rendering may belong to a different one of those words, not the primary meaning.
- King James Version†: King 1,741×, Kings 202×, King's 187×
- American Standard Version†: King 1,824×, Kings 192×, All the kings 24×
- Berean Standard Bible†: King 1,732×, Kings 261×, King’s 120×
- unfoldingWord Literal Text†: King 1,322×, King of 697×, Kings of 130×
King James Version Public Domain
Renders H4428 across 2,523† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 173 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
American Standard Version Public Domain
Renders H4428 across 2,522† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 225 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
Berean Standard Bible Public Domain
Renders H4428 across 2,406† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 86 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings. Not rendered by a distinct English word in 118 further occurrences.
unfoldingWord Literal Text CC BY-SA 4.0
Renders H4428 across 2,390† tagged occurrences — most commonly:
Plus other, less common renderings. Plus 37 renderings that appear only once — usually multi-word phrases or single function words the recovered tagging swept in, not distinct renderings.
9 senses and sub-senses in the full BDB
What do BDB’s symbols mean?
BDB uses these scholarly abbreviations:
| Symbol | Meaning |
|---|---|
| 𝔊 | the Septuagint (the ancient Greek translation, LXX) |
| 𝔙 | the Vulgate (the Latin translation) |
| 𝔖 | the Syriac version (the Peshitta) |
| 𝔗 | the Targum (the Aramaic translation) |
| ψ | the Psalms |
| √ | root (the underlying root or stem) |
| ‖ | parallel passage (a synonymous or contrasted parallel) |
| † | the dagger: every passage where the word occurs is cited |
The 9 senses and sub-senses the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon distinguishes for this word, in lexicon order (not ranked by frequency), with BDB’s own verbatim wording and sub-sense lettering. Shown in Hebrew script with BDB’s own scholarly abbreviations. The condensed entry is in the Lexicon Entry tab. See also the Forms in the corpus table below.
מלך I king (NH id.
- 1. king: of Egypt Gn 39:20 f. Ex 1:8 f. Dt 11:3 1 K 3:1; of Mesopotamia, Shinar, Assyrian, Babyl., Pers., etc. Ju 3:8, 10 Gn 14:1 f. 2 K 15:19, 20, 29; 17:3 f.; 18:13 f.; 24:1, 11 f. Ezr 1:1 f.; 4:3 f. Est 1:2 +, 1 K 11:18, 40; 14:25 2 K 17:4 f.; 23:29 +; of Canaan, Philist., Edom, Moab, etc. (often of single city): Gn 14:2 f. v 18; 20:2; 26:1, 8; 36:31 Nu 20:14; 21:1 f.; 22:4, 10 Dt 1:4; 3:1 f. Jos 2:2 (often in Jos), Ju 1:7; 5:19; 8:5, 12; 11:12 f.; 2 K 3:4 f. +; of Aram, Hamath, etc. 2 S 8:3 f. v 9 1 K 15:18; 20:1 f.; 22:3 2 K 5:1 f.; 8:7 f v 29; 9:14, 15; 15:37; 16:5 f. +; of Tyre, etc. 2 S 5:11; 1 K 5:15; 9:11; 16 +, etc.; especially of Israel (undivided, and of both divisions) Gn 36:31 Nu 23:21; 24:7 Dt 17:14 f. Ju 17:6; 18:1; 19:1; 21:25; 1 S 2:10; 8:5 f. 2 S 2:4 f. 1 K 1:33, 34 f. + very often; cf. also Ju 9:5.—2 S 18:29b del. הַמּ׳ We Klo Dr Kit Bu. Note that in early books המלך דוד is nearly always said; in late books usually דוד (שׁלמה וגו׳) המלך; cf. Aramaic כּוֹרֶשׁ מַלְכָּא, etc. e.g. Genesis 39:20
- 2. of Davidic king, as under divine protection, 1 S 2:10 (‖ מְשִׁיחוֹ), ψ 2:6; 18:51; 89:19; 61:7, cf. 99:4; so in (Messianic) prediction Ho 3:5 Is 32:1 Je 23:5 Ez 37:22, 24 Zc 9:9. e.g. 1 Samuel 2:10
- 3. used of י׳ as king of Israel 1 S 12:12; poet. Dt 33:5 cf. ψ 5:3; 10:16; 29:10; 44:5; 48:3; 68:25; 74:12; 84:4; 145:1; 149:2 Is 41:21; 43:15; 44:6 Zp 3:15; מֶלֶךְ הַכָּבוֹד ψ 24:7, 8, 9, 10(×2); universal king ψ 47:3, 8; 95:3; 98:6 Je 10:7, 10, cf. 46:18; 48:15; 51:57 Zc 14:9, 16, 17 Mal 1:14; of false god Am 5:26. e.g. 1 Samuel 12:12
- 4. in fable, king of trees Ju 9:8, 15; fig. of crocodile Jb 41:26; מ׳ אֵין לָאַרְבֶּה Pr 30:27; of death, מֶלָךְ בַּלָּהוֹת Jb 18:14. e.g. Judges 9:8
- 5. combinations are:—
- a. הַמּ׳ הַגָּדוֹל 2 K 18:19, 28 = Is 36:4, 13 (of Assyrian king: cf. Assyrian šarru rabû); מ׳ גָּדוֹל Ec 9:14 (indef.); of י׳ Mal 1:14, מ׳ ג׳ עַל־כל־אלהים ψ 95:3; עוֹלָם מ׳ Je 10:10 (of י׳); מ׳ מְלָכִים Ez 26:7 (king of Babyl.) e.g. 2 Kings 18:19
- b. יְחִי הַמֶּלֶךְ 1 S 10:24 2 S 16:16(×2) 1 K 1:34, 39 2 K 11:12 2 Ch 23:11; מֶלָךְ בירושׁלם Ec 1:1, cf. 1 Sa 15:26; 2 S 5:2 1 K 14:2 1 Ch 29:25 2 S 2:11 (היה מ׳ בחברון על־) 1 K 11:37 2 Ch 28:4 Ec 1:12. e.g. 1 Samuel 10:24
- c. following a very (one or two acc.) שִׂים מ׳ על Dt 17:14, 15(×2) 1 S 10:19; שִׂים לָנוּ מ׳ 1 S 8:5; שִׂים לְמ׳ 1 K 10:9; נָתַן מ׳ לְ 1 S 8:6 Ho 13:10, 11; נָתַן עַל 1 S 12:13 2 Ch 2:10 Ne 9:37; 13:26; הִמְלִיךְ לְמֶלֶךְ Ju 9:6 1 S 15:11; הִמְלִיךְ מ׳ על 1 S 12:1; הִמְלִיךְ מ׳ לְ 1 S 8:22; מָשַׁח מ׳ עַל Ju 9:8; מָשַׁח לְמ׳ 1 K 1:45; מָשַׁח לְמ׳ עַל Ju 9:15 1 S 15:1, 17; 2 S 2:4; 5:3, 12; 12:7 1 K 1:34 1 Ch 11:3; 14:8; מ׳ יִהְיֶה על 1 S 8:19; בִּקֵּשׁ למ׳ על 2 S 3:17; הֵכִין לְמ׳ על 2 S 5:12 1 Ch 14:2; הֵקִים מ׳ על 1 K 14:14 Dt 28:36; יָשַׁב עַל־כִּסֵּא י׳ לְמ׳ תַּחַת וגו׳ 1 Ch 29:23, cf. Pr 20:8; נָתַן עַל־כִּסֵּא לְמ׳ לְי׳ אלהיך 2 Ch 9:8. e.g. Deuteronomy 17:14
- d. מַעֲדַנֵּי־מֶלֶךְ Gn 49:20 royal dainties, fig.; מִשְׁתֵּה הַמּ׳ 1 S 25:36 royal feast (in sim.); אֶבֶן הַמּ׳ 2 S 14:26 king’s weight; יַד־הַמּ׳ 1 K 10:13 royal bounty (in sim.); גִּזֵּי הַמּ׳ Am 7:1 king’s mowings; מִקְדַּשׁ מ׳ Am 7:13 royal sanctuary; עֲטֶרֶת מַלְכָּם 2 S 12:30 crown of their king = 1 Ch 20:2 (but read מִלְכֹּם 𝔊 We Klo Dr Kit Kau—not Bu KitChr. Hpt); cf. also בַּיִת, עֵמֶק, גַּן, שָׁוֵה, etc.—N.pr. אבימלך, אחימלך, אלימלך, נתן מלך, עבד מלך, v. sub אב, אח, etc. e.g. Genesis 49:20
מלך II m. son of Micah, a Benjamite (on מ׳ as individ. name v. GrayProp. N. 116, 112 n. 4
Senses from the full Brown-Driver-Briggs lexicon (Brown, Driver, Briggs; Oxford 1906 — public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). Full attribution on Sources.
Word origin
I. n.m. king (NH id.; MI 1.5.10.18.23 מלך; 1:4 המלכן; Ph. מלך; Zinj. מלך DHMSendsch. 60; Assyrian maliku, malku, prince (Assyrian šarru = king); Arabic مَلِكٌ king (orig. Heb. מַלִךְ inferred, LagBN 73 BaNB § 112 WMMAs. u. Europ. 76); Sab. מלכן SabDenkmNo. 1; cstr. מלך, pl. אמלך CISiv. 37; cf. Ethiopic አምላክ God (and Nöl.c.); Aramaic ܡܠܶܟ, מְלֵיךְ; Palm. מלך מלכא VogNo. 28; Nab. מלכא EutNab. 1);—מ׳ abs. Gn 36:31 + (ins. also 2 S 13:17 𝔊 Th We Dr Kit Bu, and v 34 𝔊 We Dr Kit Bu); in p. always מֶ֑לֶךְ Gn 49:20 + 238 times (so also n.pr. in -מֶלֶךְ); cstr. Gn 14:1 +; sf. מַלְכִּי 2 S 19:44 + 6 times, etc.; pl. מְלָכִים Gn 14:9 +; מְלָכִין Pr 31:3; cstr. מַלְכֵי Gn 17:6 +; sf. מְלָכֶיהָ Is 7:16 + 3 times; מַלְכֵיהֶם Dt 7:24 + 16 times, etc.;—
II. n.pr.m. son of Micah, a Benjamite (on מ׳ as individ. name v. GrayProp. N. 116, 112 n. 4; cf. Ph. n.pr. מלך (v. Bloch); Sab. n.pr. מלכם CIS iv. 1; Palm. n.pr. מלכו VogPalm. 92 al. Nab. id., EutNab 21, 4 al. VogNab. 1, 2);—1 Ch 8:35 (𝔊 Μελχηλ), 9:41 (𝔊 Μαλαχ; 𝔊L Μελχιηλ in both).
— Brown-Driver-Briggs (Oxford 1906, public domain), digitized via Sefaria, supplemented by the OpenScriptures HebrewLexicon (CC BY 4.0). See Sources.
Derived from מלך (mâlak) (H4427) — to reign.
Jastrow Dictionary
A second Hebrew/Aramaic lexicon for comparison, covering Aramaic and post-biblical (Talmudic, Targumic, Midrashic) usage that the biblical-Hebrew BDB does not. Matched by lemma rather than by Strong’s number, so a lemma may carry more than one Jastrow headword (shown separately below), and the entries cover usage well beyond the Bible.
*מַלָּךְ
- (= מַה לָךְ) what is it to thee?; of no practical value. Sabb. 150ᵃ sq. חשבונות של מ׳ ושל מה בכך (Ms. M. מה לך, v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note) accounts of ‘what is it to thee?’ and of ‘what is in it?’, i.e. for no practical purpose. [Oth. opin., v. Ar.]
מָלַךְ
- (b. h.) [to lead in council,] to preside; to officiate; to be ruler. B. Bath. 164ᵇ מ׳ שנה מונין לו שתים when he has been in office one year, they date (in documents) ‘the second year’. Meg. 11ᵃ (ref. to המֹלֵךְ, Esth. I, 1) מ׳ מעצמו started a dynasty with himself (had no claims of succession). Ib. מָלְכוּ בכיפה, v. כִּיפָּה. Zeb. 118ᵇ עשרה שנה שמ׳ וכ׳ ten years during which Samuel ruled alone, ושנה שמ׳ שאול וכ׳ and one year during which Saul and Samuel ruled conjointly; Tem. 15ᵃ; a. fr. e.g. Esther 1:1
- [to be led,]
- 1. to take council, to ask advice or permission. Ber. 3ᵇ נִמְלָכִין בסנהדרין they ask the Sanhedrin for their confirmation. Ib. 4ᵃ כל מה … אני נ׳ במפיבשת וכ׳ in whatever I undertake, I consult the opinion of M., my teacher. Ib. 29ᵇ וכשאתה … הִמָּלֵךְ בקונך וצא and when thou art about to go on a journey, take council of thy Maker (pray) and go out. B. Mets. 14ᵃ צריך לִימָּלֵךְ the scribe must ask for authorization (to insert in the contract); a. fr.
- 2. [to take council with one’s self,] to reconsider, change one’s mind. Gitt. III, 1. Dem. III, 2 הלוקח … ונ׳ להחזיר if one buys vegetables …. and then decides to return (the goods). Ib. 3 נטלן לאוכלן ונ׳ להצניע if he took them up to eat them and changed his mind (deciding) to keep them; a. fr.
- to appoint or elect for rulership, to acknowledge the authority of. Snh. 64ᵃ שהִמְלִיכוּהוּ עליהם, v. מוֹלֶךְ. Y. Ned. IX, beg. 41ᵇ (ref. to Ps. LXXXI, 10) זר שבקרבך אל תַּמְלִיכֵהוּ עליך allow not the tyrant within thee (the evil inclination) to rule over thee. Ab. Zar. 18ᵃ אומה זו מן השמים הִמְלִיכוּהָ this (Roman) nation has been given the rulership by divine decree. R. Hash. 16ᵃ אמרו לפני … מלכיות שתַּמְלִיכוּנִי עליכם recite before me verses of homage (v. מַלְכוּת), in order that you may declare me your ruler; a. fr. e.g. Psalms 81:10
מְלַךְ
- 1. to rule. Targ. Gen. XXXVII, 8; a. fr.—Part. מָלִיךְ. Targ. Jer. XXXIII, 21 (ed. Wil. מְלִיךְ, corr. acc.); a. fr.—Ab. Zar. 10ᵃ בעינא דיִמְלַךְ וכ׳ I desire that my son Severus be king after me; ib. דיִמְלוֹךְ.—Ber. 64ᵃ מ׳ רבה Rabbah officiated (as teacher and judge); a. fr.
- 2. (mostly מליך) to decide. Targ. Is. XIV, 27. Ib. XXIII, 8 (ed. Ven. מַלִּיךְ). Ib. 9 מִילְכָהּ ed. Lag. (some ed. מלכא, read: מִלְכָהּ); a. fr.—Part. pass. מְלִיךְ. Ib. XIV, 26; a. e.
- 3. to advise. Targ. II Sam. XVII, 7. Targ. I Kings I, 12; a. fr.
- 1. to advise. Targ. Job XXVI, 3.
- 2. to decide, v. supra.
- 1. = preced. = preced. Hif. Targ. I Kings III, 7; a. fr.
- 2. to counsel, persuade. Targ. Josh. XV, 18. Targ. Y. Deut. XXX, 6; a. e.—[Targ. Prov. VIII, 15 מַמְלְכִין ed. Lag. rule (oth. ed. מלכין).]
- , אִמְּ׳ = preced. Nif.—Targ. Is. XXXII, 7; a. fr.—B. Bath. 4ᵃ בתר דעבדין מִתְמַלְּכִין do people ask for advice (or permission) after they have acted? Ber. 27ᵇ אִימְּלִיךְ וכ׳ consult my family. Ib. אזיל ואִמְּ׳ וכ׳ he went and consulted his wife. Ned. 54ᵃ כל מילתא דצריך שליחא לאִמְּלוּכֵי וכ׳ any change of order for which the messenger has to ask special authorization, is heterogeneous (to the object of the original commission); כל מילתא דמִימְּלִיךְ שליח עלה וכ׳ a change for which the messenger asks for instructions is homogeneous. Sot. 43ᵇ אי אימ׳ עלה if he reconsiders his original disposal; a. fr.
מֶלֶךְ
- preced.) leader in council, chief, king. Ber. 3ᵇ אדוננו המ׳ our lord the king! Tosef. Snh. VIII, 5, a. fr. מ׳ מלכי המלכים the Most Supreme King (the Lord). Ib. IX, 8 אפי׳ מ׳ של מלכים even a king of kings (great sovereign). Snh. 38ᵃ, a. fr. מ׳ בו"ד (v. בָּשָׂר) a human chief. Ab. Zar. 10ᵃ אין מושיבין מ׳ בן מ׳ they (the Romans) do not allow the son of a king to succeed his father. Kerith. 5ᵇ מ׳ ראשון a first king, starter of a dynasty. Shebu. 6ᵇ מַלְכֹּו של זה this hyparch’s chief. Num. R. s. 18 משה מ׳ וכ׳ Moses has made himself the chief, and Aaron is high priest &c.; a. v. fr.—Pl. מְלָכִים. Hor. 12ᵃ כיצד מושחין את המ׳ וכ׳ how are kings anointed? By drawing with the oil the outlines of a crown; Ker. 5ᵇ. Ib. מַלְכֵי בית דוד the kings of the house of David (southern kingdom); מ׳ ישראל the kings of the northern kingdom; a. v. fr.—בַּת מְ׳ Princess, name of a demon afflicting the eye, also a certain disorder of the eye, v. בַּת I. Sabb. 109ᵃ (Var. בת חורין, v. Rabb. D. S. a. l. note).—Pl. בנות מֶלֶךְ. Tosef. B. Kam. IX, 27 יצאו בנות מ׳ the ‘princesses’ (humors of the eye) escaped (in consequence of a blow).
מֶלֶךְ ²
- Targ. Ps. XXIV, 7; 9. Targ. Ex. I, 8; a. fr.—Snh. 110ᵃ איהו הוה מ׳ he (Moses) himself is chief. Y. Yeb. XVI, 15ᶜ, v. אָרְסְקִינָס. Y. Ter. VIII, 46ᵇ bot. אתעביד מ׳ he (Dioclet) became king; a. fr.—Pl. מַלְכֵין, מַלְכַיָּא, מַלְכֵי. Targ. Gen. XVII, 6. Ib. XIV, 5. Targ. Prov. VIII, 15; a. fr.—Gitt. 62ᵃ שלמא עלייכו מ׳ (to scholars) peace be with you, chiefs!—Shebu. 6ᵇ תרי מ׳ וכ׳ two kings and two viceroys (hyparchs); a. fr.
מֵלַךְ
- (preced. wds.) counsel, advice. Targ. Is. III, 3. Targ. Y. Deut. VIII, 18 (O. עצה; h. text כֹּחַ); a. fr.—Pl. מִלְכִין, מִלְכַיָּא, מִי׳. Targ. Is. XXV, 1. Targ. Job XII, 17 (not מַ׳). Targ. Hos. X, 6; a. e.
A Dictionary of the Targumim, the Talmud Babli and Yerushalmi, and the Midrashic Literature (Marcus Jastrow; London, Luzac, 1903) — Public Domain. Digitized via Sefaria. Digitized via Sefaria. Full attribution on Sources.
Forms in the corpus
The 242 distinct written forms H4428 takes in the Hebrew Bible, most frequent first — each parse links to that state’s occurrences in the concordance. Hebrew forms include their vowel points and cantillation, so a single lemma takes many written forms.
The 60 most common forms are shown; 182 rarer forms follow in the full concordance.
Same root — word family
Other BDB entries built from the same root as H4428, grouped by Strong’s listed origin. These share a root / origin per the lexicon — not necessarily a shared meaning. Each links to that word’s own entry.
Derives from
Shares the same root
- מלוכה mᵉlûwkâh H4410 kingship
- מלך mᵉlak H4431 counsel
- מלכות malkûwth H4438 kingdom
- מלכת mᵉleketh H4446 queen
- ממלכה mamlâkâh H4467 kingdom
Derived from this word
Proper names from this root
People and places named from this root — a name, not an additional meaning of the word.
- ימלך Yamlêk H3230 Jamlech
- מלוך Mallûwk H4409 Malluch
- מלך Môlek H4432 Molech
- מלכת Môleketh H4447 Hammoleketh
- מלך Melek H4429 Melech
- מלכיאל Malkîyʼêl H4439 Malchiel
- מלכיה Malkîyâh H4441 Malchijah
- מלכיצדק Malkîy-Tsedeq H4442 Melchizedek
- מלכירם Malkîyrâm H4443 Malchiram
- מלכישוע Malkîyshûwaʻ H4444 Malchishua
- מלכם Malkâm H4445 Milcom
Compare all same-root words → Showing 4 of 20 — not the complete family. 11 of the same-root words are proper names (people or places). They share a root, not necessarily a meaning.
Septuagint verse parallels
This word appears in 1,799 verses that also exist in the Greek Old Testament (Septuagint), out of the 1,919 Hebrew verses it occurs in. You can read those verses in Greek by switching the Old Testament edition to the Septuagint.
Read these verses in the Septuagint
- Genesis 14:1
- Exodus 1:8
- Numbers 20:14
- Deuteronomy 1:4
- Joshua 2:2
- Judges 1:7
- 1 Samuel 2:10
- 2 Samuel 2:4
- 1 Kings 1:1
- 2 Kings 1:3
- 1 Chronicles 3:2
- 2 Chronicles 1:12
This is a verse-level parallel only — the same verses exist in both the Hebrew and Greek Old Testaments. No word-level Hebrew↔Greek correspondence is claimed: the data carries no such alignment, so no Greek word is shown as this Hebrew word’s translation. Coverage is not total — the Septuagint omits the deuterocanon and renumbers the Psalms, so some Hebrew verses have no direct Greek parallel.